Rotavirus

[zyklon]

We never inject now for scour. Take milk off and feed electrolytes for two days. You can if you wish, feed a litre or two of milk after lunch. Most of the time it’s no milk for two days. It just does more harm I see.

 

[PDB]

Is bovigen as effective as rotavec?

 

[North Yorkshire man]

Gave it some metacam and norodine , its over 3 days and the results so far , very good .
Thinking back i always had norodine in stock for scouring calves and it worked very well .
The problem with this calf was it was born 3 weeks early . Its a suckler and the cow wouldn't let it suck , so we've had to crush it so the calf could suck . Potentially it was 12 hours old before it got colostrum . This is the problem because if they don't suck they die as I know too well .

 

[Mixfarmer]

My calves are coming out strong and sucking well for 2/3 days then getting scour, stopping drinking and going limp, rancid scour. Electrolytes get them back slowly but seems to then pass through all batches of calves again with varying effects. Changed sheds, steam cleaned and disinfected with Kilco, all new teets. first few vets test showed nothing last one show Crypto but so far dosing for first 5 days with Halocur has done nothing. Calf area cleanest it’s ever been.

 

[Beef farmer]

My calves are coming out strong and sucking well for 2/3 days then getting scour, stopping drinking and going limp, rancid scour. Electrolytes get them back slowly but seems to then pass through all batches of calves again with varying effects. Changed sheds, steam cleaned and disinfected with Kilco, all new teets. first few vets test showed nothing last one show Crypto but so far dosing for first 5 days with Halocur has done nothing. Calf area cleanest it’s ever been.

@jimmer pictures please

Make a shanty Town in a field with bales and sheets of tin.
Break the cycle.

 

[Mixfarmer]

@jimmer pictures please

Make a shanty Town in a field with bales and sheets of tin.
Break the cycle.

that’s what I’m doing next,

 

[jimmer]

that’s what I’m doing next,

I had one get ill, separated it, but same shed
Then two more
Immediately shut that shed down, left any in there already there, put any new borns in different shed with bale pens in a completely inadequate shed
The three died, a few others have had a rough week or so but are now fine
Any put in shanty shed have been 100% OK
I truly believe sheds no matter how good or perfect need a rest
Nearly every block calver will tell you the first 50/60/70 %of calves bounce along effortlessly, then things, personnel and infrastructure get tired/contaminated and then issues start

 

[lazy farmer]

We found our crypto was coming from the calving pad. We now steam clean the calf area during calving. No crypto this yr.

 

[Mixfarmer]

We found our crypto was coming from the calving pad. We now steam clean the calf area during calving. No crypto this yr.

That’s my fear, changing sheds for calving next as well.

 

[In the pit]

Sheds need to cleaned and left empty for 9/10 months to break cycle

 

[jimmer]

It's dark, it's dingy, air flow is pants and even using silage sheet as hurdles

But they're healthy

We finish calving in 2 weeks so it should see us through

 

[zyklon]

Sunlight. Sheds need sunlight which is one of the best cures of any. Know several farmers now doing calf and calving sheds now using Greenhill Systems roofing.

Also know a man that had crypto issues and it was traced back to his well water which he was using for the powder milk.

 

[happycows]

We are in full swing. Again few years ago calf scour (rotavirus and crypto) drove me to the brink.
Had a couple of cases 3 weeks ago. Jumped straight on finding out the problem. We vaccinate all cows and calves have fresh calved cows milk for 3 weeks. Rotavec works well but didn’t cover my problem.
All three had mild crypto.
Cleaned and disinfected the whole shed. Split anything newborn well away from that day on. Meticulous cleaning of feeders between calves and a feed additive touch wood it’s not showing any signs at present. Didn’t lose any but it could have been very ugly.

 

[Holsteinfriesian90]

Just wondering how long are people feeding the colostrum from cows injected with rotavec?

 

[lazy farmer]

Just wondering how long are people feeding the colostrum from cows injected with rotavec?

2 feeds of first milk for dairy heifers
Then another 2 feeds of “second” milking
Then onto milk powder.
beef calves 2 feeds of first then they get a mixture of all the pooled colostrum from the following 3 days milkings before the milk can go in the tank.

 

[som farmer]

Just wondering how long are people feeding the colostrum from cows injected with rotavec?

we vaccinate all cows for r/virus, and we acidify, and store all colostrum, and very seldom ever buy m/powder. It is claimed, formic acid, will kill johnes, if left for 3 days, whether true, or not ? Any cows milk, from a known johnes cow, gets chucked, and calf snatched, and only beef.
The system works really well, till the 'tailenders', mainly because every one is 'tired'.
Rota corona, is related to covid, perhaps we all should have injected, ourselves. Just as ivermectin, was ridiculed for treating covid, but it is now, a recognised, and efficient treatment !
We looked at bovigen, to replace rota vac, but it's a 3ml dose, not 2, and doesn't cover all that r/v does, so in effect, not cheaper, or better.
Would take a lot for us to stop using r/vac.

 

[Beef farmer]

we vaccinate all cows for r/virus, and we acidify, and store all colostrum, and very seldom ever buy m/powder. It is claimed, formic acid, will kill johnes, if left for 3 days, whether true, or not ? Any cows milk, from a known johnes cow, gets chucked, and calf snatched, and only beef.
The system works really well, till the 'tailenders', mainly because every one is 'tired'.
Rota corona, is related to covid, perhaps we all should have injected, ourselves. Just as ivermectin, was ridiculed for treating covid, but it is now, a recognised, and efficient treatment !
We looked at bovigen, to replace rota vac, but it's a 3ml dose, not 2, and doesn't cover all that r/v does, so in effect, not cheaper, or better.
Would take a lot for us to stop using r/vac.

Can you talk me through how to acidify and then feed this milk please?

 

[happycows]

Just wondering how long are people feeding the colostrum from cows injected with rotavec?

3 weeks (All beef). May not be their mothers all the time, quite often another fresh One on day 2/3/4.
Day 1/2 would be best tested available, sometimes their mothers sometimes not.
I bag up any surplus top quality and refrigerate or freeze so never a shortage.
I’ve got a chest freezer on a cheap Amazon time clock that will hold 3 stainless dump buckets. Comes on 8 to 10 am and 5 to 7 pm
Which keeps a fair old quantity fresh for a few days without acidifying. Can see this is not always possible with bigger numbers.

 

[som farmer]

Can you talk me through how to acidify and then feed this milk please?

it's dead easy, collect your milk, then decide who you want to listen to, re adding the acid, there's so many 'correct' amounts, on the web, l am dubious to say amount, we use. The finns, and canadians are the best to look at, l would hate to quote, what works for us, and someone comes back at me, when something goes wrong, then plaster stirrer, on a cordless, in the milk taxi to warm up, then feed.
As a student, they block calved, 1975, boss had been to NZ, we just stored it, adding nothing, diluted 50/50 with hot water, a good stir, quick retch, and calves grew excellently, reared 150/60 hfrs a year, that would keep for 3 or 4 months, but you didn't want to feed calves, after a good night out ! But, the calves looked great.
We don't need to store it for long, as hfr calves come first, and later beef calves sold. Perhaps a month, at most, you can get them up to 7/8 litres a day, to start with, then more to suit. If it wasn't for johnes, and the 3 day bit, we would feed a lot, without the acid, volume is not a problem block calving. But, it saves a lot of money on powder, they do better, that's the acid loading, and dead simple.
Formic acid, is getting difficult to obtain, and price, has rocketed, we now use a non ag chemical supplier, from Highbridge.

 

[In the pit]

it's dead easy, collect your milk, then decide who you want to listen to, re adding the acid, there's so many 'correct' amounts, on the web, l am dubious to say amount, we use. The finns, and canadians are the best to look at, l would hate to quote, what works for us, and someone comes back at me, when something goes wrong, then plaster stirrer, on a cordless, in the milk taxi to warm up, then feed.
As a student, they block calved, 1975, boss had been to NZ, we just stored it, adding nothing, diluted 50/50 with hot water, a good stir, quick retch, and calves grew excellently, reared 150/60 hfrs a year, that would keep for 3 or 4 months, but you didn't want to feed calves, after a good night out ! But, the calves looked great.
We don't need to store it for long, as hfr calves come first, and later beef calves sold. Perhaps a month, at most, you can get them up to 7/8 litres a day, to start with, then more to suit. If it wasn't for johnes, and the 3 day bit, we would feed a lot, without the acid, volume is not a problem block calving. But, it saves a lot of money on powder, they do better, that's the acid loading, and dead simple.
Formic acid, is getting difficult to obtain, and price, has rocketed, we now use a non ag chemical supplier, from Highbridge.

Ph has to be at 4//4.5 all the time otherwise johnes survives