Best Treatment for diahrrea (sp) in calf.

[Wisteria Farms]

Help! I have a little 3 mo old bullcalf with "the scoots". Its NOT the scours.... this is definately regular poo, just real loose. At present he's getting Purina Startena/Hay/Water free choice. Is there anything I can do to help him get over this. Its gone on for about 4 days. Otherwise he seems fine... running, jumping, eating fine, etc. Thanks!

 

[rockridgecattle]

few questions,

Temperature of the calf?
Hay quality, if it is rich it will squirt, if the grass is new like fresh growth or new pasture it will get the squirts
What does the vet say?
Can take a sample to the vet for testing, would be worth a try. Might be codsidiosus (SP). If the calf has been treated with antibiotics a sample could come up inconsclusive

Too much grain...back off a bit especially if you just increased it.
Tou much milk or too much milk at one time try 3x a day instead of 2
If he is in the barn and not outside can do it too

just some thoughts

 

[msscamp]

Help! I have a little 3 mo old bullcalf with "the scoots". Its NOT the scours.... this is definately regular poo, just real loose. At present he's getting Purina Startena/Hay/Water free choice. Is there anything I can do to help him get over this. Its gone on for about 4 days. Otherwise he seems fine... running, jumping, eating fine, etc. Thanks!

What kind of hay are you feeding? You specifically mentioned Startena/hay/water, but not mineral. If he does not have access to mineral, you might want to consider changing that.

 

[Double A]

You definetly want to watch it so it doesn't get worse and monitor other calves as well. Unfortunately, we have had coccidiosus (?sp) before (in post weaned calves, but usually under wet and fluctuating temperatures) and will typically see blood (eventually) in the deposits. At least it isn't too bad to treat (other than needing a separate water tank for the Corid solution).

Keep in contact with the vet and they may advise analyzing a sample. Watch the hay quality. We once had put out some better quality hay (part alfalfa) and noticed that a couple of our youngest calves ended up with loose poops; when we put in our "regular" higher fescue hay conditions improved.

You may also want to try and give him a dose of "rumen helper" type paste. It is a paste in a tube that you administer orally that contains the helpful bacteria found in yogurt and sometimes also other vitamins (but no antibiotics).

We started giving this to our calves within 1 day of birth to help get their digestive juices on track. Since, we have hardly any baby calf scours or loose poop issues (we don't scour guard the cows anymore either). This may be a coincidence but it certainly doesn't hurt (it is pretty reasonable per dose and one tube will do several head). I think there may also be a bolus available for larger animals too; I have seen it advertised to help regulate feedlot animals too.

Good Luck, maybe just asking about it will cause it to fix itself...

 

[TheBullLady]

If he's still eating and "jumping" around I wouldn't worry overmuch. He may be getting into the water bucket, something my bottle calves liked to do. You have to be concerned about keeping him hydrated, as he loses so much liquid with the "scoots".

I'd just keep an eye on him for any change in attitude or appetite.

 

[Wisteria Farms]

If he's still eating and "jumping" around I wouldn't worry overmuch. He may be getting into the water bucket, something my bottle calves liked to do. You have to be concerned about keeping him hydrated, as he loses so much liquid with the "scoots".

I'd just keep an eye on him for any change in attitude or appetite.

Thanks everyone for your help... there are several things contributing... yes we increased his grain (Startena) and yes he was getting rich hay (our hay, is a mix of pasture grasses with some alfalfa.. not much). Also, he is in the barn/dry lot as we like keeping him close to the house. We started giving him "Bounce Back" to help with any dehydration issues. As I mentioned, he seems fine... he loves his food, his disposition hasn't changed and he's still running and jumping.... AND it doesn't look like scours. I'm thinking the hay. Some areas the alfalfa grows a little thicker and we may have grabbed a bale especially rich. Temp fine. If I don't see improvement with making the changes mentioned above I'll get the vet out here... just hate to jump the gun. Thanks so much.