Calf Question

[Chade7320]

Heres another newbie question for you guys. I currently have 2 7x7 stalls set up for my two bottle calves I have right now. We are in the process of having the barn added on to but until then I was wondering. Would it work to put 2 calves in each stall as long as I leave a milk bar in there to keep them from sucking on each other or is that just asking for health trouble?

Thanks!

 

[dun]

If they've already been exposed to each other there is nothing wrong with putting them together. May be a little tight, but we raised hundreds of bottle calves in 4X8 pens and kept them there for 8 weeks.

 

[Rafter S]

They're herd animals. They'll be fine.

 

[Chade7320]

Yes the 2 I have now have been in side by side stalls, but the two I am looking to add are from a different farmer.

 

[dun]

Yes the 2 I have now have been in side by side stalls, but the two I am looking to add are from a different farmer.

I only di this for totally odd ball additions, i.e. from a different farm or being hauled a long distance, bought from a sale barn, etc.
I would give all the calves a shot of Nuflor Gold as they are being unloaded and I would also hit the previous calves with the same before the new ones arrive. That is the only situation that I give an antibiotic without first observing symptoms. Years ago we used get calves from all over, we frequently had to treat them after a couple of days and a lot of times the calves that were already here needed treating. Sadly we also lost a lot of calves. The vet suggested the Nuflor on arrival and we didn;t lose another calf and we didn;t have to treat for shipping fever complex after we started doing it.

 

[boondocks]

Yes the 2 I have now have been in side by side stalls, but the two I am looking to add are from a different farmer.

I only di this for totally odd ball additions, i.e. from a different farm or being hauled a long distance, bought from a sale barn, etc.
I would give all the calves a shot of Nuflor Gold as they are being unloaded and I would also hit the previous calves with the same before the new ones arrive. That is the only situation that I give an antibiotic without first observing symptoms. Years ago we used get calves from all over, we frequently had to treat them after a couple of days and a lot of times the calves that were already here needed treating. Sadly we also lost a lot of calves. The vet suggested the Nuflor on arrival and we didn;t lose another calf and we didn;t have to treat for shipping fever complex after we started doing it.

dun, is it too late to vaccinate them for shipping fever as soon as they pull in? Just curious.

 

[dun]

Yes the 2 I have now have been in side by side stalls, but the two I am looking to add are from a different farmer.

I only di this for totally odd ball additions, i.e. from a different farm or being hauled a long distance, bought from a sale barn, etc.
I would give all the calves a shot of Nuflor Gold as they are being unloaded and I would also hit the previous calves with the same before the new ones arrive. That is the only situation that I give an antibiotic without first observing symptoms. Years ago we used get calves from all over, we frequently had to treat them after a couple of days and a lot of times the calves that were already here needed treating. Sadly we also lost a lot of calves. The vet suggested the Nuflor on arrival and we didn;t lose another calf and we didn;t have to treat for shipping fever complex after we started doing it.

dun, is it too late to vaccinate them for shipping fever as soon as they pull in? Just curious.

Probably not, and it isn;t a vaccination it's antibiotics. Shipping fever complex has so many variables, from respritory to scours or a combination. Usually new claves are also undergoing a change in feed that can screw up their system.

 

[boondocks]

Probably not, and it isn;t a vaccination it's antibiotics. Shipping fever complex has so many variables, from respritory to scours or a combination. Usually new claves are also undergoing a change in feed that can screw up their system.

I knew he was referencing antibiotics, but I thought there was a vaccine that covered so-called shipping fever, so was wondering if that is something that makes sense to do in some cases...I know vaccines take awhile to kick in so wasn't sure if it would do any good once they've "done shipped."

 

[dun]

Probably not, and it isn;t a vaccination it's antibiotics. Shipping fever complex has so many variables, from respritory to scours or a combination. Usually new claves are also undergoing a change in feed that can screw up their system.

I knew he was referencing antibiotics, but I thought there was a vaccine that covered so-called shipping fever, so was wondering if that is something that makes sense to do in some cases...I know vaccines take awhile to kick in so wasn't sure if it would do any good once they've "done shipped."

Never heard of a vaccine for shipping fever complex. But as you said, any vaccine takes a whikle to kick in plus stress can lower the response rate to vaccinations

 

[TCRanch]

Probably not, and it isn;t a vaccination it's antibiotics. Shipping fever complex has so many variables, from respritory to scours or a combination. Usually new claves are also undergoing a change in feed that can screw up their system.

I knew he was referencing antibiotics, but I thought there was a vaccine that covered so-called shipping fever, so was wondering if that is something that makes sense to do in some cases...I know vaccines take awhile to kick in so wasn't sure if it would do any good once they've "done shipped."

Never heard of a vaccine for shipping fever complex. But as you said, any vaccine takes a whikle to kick in plus stress can lower the response rate to vaccinations

Boondocks, are you referring to Triangle (we use 9 but there's also 5, 10, etc)? We use it prior to weaning.
http://www.drugs.com/vet/triangle-9-ph-k.html