E-coli

[hillsdown]

For those of you that have had a new born (under 2 days old) come down with e-coli scours how successful were you at saving the calf?

 

[Alice]

Win a few, lose a few...and some get rained out. You treat them to the best of your ability.

When I say this, I'm not being flip...I promise...

Alice

 

[rockridgecattle]

e coli is not something we have had to deal with yet. Best bet to deal if you have a problem is cow vaccinate with scour guard or cow boss.
Still the same idea first year two treatments every year after that i treatment. Scour guard requires retreating after 8 weeks if they have not calved.
Cow boss lasts longer.
Obviously breeding heifers will require two shots.

 

[fourstates]

I have a calf that developed bloody diarrhea at 4 days old. I think the key is aggressive immediate treatment. He had a rough time. But, I got medications from the vet after I saw the first bloody stool, but he had really foul smelling stool for the day before. I tubed electrolytes and alternated milk every 3 hours. There antibodies and antitoxins available from your vet, along with the antibiotics. Good luck, but call your vet.

 

[larryshoat]

I usually think of scours in three waves and E-coli and salmonella are the first wave. In the dealer calves we get it is not unusual to have 25 % with scours caused by this . Antibiotics are usually effective. Some of those would be Quatracon, Spectinomycin, Vetisulid, Lincomycin, Gentocin (not for slaughter), Amiglyde, are a few . I figure about 5 % death loss and 5 % junk calves. Lately we've done better than that but, about the time you think you got it figured out you have trouble. Re-hydration is the main defense with all scours.

Larry

 

[hillsdown]

e coli is not something we have had to deal with yet. Best bet to deal if you have a problem is cow vaccinate with scour guard or cow boss.
Still the same idea first year two treatments every year after that i treatment. Scour guard requires retreating after 8 weeks if they have not calved.
Cow boss lasts longer.
Obviously breeding heifers will require two shots.

We have a closed herd and everything is vaccinated it is an aid in prevention not an end.

He was caught early is still walking and not dehydrated as he was giving and being given the full treatment.

Calving area is spotless and gets clean bedding everyday.This is only the second case I have ever encountered in 15 years but the first one was 7 days old and we lost her.

His little tummy is so bloated that I don't want to over hydrate him.

Well from now on every new born is getting Collimune; it is expensive $17.00 per dose but it is very effective against E. coli (K99 enterotoxigenic form).

The fact that he is still moving around and feisty gives me hope.His temp is still 39.4 celsius.

 

[milkmaid]

How do you know it is ecoli?

 

[larryshoat]

Is he still taking his milk? I don't recall seeing much in the way of bloated with E-coli. Never good at cecius conversion is the temp high?

Larry

 

[fourstates]

I guess you don't know if it's really ecoli without a culture. I think it's an educated guess how to treat based on symptoms and virulence. I think 39.4 C is about 103. F

 

[Roadapple]

It's E-coli if it occurs 0-4 days old and it's watery, yellow, and really foul odor. Salmonella occurs 14 day's and older and is bloody, and has a septic tank odor. Just had one of the former. Told vet the symptoms and he gave me 500mg tetracycline tablets and a powder which was Bio-sponge and yeast. A tablet twice a day and a tablespoon of powder twice a day. Mixed powder in 50cc syringe with a little warm water and squirted it in his mouth, (slowly). One treatment and he was firmed up. Vet said do it 2 to 3 days. Did it 3 days just to make sure and now he's as healthy as if he'd never had it.

 

[hillsdown]

Well by judging from his age and symptoms we(VET) came to that conclusion.

He is still alive, he received 3 pints of electrolytes at 2 am and has drank from mom.His tail and bottom are still wet so he is still scouring but it is yellow now so the milk is finally clotting.Still has a long way to go.

His mouth is warm and his temp is almost normal.I think if he keeps fighting he will make it as it has already been 24 hours.

Out to give more electrolytes and some vitamins.

 

[larryshoat]

Sounds like with adequate re-hydration this will clear out . When they won't eat it is more serious . Good luck and I hope the rest don't get it . When I hear about a dirty tail I'm more encouraged . Most of the serious cases you never see anything on the tail because it is so watery that it misses the tail.

Larry

 

[rockridgecattle]

We have a closed herd and everything is vaccinated it is an aid in prevention not an end.

Closed herd or not scours is a management issue. Scours with ecoli or roto or corona or anything is management prevented. Management can include the use of vaccines, closed herd, clean calving bedding, an area that has been void of cows minimmun 6 months for calving, alot of space...big one and probably one or two i missed.

Calving area is a big one. Clean dry bedding is all well and good, but if the cow is calving in her winter feeding area it is a recipe for trouble. If the area has not been cleaned out in a while or cleaned out just prior to calving it is a recipe for disaster.
Another big one is say the year you set up your calving area you had fifty cows. Now you have 100 cows in the same size area, gonna run into scours

Another management issue is colostrum. These calves that get ecoli or any other scour, watch, check, how was the birth? Was it hard, difficult, stressfull? 6 times out of ten the calves who had a stressful birth either did not get the colostrum early enough or knowing how hands on you are got the colostrum early enough but because of the stress the absorption was reduced. It is a known fact that difficult births or stressfull births can reduce the colostrum absorption in a calf.
Two calves born the same time, one stressed one not, equal quality and quantity of colostrum but they did not absorb the colostrum the same. Reason, there is documentation that the stressed calf absorbs alot less of the antibodies, thus more prone to sickness.

I know that vaccination is a prevention and not an end but it is one prevention amongst several that can lead to an end.

You raise your own bulls...if not ...not a closed herd.

 

[hillsdown]

Thanks Larry that is what I thought also.When you can see the scours you have a fighting chance.
Our calving area is spotless and only those about to calve get to go In there and once their calf is eating hay they are kicked out to another paddock.I just don't know how he could have got it as he had colostrum 15 minutes after he was born ; in this cold we don't wait to get their bellies full I feed them as soon as they are born and if need be they go into the shop in the warming box.

Well his mouth is warm and he was running around a bit this afternoon he had more electrolytes and his poop has turned to a dark yellow paste.BTW it never did smell like some had said.
When he sees me coming he moves a lot faster; him and momma are quarantined in a separate area so the chances of the others getting it are slim they were pulled from the herd as soon as I saw it.

Yes RR we do raise our own bulls so far. That is why I was asking about homozygous black as I would like to raise a black bull for our herd also.

So I am hopefull that he will be OK.

Thanks everyone :wave: .

 

[rockridgecattle]

the severe cold will cause enough stress to reduce the absorption of the colostrum thus reducing the antibodies to fight infections. If the calf was isolated from it's momma stress again. It was one of those dang if you do and dang if you don't. You did everything right but the stress was the deciding factor in wether or not he remained healthy. Not much you can do in -50 weather, except the best you can.
Good luck

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Years ago, my husband & I were hired to manage a new herd, that consisted of 4 different "herds" put together (including ours). We calved out about 150 head. We had NEVER ever had a case of scours. Well, let me tell you, we got it - big time! We had never tubed a calf before that calving season. We learned real quick. We also learned that 24 hours old was the magic number for that particular strain. If the calf was born at 2am, you best be checking it at 2am the next morning. If you didn't catch the problem right then, it was too late. It hit soooo fast & hard. Would kill them in hours. Started hitting every calf with an e-coli 99 oral dose - don't even remember what it was called back then. REAL EYE OPENER!!
We soon learned that if you could keep them hydrated, you could save them. Didn't get much sleep that year :shock: