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<blockquote data-quote="Buck Randall" data-source="post: 1651884" data-attributes="member: 38590"><p>That's always tough to deal with. It sounds like you're doing the best you can, and you're already following the advice of your vet, which is good.</p><p></p><p>Keep in mind that there are several different causes of calf diarrhea that tend to strike at slightly different ages between 3 days and 3 weeks. The most likely problem isn't that your treatments aren't working, it's that they're getting over one disease only for them to come down with another. When you have calves getting sick that early and often, it's usually a colostrum issue.</p><p></p><p>For a calf to get immunity from colostrum, three conditions have to be met:</p><p>1. The colostrum has to be of sufficient quality and quantity</p><p>2. Someone has to put the colostrum in the calf in a timely manner</p><p>3. The calf's digestive tract has to absorb the antibodies in the colostrum</p><p></p><p> Somewhere, something in that process went wrong with these calves. If you have a good relationship with the farm that they came from, ask if they've been having problems with their heifers. It's possible they already know what went wrong and fixed it. Colostrum production is usually poorer in November and December, so maybe they ran short. Bacterial growth on a milking bucket, bottle, or feeding tube can ruin colostrum. A disgruntled employee may not be caring for calves properly. There are a million ways for things to go wrong, and most of them don't involve someone deliberately selling you junk calves, so just ask them without accusing them of anything.</p><p></p><p>Finally, calves 3-10 days of age can be tested for passive transfer of immunity. Your vet should be able to check total plasma proteins relatively inexpensively, especially if you have them teach you how to collect the blood yourself and bring the samples to them. I'd recommend testing the calves you purchase and paying the dairy more for calves that pass. If a lot of them are failing and the dairy isn't willing to do anything about it, find a new source for calves.</p><p></p><p>Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Buck Randall, post: 1651884, member: 38590"] That's always tough to deal with. It sounds like you're doing the best you can, and you're already following the advice of your vet, which is good. Keep in mind that there are several different causes of calf diarrhea that tend to strike at slightly different ages between 3 days and 3 weeks. The most likely problem isn't that your treatments aren't working, it's that they're getting over one disease only for them to come down with another. When you have calves getting sick that early and often, it's usually a colostrum issue. For a calf to get immunity from colostrum, three conditions have to be met: 1. The colostrum has to be of sufficient quality and quantity 2. Someone has to put the colostrum in the calf in a timely manner 3. The calf's digestive tract has to absorb the antibodies in the colostrum Somewhere, something in that process went wrong with these calves. If you have a good relationship with the farm that they came from, ask if they've been having problems with their heifers. It's possible they already know what went wrong and fixed it. Colostrum production is usually poorer in November and December, so maybe they ran short. Bacterial growth on a milking bucket, bottle, or feeding tube can ruin colostrum. A disgruntled employee may not be caring for calves properly. There are a million ways for things to go wrong, and most of them don't involve someone deliberately selling you junk calves, so just ask them without accusing them of anything. Finally, calves 3-10 days of age can be tested for passive transfer of immunity. Your vet should be able to check total plasma proteins relatively inexpensively, especially if you have them teach you how to collect the blood yourself and bring the samples to them. I'd recommend testing the calves you purchase and paying the dairy more for calves that pass. If a lot of them are failing and the dairy isn't willing to do anything about it, find a new source for calves. Good luck. [/QUOTE]
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