chelle1411
Active member
I was told I could give a baby calf one Imodium AD for help with diarrhea just wondering if anyone else has heard this
Scours and baby calfs
- Thread starter chelle1411
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farmerjan
Well-known member
Used it often for scours... usually instructions on bottle/package are 1 per 100 lbs for humans or so... But you have got to figure out what is causing the scours also.... coccidiosis, salmonella, blood in scours, or whatever... if it keeps up.
What is the scenario with the calf??? Bottle calf, on cow, 3 day old, older???
You can use something that has psyllium husk in it which is a soluble fiber that thickens up the manure.... Metamucil is basically made of that... you can stop them up too tight also if they are not drinking good...
What is the scenario with the calf??? Bottle calf, on cow, 3 day old, older???
You can use something that has psyllium husk in it which is a soluble fiber that thickens up the manure.... Metamucil is basically made of that... you can stop them up too tight also if they are not drinking good...
What @farmerjan said! Treatment depends on the type of scours. RX or otherwise.
Please provide more details and what it looks like. Maybe this will help:
Please provide more details and what it looks like. Maybe this will help:
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chelle1411
Active member
Well we have a few different ones I live on a feed lot salmonella is one that I'm seeing and then the white one I think is the nutritional one that's also one that I think that I've seen on several times actually
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chelle1411
Active member
Some are bottle calfs and others have moms ages are anywhere from 3 days to a couple months
Electrolytes!!! As far as antibiotics in treating salmonella, I prefer Sustain III calf boluses. But I recommend discussing with your vet, as Sustain (which is sulfamethazine) and other tetracyclines are now RX.
farmerjan
Well-known member
If it is more like nutritional type scours, and in bottle calves... CUT BACK on the amount fed. Too many people feed calves too much the first few days.... once they get that important colostrum, they do not need a half gallon of milk flooding their tiny first stomach that is what digests the milk. Problem is, most people do not have time to feed 3-4 times a day... but if you think about it, most baby calves will nurse a half a dozen times a day or more, from a cow in real life... and they are not getting a half gallon at a time... pint or 2 at a time is more like it. Calves will nurse out 1 quarter, maybe 2, at a time, the first couple of days... but they nurse frequently. We flood their gut tract with a half gallon of milk at a time, it cannot be digested and there is not room in that first stomach to hold all that...so it basically runs through them and out the other end... then they get weak from the stress it puts on their system and then other stuff invades their systems...
This is very simplistic in description... the abomasum is the "milk digestion stomach" and as the calf gets a little older it actually does not grow and develop but becomes less important to the absorption of feed stuffs as the rumen starts to develop and it gets larger and more developed.
This is one reason some have gone to the mechanical "milk bar" in the dairies... the calf can go up to this automatic calf feeder... it makes up a portion of milk replacer and the calf can get a certain amount of warm milk to drink... and that is it... they drink a portion and they are satsified and then can later go back and get more... not a big glug all at once.
If it is occurring in calves that are on cows there are 2 things... there is a persistent "bug" in the surroundings that they are picking up and that is not something that will ever "go away" until the calf develops some immunity to it and there is no guarantee that they will get resistance to it, e coli is very common in calves, and salmonella, and things like a coccidiosis... corona and rota viruses have to be dealt with through vaccination of the dams... and they are a royal b#@&h to get rid of...
Some cows do produce too much milk for their calves (beef).... but usually by the time the calf is drinking "too much" they get a little loose and then it balances out... sometimes getting scald on the butt and backs of legs from it.... but they do not usually get incapacitated from it unless a secondary "bug" gets in their system.
This is very simplistic in description... the abomasum is the "milk digestion stomach" and as the calf gets a little older it actually does not grow and develop but becomes less important to the absorption of feed stuffs as the rumen starts to develop and it gets larger and more developed.
This is one reason some have gone to the mechanical "milk bar" in the dairies... the calf can go up to this automatic calf feeder... it makes up a portion of milk replacer and the calf can get a certain amount of warm milk to drink... and that is it... they drink a portion and they are satsified and then can later go back and get more... not a big glug all at once.
If it is occurring in calves that are on cows there are 2 things... there is a persistent "bug" in the surroundings that they are picking up and that is not something that will ever "go away" until the calf develops some immunity to it and there is no guarantee that they will get resistance to it, e coli is very common in calves, and salmonella, and things like a coccidiosis... corona and rota viruses have to be dealt with through vaccination of the dams... and they are a royal b#@&h to get rid of...
Some cows do produce too much milk for their calves (beef).... but usually by the time the calf is drinking "too much" they get a little loose and then it balances out... sometimes getting scald on the butt and backs of legs from it.... but they do not usually get incapacitated from it unless a secondary "bug" gets in their system.
devonian
Well-known member
Also try giving scouring calves probiotics (look into what is available in your region) I swear that clears up most scours and stomach issues and make sure the calf has access to clean water at all times.
TexasJerseyMilker
Well-known member
Another thing about bottle calves. Some people want to get them to drink milk from a bucket because they don't want to wash and sanitize the bottles I guess. But calves need to nurse the bottle with their neck turned upward in the natural cow nursing position. This activates the esophageal groove that causes the milk to flow into their abomasum where milk is curdled and digested, not into their undeveloped rumen.
farmerjan
Well-known member
One of the things I have preached forever... DO NOT HOLD THE BOTTLE TOO HIGH when feeding a baby calf.... look at what a calf sucking from a beef cow does to get to the teat and IMITATE the position of the nipple on the bottle.... You can practically drown them for the reasons @TexasJerseyMilker explained with the esophageal groove... keeps the milk out of the lungs also.
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chelle1411
Active member
Question can I break these TDN rocket Minis gel caps down and put them in my baby calves bottles because we don't have a a thing to that's the right size to put them in their mouths
coachg
Well-known member
Pry open their mouths , push the caps as far back with your fingers and then rub their throat . Watch for a few minutes to make sure if they swallowed it and if they didn't repeat the first steps .
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chelle1411
Active member
Question I have a baby calf that is plugged up is there what do I use to unplug it I think he ate too much hay
Silver
Well-known member
Castor oil will get the guts moving.
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chelle1411
Active member
Can you use laxatives for people
Hpacres440p
Well-known member
Wait-they had scours, you treated, and now constipated? What about a probiotic and some fluids to get things moving?
coachg
Well-known member
Baby calves don't normally eat enough hay to plug them up . Is it nursing or on the bottle ?
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chelle1411
Active member
No they don't have scours anymore I'm pretty sure we are over that knock on wood
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chelle1411
Active member
Bottle I've also been giving them a little bit of feed
coachg
Well-known member
Just like humans babies their poop can change color from day to day and also change consistency. As long as it's not pure liquid or bloody you are good . The constipated part cut down on your milk mixture and add more water .
