Scours

[Katieloves14]

Bought a one week old bull calf. Very sweet boy who was healthy for two days until he got scours.
He seems to have yellowish diarrhea. He is being fed his milk in small increments throughout the day while being alternated with resorb. Also feeding him Oral neomycin to treat any bacterial infection his gut may have even though it is most likely viral. Have been checking on him every three hours (even at night) checking his hydration level, checking stall for scour amounts, changing his bedding, and yes, keeping his bottom clean (I'm an Animal Biology Major at my University, kind of a momma to this little guy). I have given him the egg in his bottle as recommended by the seller. His eyes are bright and alert, he still wonders around his pasture and follows me when he wants his bottle, his skin does not "tent", his nose is moist, and he gets up as soon as I walk in his stall. This is going on day three. What else can I do for him to get over it?

I understand that his body will have to fight the virus itself, and that I have to keep him hydrated.
The last two days, when I went to check on him, he would have diarrhea all over his rear end. This morning, it was
not on him in the stall, however when I took him on a walk through the pasture, he did it. I'd like to think this is a better sign than doing it all over himself as that means he has enough control/strength to do it, well when he "wants to do it". Ideas?

 

[dun]

An oral dose of Nuflor can sometimes help. Have no idea why but it's solved some persistent scour problems we had in the past.

 

[Chappydog]

One bottle of pepto bismol in his bottle in the morning should help

 

[Katieloves14]

Day 4 of this fun. He is still very alert. Whenever he hears me walking into the barn, he stands up immediately and get's excited because he knows hes getting something. I have been alternating between Resorb and his Milk. He sleeps a bunch during the day and is actually more active in the afternoon. I take him on his pasture walks and he will jump and trot after me when I walk away from him. Still has the dang scours but it is slower. Instead of being constant like it was, the resorb seems to slow it down. How long should I expect it to last?

Yesterday, I realized that the milk re-placer he was on contained Soy, Great. Went to the store yesterday and picked up some whole milk; he didn't like it. However, he loves his soy milk. :/ I know it's not what he needs directly for growth right now, but I feel that I should just keep him on it through the Scours mess. I don't think its smart to switch milk in the middle of all of this if his appetite is very good and he is alert. For now, it works.

I'm fly spraying him twice a day to keep flies off of him. My parents freaked out on me yesterday when I told them I brought him in the house bathtub and cleaned him up. I really just wanted to use warm water since it was 6am and I was trying to prevent him from getting cold. The house cleaners kind of hate me right now Lol.

I'm hoping that keeping his morale good will help his body work through this. I know I'm probably doing a bit overkill in the form of keeping an eye on him in the perspective of what most farms do with their calves but it's worked thus far and if that's what it takes to get him better, I'll do it.

 

[dun]

Ge some real milk replacer wihtout soy and at least 20% protein and fat. Part of the scours could be from the soy grabage. Gradually mix a little of each till he's 100% on the all milk replacer. Then take that soy crap out and dump it in the woods, some critter will clean it up

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Ge some real milk replacer wihtout soy and at least 20% protein and fat. Part of the scours could be from the soy grabage. Gradually mix a little of each till he's 100% on the all milk replacer. Then take that soy crap out and dump it in the woods, some critter will clean it up

:nod: :nod: :nod:

Land-O-Lakes makes a great product: Cow's Match. I used that most of the time. At one time I did use CalfMaker, non-medicated. Both of these products is made from real milk. 20% Protein 20% fat. (I'm pretty sure the CalfMaker is real milk only)

 

[tom4018]

Ge some real milk replacer wihtout soy and at least 20% protein and fat. Part of the scours could be from the soy grabage. Gradually mix a little of each till he's 100% on the all milk replacer. Then take that soy crap out and dump it in the woods, some critter will clean it up

:nod: :nod: :nod:

Land-O-Lakes makes a great product: Cow's Match. I used that most of the time. At one time I did use CalfMaker, non-medicated. Both of these products is made from real milk. 20% Protein 20% fat. (I'm pretty sure the CalfMaker is real milk only)

If you are talking about the Calfmaker that Southern States sells it is all milk proteins.

There are some gelling electrolytes that I think help, here is one:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc ... _vc=-10005

Just seems to help them retain fluid better along with any meds. We used Deliver in the past but not available now.

 

[regolith]

Bucket of warm water and a cloth, with a rough towel to finish up is quite adequate for cleaning up calves and will keep the housemates happier.

Scouring without messing all over their tail/rump is a reasonable sign of improvement. He should be almost over it if its viral - one thing you can do, though it may be too late to be of any worth to this calf now, is ask your vet for a dose of antibodies against rotavirus to feed to new bought calves with unknown colostrum history. The product I've used is called rotagen and is mixed with the milk for the first five days after arrival.
As a rule I don't worry too much about scouring calves that are happy and active, if they go off feed or look sick it's a whole different story as it can take a *lot* of rehydration to get them through the scours.

 

[Son of Butch]

take that soy crap out and dump it in the woods, some critter will clean it up

I'm not made out of money.
I'd set it aside for 8 weeks or so and then feed it up when he's big and strong and past his scour problems.

 

[Katieloves14]

Update Day 5:

Henry the cow is still pretty healthy. It has been raining a good portion of the day.
Still having small case of scours- not on his rump but does get on his tail a bit and there is a bit on his shavings where he lays. I gave him
half a Bolus yesterday, and the other half today. He is also on a full milk replacer using actual milk protein (no more soy).
Drank 1 quart at 7:30 AM, 1 quart at 12, 3/4 bottle at 4pm so he is on target to drink his full 2 quarts today. He does look like he is continuing to grow even though he has had scours. He looks a bit taller and "buffer" than when we first got him a week ago. Eyes are bright, skin is not tenting, and energy level is sufficient for the fact that it is absolutely pouring outside - I wouldn't want to walk outside either He likes his warm stall. I am no longer having to back him into a corner and lift his head up to drink, as soon as I walk in, he trots on over and opens his mouth and greedily drinks. I'm hoping his future is looking bright.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I'm hoping his future is looking bright.

It sure sounds promising. Once that sun shines, get him out there, the sunshine and fresh air is conducive to good health. I wouldn't hesitate to give him more than 2 quarts. And have water available to him. Have you started him on a starter feed yet?

Where are you located? North,South,East,Western states?

 

[Katieloves14]

I am located in Florida.
He is not yet on a starter feed but he does have a small pan of it available to him if he wants to eat it. I put it in his mouth and let him chew it a bit, but for now, he just lets it roll out. He has a big tub of fresh water available to him, and we are continuing to change his shavings and spray out his stall. I'm figuring that whatever it is causing this, it wouldn't hurt to keep it as hygienically clean as possible. This morning, he drank plenty of his formula and had no scours on his tail/rump. None appeared in his stall from what I can tell. I'm going to continue to update this thread until he's recovered, mainly so anyone with a similar experience can relate and possibly bounce off of what I have learned thus far.

 

[M-5]

North , central, south central or cuba

 

[Katieloves14]

Central FL :cowboy:

 

[Katieloves14]

My calf didn't make it.

The scours stopped completely and everything seemed back to normal. He was jumping around the pasture and back to healthy again for about two days. Today I came home from college and he was laying on his side paddling, mooing, and had salivation on his stall mat. I called the vet immediately and was told that him being a bottle fed dairy calf gave him little to no chance of survival in the first place and that the vet couldn't do anything for him. I held him for a little bit, let him lay in my arms and then let him go in peace.

This is probably one of the worst animal experiences I have had in years.
I pretty much admit to myself that I could have never butchered him out after 2 years.
Our relationship in three weeks had him mooing every time I walked out the front door and him already
trying to poke through my bedroom window each day.
Today has been the absolute worst.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

My calf didn't make it.

I'm sorry to hear that. Its not easy, especially when you've invested so much time and energy into those babies. Unfortunately, it happens. It has happened to, pretty much, all of us here at one time or another.

Don't give up. Take what you have learned from it, and try again.

 

[TCRanch]

So sorry - you worked so hard, did everything you could. Couldn't agree more - don't give up!