scours?

[danl]

Had a third time calver have a calf in the barn with all the other cows Dec 29. I had been watching her pretty close for a few days. I went back at 4:30am and she had it about an hour earlier I guess. It was covered in mud and manure. I got the rest of the cows out of the barn and locked them up and cleaned up and iodined the calf navel.
She wouldn't let the calf nurse at first- I supposed stressed out over calving in a barnful cows, I have no idea why she didn't go to the woods like she normally does.
I have been fighting scours for three weeks now, I will think I have it cured and it comes back. I am wondering if it got enough colustrum.
I have talked to the vet twice.
Gave calf scour tabs three different times.
Gave 4 ccs Nuflor, Immodium and Probios.
Gave 4.5 CC, LA200, Probios
Gave Immodium and Probios
It will get better for a couple days and then come back.
I thought was all better until this morning and I noticed pink looking stuff in the manure. Manure looked normal yellowish- pudding consistency.
It has had blood and pink looking material off and on in manure for three weeks. I assume the pink material is intestinal lining and really bad.
The calf is vigorous, eats very well, runs, kicks and doesn't like me at all.... But I know it wont stay that way with the intestinal lining sloughing away.
Am at wits end, have put too much time and effort to loose it now. Poor cow has been locked in barn for over three weeks, so I can easily (relatively speaking) doctor the calf.
I am open for suggestions
Dan

 

[Alice]

Take the calf's manure into the vet and have it analyzed, or at least have the vet look at it. It may not be intestinal lining...and may be nothing more than the calf straining too hard when it poops. Or, it may be something that the vet can treat pretty quickly.

Is the calf eating any hay or dry feed? Is the calf drinking water?

You said the calf is running and acting like it feels good...maybe it does, and maybe you are more concerned that you should be...and then again, maybe not. I don't think you'll really be certain of anything until you have the manure analyzed.

As a side note, with my bottle babies, when they hit the two week mark we breathed a sigh of relief and pretty much quit worrying about scours. The respiratory stuff, that was always a worry, but after about 2 or 3 weeks, the calves that lived thru the really really bad scours that no amount of electrolytes, medicine, or hard work and worrying would help, seemed to get their gut straightened out.

Again, take a sample to vet...see what it is...and go from there.

Alice

 

[danl]

Called vet office while ago, gonna call me back.

Cattle experienced lady in vet's office suggested pepto bismal.
Dog has an appointment Thursday morning, Alice, I will have poop in hand (sort of- maybe in a zip lock bag).

Alice, maybe I am looking at the poop too much.

I'm just aggravated at having calves in the winter. Found out the hard way new bull would not stay in separate pasture with steers last March.
He was supposed to stay away until June. Whoever said a fence is just a suggestion to cattle is dead on.
Now I have calves in the dead of winter, one yesterday morning 15 degrees and another due any day.

 

[dun]

Now I have calves in the dead of winter, one yesterday morning 15 degrees and another due any day.

Thank you for reinforcing my decision to stay with spring calving. I've been second guessing it for a while but the weather lately and the problems folks are having with it makes me glad we decided to forego the joys of fall/winter calving.

 

[danl]

I guess I'm just too wimpy to share the enjoyment of winter calving.
Plus i guess I'm too soft hearted, I hate seeing calve shaking like a leaf in the wind.
I know their supposed to be tough enough to take it, but I'm not.

The bull is not going to breed the cows this year until I'm ready for him too. If I have to castrate, kill or otherwise maim him first :?
Of course then I guess I'll be buying a different bull.

 

[rockridgecattle]

If you are having problems with scours for more than one animal you could talk to your vet about an oral scour vaccine.
There is a catch and it is a doozer...gotta get it in the mouth before the first suck is best or with in the hour or two of calving...will help with future problems

Crowding and dirty suroundings is a big problem with scours. We calve in the spring but it can get dang cold (-30). A new born goes into the barn until it's dried off. Less that 24 hours prefer less that 12 most it's about 4-8hours, depending on space. After that it's bagged and tagged needled and out of the barn, away from the cows that have not calved area into a large big cow calf area. This area has seen no animals since October of the previous year, and then only a few to graze it down in the summer.
We do have a small area in front of the barn incase there is a problem with a pair mothering up.
This is real important for calf health
As well we have small calf shelters for the dried off calves to go into incase of bad weather or just want a place to snuggle down in the dry straw.

 

[msscamp]

If you are having problems with scours for more than one animal you could talk to your vet about an oral scour vaccine.
There is a catch and it is a doozer...gotta get it in the mouth before the first suck is best or with in the hour or two of calving...will help with future problems

Perhaps a better solution would be to simply scour-guard the mothers 4-6 weeks prior to calving. After we started scour-guarding the cows, we had very few problems with scours.

 

[rockridgecattle]

Perhaps a better solution would be to simply scour-guard the mothers 4-6 weeks prior to calving. After we started scour-guarding the cows, we had very few problems with scours.

Oh absolutely. I was thinking of the here and now. This would help the problem now. For next year scour guard the cows.
We used to do the calves but for the last two years we do the cows...way way better human health stress wise

 

[danl]

This is the first case of scours I've had in a long time. But if giving the cows a shot would prevent it I'll do it just in case.
I sure wish I'd given this cow a shot. My hindsight is real good.
Dan

 

[rockridgecattle]

cows need to be done 2x for first time protection and then every year they get one shot 3-4 weeks pre calving.
If you have not done them the calf oral is the best if you have a defined calving season

Talk to your vet

 

[simangus23]

sounds like a sanitation problem to me

 

[I luv herfrds]

We scour guard our cattle and have not had a problem in years.
What was mentioned earlier was the dual booster in the first year. Next year the ones that had it the year before only need one shot of it.
Our main herd gets the single dose, but the first year heifers get the 2 shots.

 

[sizmic]

Its coccidiosis, and you're not going to cure it with anything like what you described. I gave up trying to cure it, but it weakens the immune system enough to let something else in. I have found the soon after birth is the best time for calves to get it if they are going too. I speculate there are enough maternal antibodies present to keep them healthy for the 2-3 weeks they are going to have it. Also, the rest of your calves are going to get it too!

Sizmic

 

[milkmaid]

Sizmic, it cannot be coccidiosis if the calf showed symptoms a week after birth. As far as I can remember, it has at least a 2 week incubation period.

 

[danl]

sounds like a sanitation problem to me

The cow wasn't supposed to be in the barn with all the other cows. They normally always go out in the woods and calve on the leaves.
I have no idea why she decided to calve right in the middle of all the other cattle or even why any of them were in the barn that night. They never go in the barn. Sometime between 9pm and 4:30 am they all went in the barn
I suppose I should have stood there with a pooper scooper and kept it tidy.

By the way, the calf is a little over a month old now and looks great. It is probably the playfullest,orneriest calf I have ever had, it is alway attacking a hay bale, another calf or it's mother.

 

[Alice]

By the way, the calf is a little over a month old now and looks great. It is probably the playfullest,orneriest calf I have ever had, it is alway attacking a hay bale, another calf or it's mother.

That's fantastic! Your hard work paid off.

A month old...you can sit back a relax...just a touch.

Alice

 

[danl]

By the way, the calf is a little over a month old now and looks great. It is probably the playfullest,orneriest calf I have ever had, it is alway attacking a hay bale, another calf or it's mother.

That's fantastic! Your hard work paid off.

A month old...you can sit back a relax...just a touch.

Alice

Yeah, I know what you mean, as I was typing the above I was thinking it was ok at 5:00am this morning,but.. now it's 8.
I've figured out never assume anything with cattle..