Weaned Calves problem

[Farmer Kevin]

I am having a problem with my weaned calves. I will have calves weaned close to 3 to 4 weeks when all of a sudden their body condition goes down hill. It is almost as if they are withering away. Some have scours (no blood), so I was treating them for salmonella and coccidiousis, but I do not know if others had experience with the same problems because they are just not snapping out of it.

Thanks

 

[shorty]

It sounds like they aren't getting enough to eat , when you wean calves they are under stress and they need to get enough to take place of the milk , when we wean calves they are put in a barn and fed grain and good quality grass hay , hay is free choice and grain is about 2% of body wieght . you need to make sure they are eating enough. Maybe they have worms , If you didn't already worm them it wouldn't hurt.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Couple of questions.
How old were they when you weaned?
Are they in a corral? How clean is it?
Have you called your vet and asked them?
What is your weather like now and when you weaned? Was it cold and wet or was it hot and dry?

Normally for us our calves they lose some weight within the first week of weaning and then they stablize and start gaining weight.

 

[larryshoat]

Are these Holsteins ? What age and weight ? Are you vaccinating for salmonella ?

Larry

 

[Farmer Kevin]

Yes they are Holsteins. I have been giving them plenty of grain for the fact that the bunks are never empty. Called the vet and he has narrowed it down to the two bacterias. Building is always bedded and and the weather is dry not so much humid, but dry. We wean at about 7 to 8 weeks and make sure they are drinking water and eating plenty of feed when they are weaned.

 

[TheBullLady]

Wow.. 7 or 8 weeks old seems pretty young for weaning, but I know that many folks do it.. especially with the price of milk replacer.

My guess would be coccidiosis.. with the added stress of weaning, any virus they were harboring can become acute unfortunately. What did the vet think?

 

[Farmer Kevin]

I had a calf posted and the result came back salmonella. What is everyones opinion of a better vaccine? Endovac Bovi or 4KC

 

[larryshoat]

Kevin, a good vaccine for salmonella would be Argus ( actually a hog vaccine given orally) or Entervene-D .
Argus has become my favorite because there are no reactions, with Entervene-D reactions are severe and can be deadly, but if managed properly it is a very effective vaccine . If you decide to use Entervene-D let me know and we can talk about how to manage reactions . I don't like Endovac or SRP, I don't think Endovac does any good and SRP is too hard on the calves .

From what you've written this will solve your problem, you have all the symptoms for salmonella and with your test I think you've confirmed it .

Larry