What do you folks recommend for...
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badroute
Well-known member
Just got home from an afternoon Montana State Extension beef cow meeting. Jon Patterson and a few DVM's from Montana and North Dakota hit on that very subject. According to them it is a waste of time and money. Kind of a nice change of pace to hear from someone who isn't trying to push a certain product.
badroute
Well-known member
Them experts also noted that if it was possible to switch calving pastures periodically that would be a very good idea. It doesn't give scours a chance to get started in the soil.
CattleAnnie
Well-known member
We tried using the scours vaccine one year, but didn't notice any real difference in the number of calves coming down with scours in the spring. We even tried using an oral vaccine that the calves were given in their first day of birth (twelve hours..can't remember now) and didn't notice less outbreaks either. Just more money spent on vaccines before medication was needed.
Also, cows are fed a balanced mineral ration formulated for our area, and seems like everyone I've talked to up here ends up with a least a few cases of scours a year...depending on how large the operation, and of course, if a person is lucky enough to be calving on grass sure seems like less incidences as well.
Doesn't really seem to be much less incidence in whether a herd is closed or not. Weather (cold and wet) causing a calf's immune system to become depressed and having land that has had cattle calving on it for years (bug already in the ground/facilites) plays a factor in scours outbreaks as well.
Now we just consider scours to be one of the inevetible downsides of calving, and have a quick treatment program in place for any calves that show symptoms of it.
Just my thoughts on it. Sure wish there was a sure-fire cure for it, besides not calving out cows. ;-)
Take care.
Also, cows are fed a balanced mineral ration formulated for our area, and seems like everyone I've talked to up here ends up with a least a few cases of scours a year...depending on how large the operation, and of course, if a person is lucky enough to be calving on grass sure seems like less incidences as well.
Doesn't really seem to be much less incidence in whether a herd is closed or not. Weather (cold and wet) causing a calf's immune system to become depressed and having land that has had cattle calving on it for years (bug already in the ground/facilites) plays a factor in scours outbreaks as well.
Now we just consider scours to be one of the inevetible downsides of calving, and have a quick treatment program in place for any calves that show symptoms of it.
Just my thoughts on it. Sure wish there was a sure-fire cure for it, besides not calving out cows. ;-)
Take care.
