Treatment Tips for Calf Scours

Veterinarian View

by Vince Collison, Collison Embryo | Collison Veterinary Services, Rockwell City, IA collisonembryo.com

Health & Reproduction questions - answered and explained.

TREATMENT TIPS FOR CALF SCOURS

ne of the more common health issues we see in newborn calves is scours. Due to multiple requests to cover this subject, I’ll cover some of the key points for scour treatment. There are many types of infections that cause scours in calves, but the symptoms are usually similar. The main thing that kills the calf is not only dehydration, but the severe loss of sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate from their systems. Any treatments must revolve around restoring these fluids and basic electrolytes. When a calf loses too much bicarbonate from its system, he is going to enter an acidotic state. As a newborn, acidosis does not affect the calf as severely as a calf that is 7 or more days old. One of the key O

symptoms you’ll see with acidosis is the calf will be breathing hard and very depressed. Often this heavy breathing is confused with pneumonia, but when you see heavy breathing along with scouring it is likely a symptom of acidosis. The rapid breathing is a mechanism to blow off carbon atoms through its breath in an attempt to raise the pH of the blood from an acidotic state. The best thing for treating dehydration is oral electrolytes. If started early, it is an easy and effective method to replace fluids. If the calf is also depressed, it is important to use an electrolyte product that has bicarbonate added to counter acidosis. There are products that do not include anything to counter acidosis, so if you are treating calves that are depressed, be sure to select the right kind of electrolyte product. I’ve often seen calves being treated with electrolytes, but are not responding very well. It is important to treat these acidotic calves with the right product with the correct frequency. When calves are severely scouring, I’ve found that they need to be given oral electrolytes up to four times per day to keep up with the fluids and electrolytes that are being lost. Bicarbonate given orally will interfere with milk forming a clot in the abomasum, impairing the digestion of milk If you tube calves with this type of electrolyte product, it is best to not let them nurse a bottle or the cow for 30 minutes after administration. Also we try to avoid mixing this type of electrolyte product in milk replacer for that reason.

One of the other problems we encounter is people will try to withhold milk entirely while calves are scouring. We do not like this practice as it does

limit the calf’s opportunity to gain nourishment. As the calf gets rehydrated and things start to come into balance, we want the calf to have the opportunity to nurse if it starts to feel better. Another possible treatment is to give the scouring calf colostrum an hour after tubing with electrolytes. This will provide local antibodies in the GI tract that can have some effect against infections. We also like to use antiserums for E. coli and type C Clostridium. These can be injected subcutaneously and will be of great benefit when those two organisms are involved in the infection. Even if the infection is caused by a virus such as Rota or Corona virus, we still use these antiserums as E. coli is often a secondary infection. Even with the best efforts, a calf will often become so critically dehydrated that they will need emergency intervention. In these cases we recommend IV fluids, and it can make a night-and-day difference in the calf’s recovery. Along with the IV fluids, we can add dextrose for energy and sodium bicarbonate to correct the acidosis. If a calf is at the point where it cannot stand, it is a candidate for IV fluids. I have occasionally turned a calf like this around on oral fluids, but the odds are much higher for saving the calf if you use IV fluids on one this critical. I also will continue to use oral electrolytes on calves during and after IV fluid treatment until I feel the calf is recovered.

Clients often want to use oral amprolium and feel they are fighting

coccidiosis on young calves, but coccidiosis will not show up on calves less than one month of age. It takes one month for the life cycle of coccidia to cause symptoms in calves. Also antibiotics are commonly used in calf scours. Work with your herd veterinarian to determine what might be your best course of treatment if antibiotics are used, but issues with dehydration must still be addressed even if using antibiotics for treatment. With the wet, muddy weather we’ve fought the last several years, calf scours are very likely to show up. Work with your herd veterinarian to develop scour treatment protocols that have worked best in your area.

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Dr. Vince Collison is co-owner of Collison Embryo | Collison Veterinary Services PC in Rockwell City, IA.

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