Sick/weak Calf

Madisonmenece

Have a sick/weak calf that seems to recover somewhat and then go down hill again with scour like symptoms and is very thrown down. There had been scour in the house when born and got it fairly soon so my thinking is that given she was given antibiotics so young that immune system is shot.

Vet could not identify anything on examination and treated for both minerals defficeany and stomach ulcear to cover.

What are your go to remedies for scour and weak calf, would another feed of colostrum from another cow do any good

cute geoge

boiled porridge

patsy_mccabe

Keep the calf hydrated anyway. Starts the starting point. If the calf is kept well hydrated with plenty of fluids and electrolyte then it should be able to fight off whatever it has then over time.
It's not just the normal drink that a calf takes you have to give it, but make up for all the lost fluids too. Stomach tubing if needs be.

Murang

No harm giving a natural yougart it can build up bacteria in the stomach to get calf breaking down milk properly

whelan2

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Keep the calf hydrated anyway. Starts the starting point. If the calf is kept well hydrated with plenty of fluids and electrolysis then it should be able to fight off whatever it has then over time.
It's not just the normal drink that a calf takes you have to give it, but make up for all the lost fluids too. Stomach tubing if needs be.

Calf needs milk too.

Madisonmenece

Murang wrote: »

No harm giving a natural yougart it can build up bacteria in the stomach to get calf breaking down milk properly

Been making yogourt here and seems to be doing good

patsy_mccabe

whelan2 wrote: »

Calf needs milk too.

Ya, but in a suckler situation, that's much harder to do. You're hoping that the energy in the electrolyte will give them that boost to get up and sucking again.
I go every second feed then, 8 hours apart, alternating with milk and electrolyte.

I add natural yogurt too to the homemade electrolyte.

SuperTortoise

How do ye make homemade electrolyte?
In the past i've boiled water and added sugar?

Base price

I'd get some Bovicox or equivalent from your Vet if you don't have it. Dose rate is 3ml per 10kg bodyweight for Bovicox.

Base price

SuperTortoise wrote: »

How do ye make homemade electrolyte?
In the past i've boiled water and added sugar?

Here is a recipe for making home made electrylytes from Animal Health Ireland -

cute geoge

couple cc of pen strip oral

Base price

cute geoge wrote: »

couple cc of pen strip oral

Oral antibiotics will kill off the gut flora and the benefits of the yeast in the yoghurt - I wouldn't do it.
Did the Vet take a dung sample and check it.

patsy_mccabe

SuperTortoise wrote: »

How do ye make homemade electrolyte?
In the past i've boiled water and added sugar?

I use the AHI one as linked above. I keep a store of glucose, bread soda and low salt always .

whelan2

Where do you buy the glucose?

Base price

whelan2 wrote: »

Where do you buy the glucose?

Most supermarkets sell it. You will normally find it in the baking section. The local shop gets extra stocks of it in for the calving season.

patsy_mccabe

whelan2 wrote: »

Where do you buy the glucose?

Tesco but that was last year.

1373

Base price wrote: »

Here is a recipe for making home made electrylytes from Animal Health Ireland -

I’ve used this mix for a number of years and I don’t think you’ll buy a better solution for calves . I’ve given it to calves , weanlings, and cows that needed a boost. Most creamery sell large tubs of glucose

patsy_mccabe

I don't normally buy calves, but I bought one last year to replace a suckler calf. I give him a dose of the homemade electrolyte on the trailer before I let him off. Big mistake. Let down the ramp and off he took running. The glucose puts serious energy into them.

lanod2407

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Big mistake. Let down the ramp and off he took running. The glucose puts serious energy into them.

😂😂😂

Base price

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I don't normally buy calves, but I bought one last year to replace a suckler calf. I give him a dose of the homemade electrolyte on the trailer before I let him off. Big mistake. Let down the ramp and off he took running. The glucose puts serious energy into them.

It's a good idea to give bought in calves electrolytes when you get them home although I'd wait until they were in the pen

Hard Knocks

Base price wrote: »

It's a good idea to give bought in calves electrolytes when you get them home although I'd wait until they were in the pen

I’d it because of change in diet?

Base price

Hard Knocks wrote: »

I’d it because of change in diet?

Stress from travelling/moving to a new location.

Madisonmenece

Update

On Sunday lunchtime gave the calf about 600 grams of live yogourt and also treated for lice as a precaution as had read it can be the cause in some cases.

Later on Sunday evening dosed about 700/800 grams of colostrum from a cow calved that day. Monday morning we had completely different calf tulking &;drinking and hope she stays that way as we thought we were going to have to put her down.

SuperTortoise

Madisonmenece wrote: »

Update

On Sunday lunchtime gave the calf about 600 grams of live yogourt and also treated for lice as a precaution as had read it can be the cause in some cases.

Later on Sunday evening dosed about 700/800 grams of colostrum from a cow calved that day. Monday morning we had completely different calf tulking &;drinking and hope she stays that way as we thought we were going to have to put her down.

Good news, there's always one or two that will give you bother, happens on every farm, worth spending a bit of time to get them right or at least give them their best chance, we'd always give natural yougurt to sickly calves, especially if there;s a bit of scour or they get stomached with a big feed of milk.
No harm getting a dung sample tested, if something like Coccidiosis shows up then you'll have to treat every calf in the shed.

Madisonmenece

Madisonmenece wrote: »

Have a sick/weak calf that seems to recover somewhat and then go down hill again with scour like symptoms and is very thrown down. There had been scour in the house when born and got it fairly soon so my thinking is that given she was given antibiotics so young that immune system is shot.

Vet could not identify anything on examination and treated for both minerals defficeany and stomach ulcear to cover.

What are your go to remedies for scour and weak calf, would another feed of colostrum from another cow do any good

What about the pink tablets?

They are good, they have electrolytes etc, make the calf regular quickly

Lime Tree Farm

Deleted User wrote: »

What about the pink tablets?

They are good, they have electrolytes etc, make the calf regular quickly

If you are referring to Synulox tablets, they are an effective treatment for scour, they mainly comprise of Amoxicillin antibiotic.

cute geoge

What about noridine tabs ,what is difference to pink synulux tablets
Then what difference is there with noridine injection does either work faster

Lime Tree Farm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

If you are referring to Synulox tablets, they are an effective treatment for scour, they mainly comprise of Amoxicillin antibiotic.

Yes, I found those to be a very good treatment

Lime Tree Farm

cute geoge wrote: »

What about noridine tabs ,what is difference to pink synulux tablets
Then what difference is there with noridine injection does either work faster

I think Norodine is the same as Intertrim or primadoxine injection, if I can remember back it I think it was a prescribed treatment in the recovery from Coccidiosis, when it was first diagnosed on the farm. The Vet said it had to be used with caution as it can cause kidney damage.

greysides

Antibiotics have limited use in calf scour. The most common agents (Rotavirus, Coronavirus, Cryptosporidium) are not affected by antibiotics. E. coli affects calves up to ~ five days old.

So they are recommended where the calf is young; the scour is accompanied by a fever or another condition (swollen navel, swollen joints) or the calf is flat out and susceptible to anything going.

Fluids in abundant quantities and early is always going to be the cornerstone of scour treatment.