Livestock Notes
PREVENTION AND
TREATMENT OF
INFECTIOUS CALF
SCOURS
Frank E. Woodson,
Guest Author, West Virginia
University, In Cooperation
with Extension Service, USDA
Preventive measures
1. Place cows in small groups
(10 to 25) well before calving
begins. Avoid moving cows
between groups and using the
same area for different groups.
Avoid concentration of numbers
and overcrowding.
2. Calve outside on protected,
well-drained, clean sod, if avail
able. Bams and small crowded
lots are the most likely places for
heavy contamination with scour
organisms.
3. If you must use a bam, keep
the area clean and dry.
4. Assist calf to nurse, or pro
vide with colostrum as soon after
birth as possible (within IS
minutes of birth is best). A calf is
bom with little specific immunity.
Most of its protection is derived
from antibodies in colostrum, but
calves rapidly lose the ability to
absorb antibodies. Keep a supply
of frozen colostrum for emergen
cy use when calf is too weak to
nurse, or when the mother has no
milk or refuses to allow nursing.
S. Treat the navel and cord
stump by dipping in strong iodine
solution or tincture of iodine as
soon after birth as possible. Other
commercial products may be as
good as iodine, but none are better
or cheaper. Aerosols and sprays
do a very poor job of disinfecting
the navel.
6. If hand feeding is necessary,
do not overfeed calves. A calf’s
total daily milk requirement is 10
percent of its weight (1 pint per 10
pounds). Divide this amount
among at least two to three feed-
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7. Avoid using antibiotics rou
tinely at birth to prevent scours,
unless it is a specific antibiotic
known to be effective against a
specific organism and prescribed
for such use by a veterinarian.
8. Observe calves frequently
and closely for signs of scours. A
full udder is often an early sign of
a sick calf. Start full course of
treatment immediately. Identify
calf for retreatment.
9. With multiple cow-calf
groups, always feed and handle
group(s) with scours last to pre
vent carrying disease to healthy
groups.
10. Vaccinate your cow herd for
IBR and BVD, and maintain vac
cination with replacement heifers.
11. Use reo-virus vaccine rou
tinely if this type scours is known
to be present.
Treatment
To minimize losses both from
death and slowed weight gain, it is
imperative that proper treatment
be administered immediately
when a calf is first noticed scour
ing. Two types of scours occur;
very sudden, severe scours in
newborn calves during their first
week of life, and a less severe
form in older calves. The
approach to treating these types
differs.
Scours in newborn calves is
extremely watery, resulting in
severe dehydration and body min
eral loss within 24 hours of onset.
Affected calves become very dull,
often refuse to or cannot get up,
and generally refuse to nurse even
when assisted. Many of these
calves will die within 12 to 36
hours without treatment. It is like
ly that much of this type scours is
caused by the “reo” type virus for
which an effective vaccine is
available. If this type of scours
occurs in your herd, it is highly
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recommended that you begin vac
cinating calves at birth. Contact a
practicing veterinarian to get this
vaccine. A combination vaccine
against both the reo and corona
viruses has also been developed.
Treatment of newborn calves
with scours can markedly reduce
deaths. The objectives of treat
ment are to stop the scouring by
interrupting the infection, to
replace the electrolytes lost, and to
promote healing of the intestine.
Treatment consists of selectively
using some or all of the following,
as needed:
1. Oral antibiotic to prevent and
control secondary bacterial
infection.
2. Oral administration of specif
ic drugs to slow the gut and reduce
diarrhea to minimize fluid and
mineral loss.
3. Oral administration of fluids
and minerals to correct dehydra
tion and mineral imbalance
(Acidosis).
4. Withholding milk (but not
fluids) for 24 to 36 hours to rest
the gut and allow healing of
damaged tissue to begin. Such
starvation must be done early in
the course of scours and accom
panied by administration of fluids
and minerals, either orally or
otherwise.
5. Administration of minerals
and fluids intravenously, under
the skin or into the body cavity, to
replace these materials lost
through scouring.
6. Administration of nutrients
sugar, protein, vitamins and
minerals intravenously, under
the skin, or into the body cavity to
maintain the calf's strength, aid its
ability to overcome the virus
infection, and repair the gut.
7. Supplying heat to maintain
body temperature between
100.5‘F and 102*F.
8. Systemic antibiotic to help
control blood infections.
All these drugs and nutritional
supplements are locally available,
although some are available only
from veterinarians. The process of
administration requires judgment
and experience, but it can be done
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RECOMMENDED ELECTROLYTE
MIXES FOR FLUID THERAPY
Mixes that can be made
from household ingredients
Formula #1 (to be given orally)
8 Tbsp. White com syrup (dextrose)
2 tsp. Salt (sodium chloride)
1 tsp. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1 gal. Warm water
> Feed 214 pints to a 90 lb. calf four
times/day (total of 1 1/4 gal).
Formula #2 (to be given orally)
1 can Condensed beef consomme
3 cans warm water
1 Tbsp Baking soda
► Feed twice a day.
Mixes that can be made
from a drugstore’s ingredients
Formula #3 (to be given orally)
4 oz. Sodium chloride
5 oz. Potassium chloride
514 oz. Sodium bicarbonate
414 oz. Potassium monobasic phosphate
Add 1 oz. of above mix plus 'A lb. of dextrose to 1 gal warm water.
► Feed 2-3 qls of this solution four times/day
(total of 2-3 gal).
Formula #4 (to be given either orally or intravenously)
1 Tbsp. Sodium bicarbonate
100 cc 30% dextrose solution
900 cc Warm water
► Give 1 to 2 liters (quarts) four times/day
(total of 1-2 gal).
by producers if adequate explana
tion, demonstration, and guidance
are provided by a veterinarian.
Local veterinary practitioners
have already successfully assisted
many producers. Give it a try. It’s
worth it. But remember to get help
immediately when scours first
appear.
Although scours in older calves
(one week of age and older) is
usually less severe, it still requires
immediate treatment with oral
antibiotics to minimize loss. There
are several oral antibiotic prepara
tions locally available and many
more from practicing veterina-
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nans. No one preparation is best in
all cases or in all herds. The best
approach is to use the product
which has worked best for you in
the past. If it fails to produce good
results this year, change to another
antibiotic (preferably in consulta
tion with a veterinarian to select
the most effective product).
Far too many calves are treated
for too short a time. The scours
may seem to improve with only
one treatment, only to recur a few
days later. Or it doesn’t recur but
the calf continues to do poorly. A
good rule of thumb is to continue
treatment for one to two days after
the episode has cleared up.
If the scours does not improve
markedly within 48 to 72 hours of
treatment, change to another anti
biotic product immediately. A
drug to slow the gut would be
strongly indicated at this point.
Such drugs are available only
through veterinarians, and all loc
al practitioners have them.
If the calf becomes dehydrated,
dull, lies around, and shows poor
appetite after a day or two of
scouring, then nutritional and
replacement treatment as outlined
for scours in the newborn calf is
strongly indicated.
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