Showing posts with label Bottle Calves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bottle Calves. Show all posts

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Why is my calf pooping blood

My bottle calf is pooping blood

Having a calf that is spotting blood or having blood in the stool or poop is common. Does not mean that you should not be concerned.

What is causing the bloody poop in the calf

It has damage in the lower intestines by either parasites or bacteria. Understanding which one is causing the problem is important to how you would want to treat the calf and repair the intestines.

Age of calf as a determining factor

Under calves under 250 pounds are less likely to have coccidia (parasites) the blood in the poop is caused by bacteria. 

In newborn to under three weeks old, it will be caused by bacteria infection damage.

Eight to nine months old the calf most likely has bloody discharge from coccidia. 

Treatment of bloody poop in calves 

For older calves with coccidia there is a product called Corid that is very effective in treatment.

For those calves under three weeks old a simple over the counter antibiotic will restore the intestines by killing the bacteria. 

For calves older than three weeks with bacteria infection especially with scours, I have found using antibiotics with scour treatment to be effective in treating the calves.



Related Post:


Why does my calf poop stink really bad?

My calf's poop stinks really bad 

I am not saying that calf poop normal smells good, but there are those times when it really smells bad. Like something died. This is actually a very serious condition. Rancid smelling poop in calf is an indication that it is not digesting it's intake well.

Most of the time you will notice this in bottle calves, and a few novice with bottle calves will think it has something to do with type or brand of milk replacer. Somehow the milk replacer is not agreeing with the calf's stomach. It is not true. Something is going on.  Attempting to change or go to a different brand of milk replacer won't help the problem.

Now feeding milk replacer does have something to do with causing the calf poop to smell horrible and a factor in  treating the problem. You want to get this corrected right away. Poor nutritional absorption in calf will cause weakness and the organs to start shutting down quickly in a calf. Also weaken the immune system make the calf susceptible to a deadly rapid bacterial growth causing sudden death. Example: Blackleg

What is causing the poop is smell so bad

The calf's intestines are infected by a bacteria causing damage and poor nutritional absorption. E coli is common but also one of many bacteria that could be the problem.

How do I get my calf's intestines healthy again 

Active charcoal or charcoal can help in most cases. But the problem is if you administer antibiotics you going to low the effectiveness of the antibiotics.

I use a two step treatment method that has worked extremely well for my calves. The first part is to give antibiotics and the next is to substitute milk replacer feeding with a different product for a few days. It is also important not to allow them water during this treatment time.

In my guidelines for raising and caring for calves the treatment use for scouring calves is the exact same treatment.  


Related Post:
Why does my calf poop stink really bad 
Calf with watery poop
Bottle feeding a calf milk replacer