Calf with Watery Poop

Calf scours that awful nasty watery poop that all too many calves get. One of the leading causes of death in calves under 30 days old.

Causes

Bacteria infection like E coli
Virus infection like Rotovirus

Myths

Decreasing the amount of milk replacer powder when mixing a bottle decrease the chance of scours.

Allowing the calf to eat hay in the first 30 days increases scours.

Bottle feeding plain water to a calf after a milk replacer feeding will help prevent scours.

Feeding plain water to a scouring calf helps with dehydration.

Not only are these not true but can actually help to promote scours.

Treatment

There are hundreds of products on the market for treating calves with watery poop. Mainly because scours is so hard to cure. The success of treatment depends on amount of damage the calf has in the gut. Once a major amount of scar tissue develops the gut it just can not  absorb enough nutrition for the calf.

I have had success with the following. It first starts with giving the calf antibiotics and then feeding a alternative to milk or milk replacer for two days while not allowing the calf any water.

Click here for a link to my calf raising guidelines for exactly how I treat a calf with watery poop or scours. 

Related Post:

Bottle feeding calves milk replacer 

F1 Braford Bull Calf

Let me introduce you to the newest member of the calf pen, a F1 Bradford bull calf Hagan. His mother was a pure breed registered Brahman cow while his father was pure breed registered Hereford bull. The Bradford breed has been prized here in South Texas as being one of the top choice of mama cows, So how did I come to own little Hagan.
Few weeks back a rancher came driving up to the house with little Hagan in the back of his pickup truck. At first glance I noticed that both of his eyes were cloudy and I knew he couldn’t see. I waved my hand in front of his face and he had no reaction. I wasn’t sure if his blindness would be permanent or not.
The other rancher had been bottle feeding him for a few days after his mother had rejected him. So I knew he wouldn’t be a problem to feed from a bottle. My only concern was his eyes. I figured that he just had an infection causing them to cloud and he could improve without damage.
I started him on a four day series of penicillin injections and later after dusk I went out to check on him and see if he would react to a flashlight. He was walking around in the dark bumping into the fence but once I shined the light on him he stopped. I knew the Bradford bull was seeing some and there was a good chance for full sight.
The next morning it raining and it was my first time to bottle feed him. All the other calves were under their sheds waiting for me to bring their bottles. Not Hagan. He was out in the middle of the pen walking around in circles getting poured on. He couldn’t smell his way around and lost the other calves, but during bottle feeding I got him back with the group and he made sure not to get too far away.
The following day his eyes started to clear and he was gaining more sight. After a week his eyes completely cleared and he could see just fine.
He is a little fellow just about 70 pounds but I ‘m sure he won’t stay little for long. F1 Bradfords bulls or any calf that has enough Brahman in them are always neat to bottle raise. They start out as these tiny little tots and just keep on growing. I have raised Brahman and Bradfords before and they always amaze me how they start out so small and turn in to these big calves. They go through these over night growth spurts making them fun to raise, You walk out one morning and you’re shocked how big that little calf has gotten. 
Recent Post:
Things to look for when purchasing a calf
Cattleman and Goliath- Bottle Feeding the Giant Calf
South Texas Cattle Ranch 2011 Review

Bring Out the Ranch Jackets

The first frost of the year has brought out the ranch jackets

It was a lite frost but the weather has been cool enough for the ranch jackets. The temperature only dipped down below freezing for a few early morning hours, so the grass wasn’t damaged. What little grass there is. Recently a few showers during the last few weeks has popped up some of the cooler weather grasses. But we’re still stuck in the worst drought in Texas of all time.

Saturday morning I did put on the rain jacket and wet gear for a little while. It was nice to know my rubber boots didn’t dry rot from lack of use. I’m hoping and praying that wearing those rubber boots becomes a common occurrence soon.

Not looking forward to putting on the ranch jacket on for full day, I can do without the colder weather. Just hoping that I don’t see that really cold spell until late January and it only last but a day or two. The weather has been nice with temperature around 70’s during the day with colder mornings. That’s normal November temperature for south Texas.

The calves have their ranch jackets on

We’re pretty much set with this group of calves. May pick up a calf or two but we’re fine for now with ten calves being fed on the bottle. I don’t like to go over twelve. It starts to be work then. The break down of the ten calves are seven Holstein steers, red with white face baldy steer, and two heifers one red with white spot in the forehead and yellow white face baldy. 

There has been a few run of the mill scour cases, but nothing that has blown out of control. So far. Two of the Holsteins steers came down with a respiratory problems. Droopy head, coughing, and feeling icky. It has been a tough case for the both of them. I gave them a shot of Draxxin to start with which normally cures about 85% of most cases but it didn’t help much with these two. Four days later I followed up with Micotil and an anti-inflammatory shot but it still didn’t knock it out. About 5 days later they started to turn for the worst again so they got some more anti-inflammatory and Baytril. One snapped out of it and looks like he is going to recover nicely. The other still is battling with it some. I probably should have tried Nuflor  instead of the Micotil but I have had go success with this follow up combo lately. The others all look good and everyone is nursing the bottle well.

Black Diamond and Rudolph

left to right

Dean, Clay, Roman and Charlie Joe.

Charlie Joe being nosey.

Dean and Roman

Blaze he’s only a week old here.

The two new kids.

Black Diamond and Rudolph

 

Clay

Rudolph taking a mid day nap.

Rudolph woke up when the others started making noise.

Lucas also taking a mid day nap. He’s loves going to the calf pen when it’s feeding time.