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 

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.

Click Here for my Guidelines for Raising Calves with my Scour Treatment included 

Related Post:

Why does my calf's poop stink really bad

Calf with watery poop

How often should I bottle a calf

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.  

Chick Here for my Calf Raising Guidelines 

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

Calf Diarrhea or Scours in Cattle Herds and Calf Pens

One doesn't bottle feed as many baby calves as I have though the years and not have their fair share of the scours or calves with diarrhea. But anyone who has ever had a herd of cattle has at some point had at least one or two head get the scours. There are many different reasons or causes for cattle to scour, and many times resulting in death.

Watery runny, puddley poop often with blood can come from infections by bacteria or virus, parasites and diet. Diet is the least concerning because it has the lowest chance of death but the others can be equally fatal. Parasite or worms are the easiest to treat but by the time enough intestine damage has been done for the cattle to scour the chances of serious effects have increased.

Bacteria infection is extremely common. Everyone has heard of E. Coli and around cattle it is impossible not to have exposure to this bacteria. There are other also commonly found around cattle. One of the leading treatments is relly prevention. Prevention by vaccination. The most common referred to by most cattlemen as 8-way vac. But if the cattle have not been vaccination or develop the scours from bacteria any way they still be treated with antibiotics.

Virus infection is the worst of the bunch with no treatments available to kill the virus and vaccines are useless do to the many types or strains of virus. Roto virus can be aggressive spread quickly and kill fast. If you have a case of uncontrollable scours in your calf pen or cattle herd more than likely it's the roto virus. But virus infection usually only last about 48 hours but repairing the damage in the intestines cause by the virus is the main part to restore the cattle to good health.

The virus or bacteria even the parasite or diet is not causing scours. It is the damage done to the intestines by these that is causing the scour. Once you have treated or remove these causes, the cattle still has to repair the intestines before the scours will clear up. Adding the cattle in intestine repair with electrolytes will help stop scouring faster and improve the chances of recovery.