Calf Scours - The Scourge Of Every Calf Rearer

Few calf rearers face a season without the challenge of calf scours.

Scours (diarrhoea) in calves,

is commonly triggered by;

(a) nutritional upsets caused by irregular or inconsistent feeding practises, starvation and or overfeeding, rapid milk intake at feeding time due to poorly designed/old milk feeding teats.

(b) Stress due to transport or change of diet.

(c) Improperly mixed or poor quality milk powder.

(d) Insufficient or poor quality colostrum in the first few hours of life compromising the immune system.

Factors that contribute to scours are;

• irregular, inconsistent feeding practices,

• starvation,

• overfeeding,

• rapid milk intake,

• stress from transportation,

• changes in diet,

• improperly mixed CMR,

• insufficient or poor-quality colostrum intake within the first few hours from birth.

Things to be aware of;

Diarrhoea is the most common causes of calf deaths and ill thrift in calves

Early treatment with electrolytes will restore fluids and minerals before secondary pathogens take hold.

Dehydration of up to 5% of a calf’s BW can occur before signs of dehydration are seen.

Dehydration in excess of 8% requires IV treatment.

Dehydration over 15% will cause death

Fortunately if detected and treated early with Oral Rehydration or Oral Nutritional solutions the normal acid-balance of fluids and minerals can be restored before secondary pathogenic (bacterial or viral) infections occur, necessitating expensive veterinary treatment with antibiotics or loss of life.

Diarrhoea is the most common causes of calf deaths and ill thrift in calves. Even if death does not occur, damage done to the villi on the walls of the intestine leaves the calf unable to utilize the food it consumes resulting in a poor calf. The most serious effects occur because of dehydration along with an energy deficit.

Severe dehydration is not difficult to detect. Eyes are sunken, ears are cold, and the calf is depressed and often unable to stand. Even if they don’t die, they take a long time to recover.

However, mild dehydration is the silent enemy. Substantial fluid losses (up to 5% of a calf’s body weight in fluid) can occur within a day of scouring before any signs of dehydration are seen. Rehydration therapy needs to begin at this stage before the dehydration process gathers momentum. Fluid loss in excess of 8% requires IV treatment. Calves suffering from Diarrhoea will die if they lose 15% or more of their body fluids. This is why it is extremely important to monitor calves daily and treat them quickly when signs of illness are observed.

Fluid losses occur when the normal secretion re-absorption process breaks down with the net loss of water excreted through the faeces taking with it major quantities of sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate ions, thereby limiting cellular function and debilitating the animal.  The symptoms seen in severe cases of dehydration are the result of water being drawn from inside the body cells (known as intracellular losses). 

Treatment must provide a balance of water, salts and energy. The most effective and practical means to supply these essential requirements is through oral rehydration therapy. However electrolytes alone do not provide enough energy for liveweight maintenance, and you risk starving the calf which exacerbates the disease. Recent studies have shown that calves fed on a full milk ration and electrolytes can maintain their weight or even gain weight during an episode of scouring, and recover in as few as three days.

Where a scouring calf is too sick to feed, fluids can be delivered directly into the stomach using a feeding tube. (See: Tube feeding products: Antahi Innovations Ltd) This method can be used until the calf is strong enough to resume suckling again.

As long as you are proactive with your fluid therapy, 95% of calves will normally recover well from scouring. If the calf goes down and is too weak to suck, there are metabolic disturbances going on in the body. Unless you are going to opt for veterinary IV fluid treatment, the outlook is not good. When an animal reaches 10% dehydration, death is imminent unless IV fluid therapy is started promptly. There is little point prolonging the suffering of a severely dehydrated and scouring calf, and euthanasia may be the only option.

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