How to Treat Scours in Holstein Calves
Keeping your Holstein calf healthy is a top priority, whether the calf will be used as the family milk cow or it's part of a large dairy herd. When the calf presents signs of watery diarrhea, known as scours, you need to act quickly to save the calf. Scours will rapidly dehydrate a calf and deplete the electrolytes that its heart and muscles need to function properly. This condition can send your Holstein calf into shock and take its life within 24 hours.
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Instructions
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Move your Holstein calf to a warm, isolated location where it can be monitored and will not infect other calves. If the calf is nursing, bring the mother Holstein along.
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Assess the condition of the calf. Is the calf standing or lying down? Is the nose still moist? Are the eyes bright or dull and lifeless? Are the eyes sunken? Are the limbs cold or warm? A calf with warm limbs, bright eyes and a moist nose who is still standing has only a mild case of scours. A calf in a nonresponsive, coma-like state with cold limbs, a dry nose and sunken eyes is in danger of losing its life.
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Perform a skin pinch test. Grab skin behind the neck and twist it up and away from the body, or pinch the calf's eyelid gently. Time how long the skin remains up or tented. It should return to its normal position in under four seconds, indicating a mild case of scours. If it remains tented longer than four seconds, the calf has a more severe case. If the skin remains tented, the calf's condition is critical.
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Select an electrolyte product designed specifically for scouring calves. Electrolyte that is mixed in large batches and provided as a supplement is not potent enough to treat most cases of scours.
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Prepare the electrolyte solution according to the product directions, using warm water.
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Offer the electrolytes in a bottle or bucket. A calf with a mild case will usually drink it.
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Use an esophageal feeder or stomach tube to pass the electrolytes directly into the calf's stomach, if the case is more severe or the calf will not drink the solution. The feeder consists of a bag for the electrolytes connected to a long tube with a small ball on the end. Run the tube with the ball along the top of the calf's mouth and down its esophagus. Feel for two tubes on the front of the neck, the feeder tube and the windpipe. If you only feel the windpipe, you went down the wrong tube and must begin again. Hold the bag up and allow the electrolytes to drain into the calf's stomach.
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Contact a veterinarian if the calf is cold, nonresponsive and in critical condition. The vet will administer a gallon of an electrolyte solution through an IV directly into the calf's bloodstream, since malabsorption and poor circulation eliminate the effectiveness of an esophageal feeder.
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Administer four to six quarts of the electrolyte solution split among two or three feedings or tubings each day until the scours is cleared. Continue with regular feedings as well if the calf is not off milk. Alternate the milk and electrolytes so the electrolytes do not hinder nutrition absorption. Giving too much is better than too little. Excess will be urinated away, a good sign that a calf is getting enough fluids and is recovering.
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Monitor the sick calf and other calves closely to be sure the bacteria that caused the first case is not spreading throughout the young Holstein herd. Treat any additional cases at the first sign of scours to prevent long-term health problems, shock or death.
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Tips & Warnings
Prevent future outbreaks of scours by maintaining a clean, healthy barn environment and allowing the calves plenty of first milk or colostrum.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Calf image by Matt from Fotolia.com
