calf scouring?

Skye · #1 08/30/07, 08:28 PM

I bought two calves last Friday to put on my milk cow. One of them has had runny poop for a few days. On tue. I gave him half a scour pill. The next morning I gave him another half pill. Today I gave him a whole pill. He looks like he is getting dehydrated. His eyes are sinking in a little and when I pinch his neck skin it doesn't go back real quick. So I bought some electrolyte and pepto bismol. I got two tablespoons of pepto down him mixed with an egg and maybe a cup of electrolyte. When he pooed this evening it was his normal runny stuff but it was pink. It (the poo) is the consistency of thin clabbered yogurt. He gets up and walks around and nurses fine. Should I be worried about the runny poo?

jerzeygurl · #2 08/30/07, 09:51 PM

is it blood or is it the pepto pink

yellow cheddar cheese colored blobs is normal

white or bloody is bad...

the tablets should work on that though if he is still eating that is good.

Skye · #3 08/30/07, 10:32 PM

It is normally yellow. Tonight it was pepto pink. The reason I am concerned is because the other calf has firm poo. Should I continue the scour pills?

Tamar · #4 08/30/07, 10:45 PM

Hi there,

If it is scours..you can't miss it..that smell is something horrid!
We took our calf totally off of milk for three days, then we started her back on milk and the scours returned. She ended up a total of 6 days on bounce back. Yes she got a lil thin, but she drank bounce back and also had the scours pills. She didn't get dehydrated as we constantly gave her bottles of bounce back. She is doing wonderful now...drinking milk and at five weeks is starting to nibble grass and hay.

Keep posting if you are concerned as scours is serious.

Blessings,
Tamar

jerzeygurl · #5 08/30/07, 10:59 PM

follow the dossage on the bottle, however many days it says do that, dont stop early...

keep hydrated, but watch milk intake...no more than 2 quarts of milk per feeding 2 times a day. or 1.5 quarts 3 times a day.

haypoint · #6 08/30/07, 11:03 PM

Less milk and more electrolites. Did you pick the calf up at a livestock auction? Calves at this stage often die. They require knowledgable caregivers. Being hauled to an auction, moved around a few time at the Sale Barn, exposed to who knows what kinds of diseases, then hauled to your place and a whole new group of bacteria and likely over fed just a bit. Unless you like veal, perhaps you could start with a calf that's a couple months old and straight from a farm. Your sucess will be better.