Bottle calves with soft stools

sassafras manor · #1 04/21/10, 12:15 PM

We have 3 Holstein bottle calves that were just delivered Monday evening and when they arrived their stools were soft but had some substance to them. Now they are softer but not quite to the point of liquid. What i need to know is how soft or runny before they get to the point of scours? At what point should we give them electrolytes to help them along or would it just be the change of milk replacer from the dairy to whta we are using causing the problem? Thanks for the help - Matt

francismilker · #2 04/21/10, 06:57 PM

You might read the info on the sticky titled "sale barn bottle calves" at the top of the cattle page.

I'd say as long as it's not clear or brownish clear liquid I'd keep up what you're doing. Make sure you have free choice water in their pen and some grain for them to munch around on.

And yes, the change in diet with the added stress of moving them is probably the culprit for your problems. I'd suggest giving all of them 3cc's of Baytril under the skin as a preventative measure against pnuemonia and scours.

sassafras manor · #3 04/22/10, 10:55 AM

Thanks Francismilker for the reponse i will reread thru the sticky and refresh my memory. My wife picked up Tetracyclene scours tablets at the local farm store so i gave them their dosage last night and again this morning. The stools don't have any clear or brownish liquid in them whatsoever and had thickened up some this morning compared to yesterday morning. All 3 of them are vigorous with the bottle and very playful so we will just keep an eye on the stool consistency.

jBlaze · #4 04/22/10, 01:49 PM

Kaolin - pectin
(looks like peptobismal)