Calf with scours

[hackberryfarm]

Hi! We are new to calves and picked up three Holstein bottle babies last Wednesday. They have been doing well, but the smallest one started in with scours late Saturday night. I have been giving him electrolytes and some sulphamethazine pills the cow farmer gave us. He is perky and eating his bottle just fine. He even drinks water from the bucket. This morning, though, his stools are bloody. Is there something I need to do for this? How long can he have scours before it takes him down? He is smaller than the others and probably doesn't even weigh 75 pounds, but he is frisky and bright eyed. The farmer said he was a week old when we picked him up. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Hespa]

We give our average Holstein bull calves, two quarts twice a day. For a smaller calf, I would not feed over 3 pints twice a day. They should have access to calf starter feed and water but don't give them hay, grass, etc. until they are six weeks old. Their rumen is not able to handle forages until that age.
The electrolytes do not give any nutrition. You should alternate electrolyte feeding with milk replacer feedings for a day or so.

[Tango]

Did they get colostrum? How old were they when you got them?
If they are very young sometimes blood in stool is just from using their digestive system for the first few times. If they are about a week, e. coli shows up as blood in stool. It is good to isolate the calf within sound and eyesight of the others and practice strict hygiene.
I give a bit of advice to people based on partial disclosures and so from now on I would like to add that if you have access to a vet, you should call a vet. That is the very best place advice can come from . Your vet can provide extra label o-t-c antibiotic use or a broad spectrum antibiotic. A forum such as this will yield an amazing array of opinons and advice because scours are caused by several organisms. Additionally it is illegal to give extra label antibiotic use if you are not a licensed vet and with sensitivity to antibiotic resistant bacteria, one should be very careful about taking and giving advice based on partial and virtual comments, especially if one is not licensed to do so.