Calf has white scours, help!

[john in la]

I assume by scours you mean diarrhea.
Reason I ask is not all scours cause diarrhea.

You sound like you have just brought this calf home in the past few days. The upset in its routine and a possible change in its diet has most likely brought its immune system down for the e-coli to flare up. The calf’s ears and tail may be ice cold to the touch.

While a good antibiotic regimens are in order it is real hard to advise you since there are several strains of e-coli and each need a different drugs.

To help the calf along I would keep the calf warm; take it off the milk all together and put it on a electrolyte solution.

Another form of diarrhea is caused by overeating and since you feed it by a bottle and let it nurse this could also be a very likely possibility. At the very lease this could be your root cause for the calf’s lower resistance to the disease. You should only feed by the bottle so you can monitor its intake especially if you have a milk cow that produces much more milk than a calf can use. Remember 8 to 10% of body weight is enough milk for a baby.

A baby calf only uses 1 of its 4 stomachs so any extra milk gets pushed straight into the intestines or put into a stomach compartment not used at this time and will sit there till it goes sour.

If you need a home made electrolyte solution you can use...........
20 teaspoons dextrose (white corn syrup)
4 teaspoons table salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 gallon of water

Only use dextrose or glucose because a calf can not digest sucrose (table sugar)

Some people add a raw egg to this mixture also.

[Ken Scharabok]

White poop is extremely serious. Call your vet immediately. That calf need immediate medical attention.

[willow_girl]

Yikes!!!

Now mind you, Gary's description was "white scours" ... I haven't actually seen the calf poop. And he cleaned up after it. His back end was wet and crusty looking. He had looked a bit loose a week ago Sunday when he was still on the farm where I work. That was one reason I hesitated getting him then ... because I was going to be gone all week, and didn't trust Gary's ability to doctor him if he got sick.

The poor guy, I lectured him so many times about making sure the calf got fed that I think it's likely he overfed it (or, rather, he fed it and it was also drinking from the cows). I really put the fear of God into him about not letting that calf starve, seems we went the other way and may kill it with kindness. Oy!

Anyway, Gary got some electrolytes in him this morning. Said he was bawling for his bottle, I figure that's a good sign. I just got home from testing, wanted to check here before I head out to the barn. Will let ya'll know what I find out!

[Christina R.]

HI Willow,

I'm sure you are still gone doing your job, but how has this situation panned out? Are all 3 calves ok?

[willow_girl]

Hey ya'll! I got busy again, so just getting back to you. The calf is doing better! He popped up this morning and mooed for his bottle. He still only drank about half of it, though. He doesn't look so bloated, though, and seems to have more energy.

I did end up giving him penicillin the night before last, when he really was not looking good at all! By morning he seemed much better. I have continued giving him electrolytes with every feeding (mixed in with the milk).

I don't think he really had white scours, although I did see some yellow poop that was looser than it should have been. I don't think he's scouring anymore, though.

Little Man and Buford (Twist's and Teeny's calves) never got sick. They are fat and sassy and full of themselves! I need to get them tamed down before they get too big ... last night, Little Man danced around and shook his (as yet nonexistent) "horns" at me when I went up to him. Yikes!

Anyway, thanks for the advice, ya'll!

[willow_girl]

Well, the little guy didn't make it after all. He went up and down and up and down ... he never did get healthy, bouncy and full of life like the other calves. I really thought he was going to pull through, though!

The night before last he turned up his nose to his bottle. I still wasn't sure whether he was getting any milk from Teeny and Twist, so I didn't force the issue. Yesterday morning when I went out, he jumped right up and drank a whole bottle and acted as vigorous as I'd seen him. Last night when I went out, he was weak (although he did get up on his own) and had started scouring again. ----!!! I did the whole regimen, electrolytes in his milk, penicillin, 15 cc of Convert calf gel. I only managed to get about 1/3 of the bottle into him, he wasn't really nursing, just swallowing what I poured into him (not choking or anything though). I had a really bad feeling, so I went out at 4 this morning before we left for Saginaw (just spent all day at the VA hospital with hubby, but that's another story!) and he was gone.

I feel terrible, of course. It seems the poor little guy was sick almost right from the start (I think he was already scouring when we brought him home) and never knew much of anything beyond discomfort and suffering. I sure wish we could have pulled him through but maybe some things just aren't meant to be.

If there's any bright side to this, it's the fact the other calves never did get sick. I have moved them all back to the pasture across the road just to be on the safe side; I don't want them anywhere NEAR that barn, just in case it WAS something contagious!

[woodspirit]

hard lesson:
Hopefully though others will be reading this and take some advice.
Always assume that a calf brought home will have scours.
Read up about this and talk to a vet, or an experienced dairyman before bringing them home, and have everything you need to treat animals before they arrive.
Keep all new calves separated from other calves and cows
in a well ventilated area but draft free.
Monitor exactly what goes in and what comes out.
Don't bring home any animals, unless you have all the information and time you need to assure success.
I know someone who "gets" lots of unique animals; kind of collects them, almost like living trophies. She doesn't think that she is <the> reason that animals are disappearing from the rain forests etc. Her opinion is that she is saving these rare unique creatures from certain doom. I say she is the market. If people didn't buy them... smugglers would be outta business.
Some people have more money than sense.
Sorry if I've offended anyone.

[willow_girl]

Woodspirit (or should that be Meanspirit?),

I don't think I've ever been accused of having too much money before!

I work in the dairy industry. I followed the same protocol in treating this calf that would have been used on the farm where I work. (Actually, I probably did far more for it than usually is done for bull calves, which generally do not command much attention at a commercial dairy.) I can assure you that even on "real" farms, calves occasionally scour. Some respond to medical intervention; others don't. This little guy wasn't really thriving at the dairy so I guess I took a gamble in bringing him home but I thought I could pull him through. Obviously, I was wrong about that.

I posted here for advice because I am always open to suggestions and there is the possibility I might have forgotten something ... NOT because I am an inexperienced dairyperson, or some kind of nut who goes around collecting animals she knows nothing about.

Thanks for your input, anyway!