Calf diarrhea is the most common problem faced by farmers. This condition is dangerous for fragile animals and can lead to their death. It is important to understand why diarrhea occurs in calves, what types of it are, and how home treatment is carried out. Each farmer must have knowledge in this area in order to help sick calves in time, otherwise he will suffer losses.
healthy calf
Causes
Calves under the age of one month are most susceptible to developing diarrhea. Their body is just beginning to adapt to external conditions, and the immune system is too vulnerable. Consider the main reasons why the calf vilifies:
- Adaptation to life outside the mother’s womb. Diarrhea develops against the background of body restructuring in the first 5-7 days after birth.
- Nutrition error. The digestive system of calves is too sensitive, so diarrhea can develop due to poor quality food. If you feed young animals with food containing toxins, nitrates, pesticides, diarrhea in calves is inevitable.
- Infectious diseases.
Reference. Intestinal upset can occur even when feeding quality food, if the diet has changed dramatically, for example, the calf has been transferred to a milk replacer.
Types
Infections are often the cause of a severe disorder. The most common of them are:
- Escherichia coli.
- Rotavirus infection.
- Coronavirus infection.
- Cryptosporidiosis.
The disease escherichiosis causes one of the strains of Escherichia coli. When it enters the small intestine, the bacteria provoke severe food poisoning. As a result of the rapid reproduction of pathogenic flora, toxins accumulate in the body. The animal almost always dies due to intoxication and severe dehydration if treatment is started late.
Escherichiosis disease is caused by one of the strains of Escherichia coli
Rotavirus most often affects newborns. This disease is treatable if it is started on time. In the absence of therapy, calves usually die due to dehydration.
Coronovirus and cryptosporidiosis are no less dangerous diseases that affect calves as young as two weeks old. The prognosis is poor if you do not immediately respond to the symptoms of the disease. The body of young individuals very quickly loses fluid, death in this case also occurs from dehydration.
Symptoms
If diarrhea has begun in calves, you should pay attention to the accompanying symptoms of the disease. When affected by various viruses or bacteria, the clinical picture may be different. Consider the common symptoms of diarrhea:
- The animal is oppressed.
- Refuses to eat.
- Fecal masses are liquid, have an unpleasant odor, may contain mucus, blood, foam.
- Bowel movements become more frequent (from 5 to 12 times a day).
- The temperature may be low or high.
- Dehydration causes eyes to sink.
- The mucous membranes are dry.
Attention! As soon as the calf spit, it is necessary to separate it from other animals in order to avoid the spread of a viral infection and urgently contact the veterinary service.
Diagnostics
To facilitate the diagnosis of the disease, you need to pay attention to how the disease proceeds. Each infectious disease has its own manifestations. The effectiveness of treatment will depend on the correctness of the diagnosis. The farmer must provide the veterinarian with the most complete information about the color of the sick calf’s feces, their consistency, tell him the animal’s temperature readings and other observations.
temperature measurement
What you should pay attention to:
- The color of feces is white, yellow, greenish.
- Consistency – foamy, watery, mucous, with an admixture of blood.
- The smell of stool is sour, putrid.
- frequency of defecation.
- Thermometer readings (with rotavirus infection, the temperature is elevated, with coronovirus infection, it is normal).
- The condition of the mucous membranes – whether there are ulcers on them.
The more accurate and complete the information is, the higher the chances of survival, because an error in the diagnosis means that the treatment will be prescribed incorrectly.
Reference. Calves that have experienced severe viral infections at an early age are more likely to be less productive later on.
How to treat diarrhea in calves?
Treatment should begin immediately after diagnosis. It includes the fight against microorganisms that caused the disease, the removal of toxins from the body, as well as replenishing the volume of lost fluid. When the calf swears, both medicines and folk remedies are used.
Medication
It is important to know that when diarrhea in calves is treated at home, milk is excluded from the animal’s diet, since it is not only not absorbed in intestinal disorders, but also aggravates its condition. The patient should be kept separately from other individuals in a warm and dry room. Medications used for diarrhea:
- Rehydrates.
- Sorbents.
- Enzymes
- Probiotics.
- Antibacterial drugs.
Injections for diarrhea
In most cases, it is the rapid dehydration of the body that leads to the death of the young. It is important not to allow the total fluid loss to be more than 10%. To replenish it in the body, various solutions containing salts are used – potassium, chlorine and other substances. Glucose is administered intravenously. In the same way, salt balance is restored if the animal refuses to drink on its own.
In order for the animal to feel better, it is necessary to remove toxins from the intestines. For this, sorbents are used. Your veterinarian may recommend taking probiotics and enzymes to restore the disturbed intestinal microflora and restore its functioning.
Antibiotics play a major role in the treatment of infectious diseases. To destroy the pathogen, broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs are selected. The dosage and duration of the course of treatment is selected individually, depending on the weight of the sick calf.
Folk remedies
You can not completely rely on folk remedies if the calf has diarrhea. However, in parallel with drug treatment, their use is allowed.
Cereal decoction
A decoction of cereals will help restore strength, it can be given to the animal in the first days of illness instead of milk. To prepare a decoction, you need to take:
- 150 g of oats or barley.
- Litere of water.
The water is brought to a boil, the grits, after washing, are poured into a saucepan and boiled for an hour on the smallest fire. The agent is insisted under the lid for 1 hour, filtered through a sieve. The resulting decoction is brought to the initial volume with boiled water and the sick animal is allowed to drink warm several times a day, 500 ml each.
Decoction of flax seeds
To prepare the remedy you will need:
- Litere of water.
- 50 grams of flax seeds.
Flax seeds
Bring the water to a boil in an enameled saucepan, pour out the seeds, reduce the fire to a minimum value. We continue cooking for 60 minutes. Set aside the dishes, cover tightly with a lid and wrap with a towel. The tool must be infused. After straining, bring the broth to its original volume. Calves are fed with this liquid 2-3 times a day.
Decoction of plantain
Plantain has astringent and disinfectant properties. A decoction is prepared from it for young animals in this way – 100 grams of crushed plantain raw materials are poured into a liter of boiling water. The agent should languish over low heat for 20 minutes, after which it is insisted for 1 hour. A glass of strained broth is given to animals to drink before feeding for 20-30 minutes.
Attention! Folk remedies cannot replace antibiotic therapy if the cause of diarrhea is an infection.
Prevention
It is easier to prevent the problem than to treat diarrhea in calves. Compliance with preventive measures helps protect young animals from infection with dangerous infections. What do we have to do:
- Keep calves separate from adults, only with the mother.
- Carefully monitor the hygiene of animals and cleanliness in the room.
- Timely vaccinate cows.
- Avoid contact of young animals with animal manure.
- Feed your young with quality food.
Reference. To prevent intestinal disorders, calves are given to drink yogurt or lime water. These measures help to increase the immunity of animals and prevent the development of pathogenic microflora in the intestines.
If the calf is swearing, you can’t wait. In young animals, dehydration occurs very quickly, which is the main cause of death of animals. You need to urgently seek the help of a veterinarian who will prescribe the correct treatment. Soldering babies and following the doctor’s instructions exactly is the farmer’s first priority.
