Cryptosporidia and coccidiosis are two of the most common causes of calf scour for dairy and suckler farmers to deal with.
If they gain a foothold in a herd, they can spread quickly causing calves to fail and increasing the risk of mortality.
As there are no vaccines available to prevent cryptosporidia or coccidiosis, farmers must focus on housing management and hygiene.
Generally speaking, the period of highest risk for cryptosporidia is greatest when the calf is one week to four weeks of age. Thereafter, coccidiosis becomes a bigger risk.
Dairy bred calves usually face a greater risk challenge than suckler-bred calves as they are penned together at a much higher stocking density.
They also share the same feeders for milk and meal, as well as sharing water troughs and bedding.
But suckler calves are still just as susceptible to an outbreak as any dairy calf is.
As the risk period usually coincides with the calving period and the start of the breeding season, time is limited and hygiene standards in calf housing can quickly slip as other tasks take priority.
Outlined are 10 steps to reducing the risks of developing either a cryptosporidia or coccidiosis problem in your herd this spring.
1 Clean calving pens
The risk of disease builds up as the calving season progresses. Therefore, calving pens should be cleaned out regularly.
Ideally, they should be cleaned out after every use, but this is not always practical, so clean pens every two to three days.
Move cows from pens as quickly as possible after calving to prevent bedding from becoming overly soiled.
Wash out pens and disinfect. Allow them to dry before re-bedding as a wet floor provides an ideal environment for scour pathogens to survive.
2 Keep pens clean-bedded
Where calves are concerned, having a clean, dry straw bed available is paramount. Wet bedding provides a breeding ground for disease.
Wet bedding also reduces the calf’s body temperature, making an animal more susceptible to disease.
Make sure there is plenty of fresh straw in the calving pen so that when the newborn calf hits the ground, there is a lower risk of an infection.
A rule of thumb for straw bedding is when you kneel down, your knees should be completely dry.
3 Keep cows clean
Feeding wet silage will cause cows to be dirty, especially when housed on slats before moving to a bedded calving pen.
Cryptosporidia can be carried in faeces stuck to the cow. As the newborn calf tries to suckle its mother for the first time, it can often suck on faeces stuck to the cow’s underbelly. This allows crypto and coccidiosis to get into the young calf’s gut directly.
If cows are dirty and handling facilities allow, clipping the dirt from the cows’ belly, udder and tail can reduce the risk of the newborn calf ingesting parasites.
Offering high dry matter feed pre-calving, such as hay or straw, may be of benefit where cows are passing very loose faeces.
4 Ensure calves get adequate colostrum
Giving the calf the best possible start in life is vital to prevent illness and disease issues.
Ensuring the calf gets the recommended level of colostrum in the first two hours of life will make it better equipped to deal with pathogens.
While there is no vaccine for crypto or coccidiosis, there are vaccines for other causes of scour such as rotavirus.
Making sure the calf is covered for other causes of scour will reduce the level of disease challenge to the young calf’s immune system.
5 Use a clean stomach tube
In the event where a calf must be stomach-tubed after birth, make sure the tube and bag are clean.
Placing a tube into the calf’s stomach that is not completely clean will pass parasites straight into the newborn calf’s stomach, which increases the chance of illness.
6 Keep calves in uniform batches
Do not mix older calves with younger calves. Older animals may be a source of infection and the younger animals will have lower immunity, and therefore will be more susceptible to disease.
Once you have a group of calves settled in a pen for feeding, do not add any more animals to this group as it can raise stress levels, thereby lowering immunity.
Once a group of calves is weaned, move all calves together, clean out the pen and disinfect before re-stocking.
7 Lower stocking density
Where housing space permits, lowering stocking density can reduce the risk of crypto or coccidiosis gaining a foothold in calves.
Fewer animals in the pen will keep bedding drier and reduce the rate of disease transmission.
Moving calves to grass as soon as possible will help to reduce the stocking density indoors and more importantly, it will reduce the disease risk.
8 Keeping feed and water troughs clean
As both parasites tend to be transmitted through faeces, keep meal and water troughs clean. The same applies for calf feeders. Wash out after each use and allow to dry thoroughly before using again. Replace any teats that are cracked.
9 Rotate calf paddocks
Many farmers will use the same paddocks year on year for calf rearing, as they are convenient for feeding.
But cryptosporia can survive in soil for months. Therefore, alternating paddocks where calves are reared can reduce the risk of infection.
Also, it would be a good idea to alternate any paddocks used for outdoor calving for similar reasons.
10 Treat all suspected calves
If you have a problem with crypto and coccidiosis, it may be a good idea to treat all calves in the group rather than just the one or two calves showing symptoms.
Some calves may be infected, but it may be too early to show symptoms. These animals may need to be treated within a few days.
Always consult with your vet for the best course of action.
Both crypto and coccidiosis are caused by protozoan parasites, while the other common causes of calf scour are either a virus or a bacterial infection.
Vaccines are available to prevent problems, such as rotavirus or salmonella, from becoming a problem. But vaccines are not always 100% effective.
You must ensure that cattle are dosed at the correct time to allow an immune response to occur. Also, ensure that the correct dosage is given.
Some farmers like to double up health treatments. Always check with your vet to make sure you are not overloading the animal’s immune system when giving multiple treatments at the same time.
Vaccines always work best when combined with good herd health management and hygiene.
While the 10 steps outlined are aimed at reducing the risk of two common causes of calf scour for which there is no vaccine, ie cryptosporidia and coccidiosis, they apply to reducing all primary sources of calf scour. These include rotavirus, coronavirus, E coli and salmonella.
Early identification
The earlier you pick up the symptoms of a scour problem, the more effective the treatment will be. Therefore, the animal will recover much faster. Knowing what you are looking for will prevent you misdiagnosing the problem and giving the wrong course of treatment. The common symptoms for calf scour are as follows:
1. Cryptosporidia
Cryptosporidia causes rapid weight loss in affected calves along with excessive diarrhoea which is usually green, or yellow, in colour. There can often be mucus in the faeces also. Calves will become dehydrated due to the loss of fluid, giving them a very dull appearance.
2. Coccidiosis
Coccidiosis causes damage to the lining of the large intestine, which usually causes blood to appear once the calf starts to scour.
Calves appear to be straining despite scouring. Scour is usually watery and brown in colour. As with other causes of scour, calves will show signs of dehydration and a loss of appetite.
3. Rotavirus
Rotavirus is most commonly found in young calves under two weeks of age, but it can affect older calves. Calves are slow to stand and feed, therefore they quickly become dehydrated, dull and lethargic in appearance. The calf will start passing a very watery form of scour, which usually has a yellowish colour.
4. Coronavirus
Coronavirus is similar to rotavirus and can be mistaken for it as a result. Coronavirus usually has a more severe effect on calves.
Along with the watery scour, there may well be mucus from the gut lining present in faeces as well as milk curds. It is most commonly found in calves up to three weeks of age.
5. E coli
E coli is less common and will usually hit calves in the first few days post calving. Affected calves will pass excessive levels of faeces with a white or yellow colour. Calves usually become bloated, unwilling to stand and suffer from severe dehydration.
6. Salmonella
Salmonella also causes blood to appear in faeces, but this time there is usually a yellow colour to the scour. Again, mucus is often found in the faeces. Salmonella usually causes the scour to have a more pungent odour than other causes of the disease. Calves will quickly become dehydrated and mortality can be quite fast in a severe infection.
Treatment
If you find yourself in the position of dealing with a scour problem, you should follow these simple steps to aid recovery.
Isolate the calf to a separate pen with dry bedding and good ventilation.Thoroughly clean out and disinfect the pen where the sick calf came from.Hydrate the calf with electrolytes morning and night.Keep feeding the calf milk to provide energy.Keep changing the straw bedding regularly. Read more
Special focus: animal health 2017
Cryptosporidia and coccidiosis are two of the most common causes of calf scour for dairy and suckler farmers to deal with.
If they gain a foothold in a herd, they can spread quickly causing calves to fail and increasing the risk of mortality.
As there are no vaccines available to prevent cryptosporidia or coccidiosis, farmers must focus on housing management and hygiene.
Generally speaking, the period of highest risk for cryptosporidia is greatest when the calf is one week to four weeks of age. Thereafter, coccidiosis becomes a bigger risk.
Dairy bred calves usually face a greater risk challenge than suckler-bred calves as they are penned together at a much higher stocking density.
They also share the same feeders for milk and meal, as well as sharing water troughs and bedding.
But suckler calves are still just as susceptible to an outbreak as any dairy calf is.
As the risk period usually coincides with the calving period and the start of the breeding season, time is limited and hygiene standards in calf housing can quickly slip as other tasks take priority.
Outlined are 10 steps to reducing the risks of developing either a cryptosporidia or coccidiosis problem in your herd this spring.
1 Clean calving pens
The risk of disease builds up as the calving season progresses. Therefore, calving pens should be cleaned out regularly.
Ideally, they should be cleaned out after every use, but this is not always practical, so clean pens every two to three days.
Move cows from pens as quickly as possible after calving to prevent bedding from becoming overly soiled.
Wash out pens and disinfect. Allow them to dry before re-bedding as a wet floor provides an ideal environment for scour pathogens to survive.
2 Keep pens clean-bedded
Where calves are concerned, having a clean, dry straw bed available is paramount. Wet bedding provides a breeding ground for disease.
Wet bedding also reduces the calf’s body temperature, making an animal more susceptible to disease.
Make sure there is plenty of fresh straw in the calving pen so that when the newborn calf hits the ground, there is a lower risk of an infection.
A rule of thumb for straw bedding is when you kneel down, your knees should be completely dry.
3 Keep cows clean
Feeding wet silage will cause cows to be dirty, especially when housed on slats before moving to a bedded calving pen.
Cryptosporidia can be carried in faeces stuck to the cow. As the newborn calf tries to suckle its mother for the first time, it can often suck on faeces stuck to the cow’s underbelly. This allows crypto and coccidiosis to get into the young calf’s gut directly.
If cows are dirty and handling facilities allow, clipping the dirt from the cows’ belly, udder and tail can reduce the risk of the newborn calf ingesting parasites.
Offering high dry matter feed pre-calving, such as hay or straw, may be of benefit where cows are passing very loose faeces.
4 Ensure calves get adequate colostrum
Giving the calf the best possible start in life is vital to prevent illness and disease issues.
Ensuring the calf gets the recommended level of colostrum in the first two hours of life will make it better equipped to deal with pathogens.
While there is no vaccine for crypto or coccidiosis, there are vaccines for other causes of scour such as rotavirus.
Making sure the calf is covered for other causes of scour will reduce the level of disease challenge to the young calf’s immune system.
5 Use a clean stomach tube
In the event where a calf must be stomach-tubed after birth, make sure the tube and bag are clean.
Placing a tube into the calf’s stomach that is not completely clean will pass parasites straight into the newborn calf’s stomach, which increases the chance of illness.
6 Keep calves in uniform batches
Do not mix older calves with younger calves. Older animals may be a source of infection and the younger animals will have lower immunity, and therefore will be more susceptible to disease.
Once you have a group of calves settled in a pen for feeding, do not add any more animals to this group as it can raise stress levels, thereby lowering immunity.
Once a group of calves is weaned, move all calves together, clean out the pen and disinfect before re-stocking.
7 Lower stocking density
Where housing space permits, lowering stocking density can reduce the risk of crypto or coccidiosis gaining a foothold in calves.
Fewer animals in the pen will keep bedding drier and reduce the rate of disease transmission.
Moving calves to grass as soon as possible will help to reduce the stocking density indoors and more importantly, it will reduce the disease risk.
8 Keeping feed and water troughs clean
As both parasites tend to be transmitted through faeces, keep meal and water troughs clean. The same applies for calf feeders. Wash out after each use and allow to dry thoroughly before using again. Replace any teats that are cracked.
9 Rotate calf paddocks
Many farmers will use the same paddocks year on year for calf rearing, as they are convenient for feeding.
But cryptosporia can survive in soil for months. Therefore, alternating paddocks where calves are reared can reduce the risk of infection.
Also, it would be a good idea to alternate any paddocks used for outdoor calving for similar reasons.
10 Treat all suspected calves
If you have a problem with crypto and coccidiosis, it may be a good idea to treat all calves in the group rather than just the one or two calves showing symptoms.
Some calves may be infected, but it may be too early to show symptoms. These animals may need to be treated within a few days.
Always consult with your vet for the best course of action.
Both crypto and coccidiosis are caused by protozoan parasites, while the other common causes of calf scour are either a virus or a bacterial infection.
Vaccines are available to prevent problems, such as rotavirus or salmonella, from becoming a problem. But vaccines are not always 100% effective.
You must ensure that cattle are dosed at the correct time to allow an immune response to occur. Also, ensure that the correct dosage is given.
Some farmers like to double up health treatments. Always check with your vet to make sure you are not overloading the animal’s immune system when giving multiple treatments at the same time.
Vaccines always work best when combined with good herd health management and hygiene.
While the 10 steps outlined are aimed at reducing the risk of two common causes of calf scour for which there is no vaccine, ie cryptosporidia and coccidiosis, they apply to reducing all primary sources of calf scour. These include rotavirus, coronavirus, E coli and salmonella.
Early identification
The earlier you pick up the symptoms of a scour problem, the more effective the treatment will be. Therefore, the animal will recover much faster. Knowing what you are looking for will prevent you misdiagnosing the problem and giving the wrong course of treatment. The common symptoms for calf scour are as follows:
1. Cryptosporidia
Cryptosporidia causes rapid weight loss in affected calves along with excessive diarrhoea which is usually green, or yellow, in colour. There can often be mucus in the faeces also. Calves will become dehydrated due to the loss of fluid, giving them a very dull appearance.
2. Coccidiosis
Coccidiosis causes damage to the lining of the large intestine, which usually causes blood to appear once the calf starts to scour.
Calves appear to be straining despite scouring. Scour is usually watery and brown in colour. As with other causes of scour, calves will show signs of dehydration and a loss of appetite.
3. Rotavirus
Rotavirus is most commonly found in young calves under two weeks of age, but it can affect older calves. Calves are slow to stand and feed, therefore they quickly become dehydrated, dull and lethargic in appearance. The calf will start passing a very watery form of scour, which usually has a yellowish colour.
4. Coronavirus
Coronavirus is similar to rotavirus and can be mistaken for it as a result. Coronavirus usually has a more severe effect on calves.
Along with the watery scour, there may well be mucus from the gut lining present in faeces as well as milk curds. It is most commonly found in calves up to three weeks of age.
5. E coli
E coli is less common and will usually hit calves in the first few days post calving. Affected calves will pass excessive levels of faeces with a white or yellow colour. Calves usually become bloated, unwilling to stand and suffer from severe dehydration.
6. Salmonella
Salmonella also causes blood to appear in faeces, but this time there is usually a yellow colour to the scour. Again, mucus is often found in the faeces. Salmonella usually causes the scour to have a more pungent odour than other causes of the disease. Calves will quickly become dehydrated and mortality can be quite fast in a severe infection.
Treatment
If you find yourself in the position of dealing with a scour problem, you should follow these simple steps to aid recovery.
Isolate the calf to a separate pen with dry bedding and good ventilation.Thoroughly clean out and disinfect the pen where the sick calf came from.Hydrate the calf with electrolytes morning and night.Keep feeding the calf milk to provide energy.Keep changing the straw bedding regularly. Read more
Special focus: animal health 2017
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