"Infectious calf scour is most commonly caused by a combination of viruses (eg rotavirus or coronavirus), bacteria (eg E coli) and certain parasites (eg cryptosporidia or coccidia) that can easily spread from calf to calf,” explains Úna Hickey, national sales manager, Volac Milk Replacers Ireland.

“Poor hygiene in the calving area, low colostrum intake and underfeeding can all also increase a calve’s susceptibility to scouring - as can overcrowding and mixing age groups.”

Úna Hickey says scour can have a big impact on any rearing unit with mortalities, reduced growth rates, high treatment costs and an increased labour requirement being inevitable consequences of a significant disease outbreak. Calves suffering from scour will also be more susceptible to other diseases, such as pneumonia.

Identify the cause

“If you are wrestling with scour problems, speak to your vet about identifying the cause of any issue - be it nutritional or because of infectious pathogens - and put a plan in place to make your unit more resilient in the future.

“Your vet will be able to advise on a variety of disease prevention measures, including improving hygiene and colostrum feeding protocols, and even pre-calving dam vaccination,” says Ms Hickey.

"This 100% dairy protein milk formula with Celmanax™ may help some units that are struggling to manage persistent digestive disturbances among their calves.

Imunogard® has been formulated specifically for under-performing stressed calves or to meet the unique needs of calf units wrestling with a stubborn scour problem that can’t be overcome by an improvement in environmental hygiene.

Remember, pre-weaned calves should always be fed well with a proven milk formula because this will promote better immune status.

Dairy protein

"By formulating to 100% dairy protein, we can maximise the level of Volac Milk Replacers’ unique concentrated whey protein (Imunopro®) in this product.

"This also increases the delivery of functional whey proteins (contained within Imunopro®) to the calf, which gives it the best chance of fighting off a disease challenge.

“Imunogard® also includes a hydrolysed yeast culture, which improves gut health by feeding the beneficial bacteria and also binds to harmful pathogens, preventing them from attaching to the intestinal wall.

"This specialised calf milk replacer also benefits from the inclusion of other beneficial health supplements, as standard in Volac Milk Replacers formulas.

For example, butyrate for its anti-inflammatory effects and ability to stimulate gut enzyme production and the garlic-derived ingredient Gardion - known too for its natural pathogen inhibiting effects and ability to enhance immune system function,” Úna Hickey explains.

Finally, Ms Hickey stresses that calving areas should always be kept clean, with staff looking after calves always paying scrupulous attention to sound hygiene practices.

“Ideally, clean individual calving pens after each birth and any loose housing calving area regularly. If allowing sucking off the dam, consider preparing the udder first by removing any dirt and bacteria that may have built up on teats over the dry period.

Imunogard® has been formulated specifically for under-performing stressed calves."

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