What to do when your calves get the scours

Even before the big "snow event" of last week, I was getting calls from herds in the middle of calf scours wrecks. Now, there really haven't been that many - it's been about an average year so far, but I expect that will be changing as our snow melts. The resulting muddy sloppy conditions usually mean a great environment for the germs that afflict baby calves in their first few weeks of life.

Many of these herds are well into calving, some almost done. And this seems to be typical. Normally our incidence of calf scours is pretty manageable or even non-existent early on in the season. The calves born then are more likely to be born onto pretty "clean" ground when it comes to scours pathogens. As calves inhabit the calving pen or pasture, and the cows have spent a month or two there, the level of pathogens (all of which can live a long time) finally hits a tipping point. Calves born later on in the calving season then are subject to a lot more of the germs in their calving area-enough to make most of them sick.

When producers get to the point when they're calling me, it usually is an indication that they're really grasping for answers. They've tried every treatment they've tried in years past. They've tried different vaccines and preventive measures, largely to no avail. I know that many of them are looking to me to come up with the name of the latest cutting-edge antibiotic or preventive shot that will be their panacea.

Unfortunately, in the vast majority of cases, there really isn't any magic answer in a bottle. To be sure, certain antibiotics and preventive measures can be a real aid in some situations. But producers should first think of some simple, more management-type of interventions that will be as effective against one scours bug as much as any of them. What are some of those considerations that cattle producers should implement when they find themselves in the middle of a scours wreck?

It's likely that more than one of these interventions is going to be necessary to stop a scours outbreak in its tracks. Since scours outbreaks result from many different factors working together, it makes sense that getting on top of one will probably involve several different strategies as well.