Detailed Explanation of the Symptoms and Prevention and Treatment Methods of Calf White Scours
Calf white scours is an acute infectious disease caused by infection with certain pathogenic Escherichia coli, occurring mainly in calves within two weeks of age. It is extremely harmful to calves, causing death in severe cases and affecting the economic returns of farmers. So what are the causes and symptoms of white scours? How should it be prevented and treated? Let's take a look.
1. Cause Analysis
The main causes of calf white scours infection are congenital deficiency and acquired poor conditions. Congenital deficiency refers to the failure to strengthen feeding management during the cow's gestation period and the failure to supply sufficient nutrition, resulting in the calf being relatively weak after birth, which lowers its resistance and immunity, making it highly susceptible to disease. Acquired poor conditions refer to the cow having a low milk yield or poor-quality colostrum with low albumin and globulin content, so the calf cannot obtain enough antibodies, or the breeding environment being poor, such as a dark and damp environment, causing the calf to catch a chill and become infected, and digestive tract disorders can also trigger this disease.
2. Clinical Symptoms
White scours is divided according to its different symptoms into the septicemic type, the enterotoxemic type, and the enteritic type.
Septicemic type: It occurs mainly in calves 3-4 days old, especially calves that have not been fed colostrum. The septicemic type is often acute with an extremely short incubation period. When the disease strikes, the calf develops diarrhea with grayish-white feces, is depressed, has a markedly elevated body temperature, stops eating, and will die within one day.
Enterotoxemic type: The enterotoxemic type is mainly caused by the massive proliferation of large numbers of serotype Escherichia coli and the secretion of excessive amounts of enterotoxin. It strikes extremely quickly, and the calf often dies without any symptoms. When the disease strikes, the calf shows excitement, then depression, and finally falls into a coma and dies, sometimes accompanied by diarrhea.
Enteritic type: The enteritic type has a longer course than the previous two. When the disease strikes, the calf's body temperature can reach 40 degrees, followed by diarrhea, passing pale yellow loose stool with a foul odor, then passing pale gray watery stool mixed with blood streaks or blood clots. In the later stage of the disease, the calf's body temperature returns to normal and it shows symptoms of dehydration. If not treated in time, it will die from exhaustion within one or two days.
3. Prevention and Treatment Measures
Prevention and treatment measures are divided into preventive measures and treatment methods, with prevention being the main focus. During the cow's gestation period, feeding management should be strengthened, and nutrient-rich feed should be provided to ensure that needs are met, so that the calf grows and develops normally, and to ensure there is enough nutrition for lactation after calving. Do a good job of keeping the breeding environment hygienic, control the temperature at 15-20 degrees, spread thick bedding straw, and keep the barn dry and clean to prevent the calf from catching a chill. The barn should be disinfected regularly to inhibit the growth of pathogens. When the disease occurs, furazolidone can be fed according to the instructions or the veterinarian's directions, which can produce a very quick effect, or oxytetracycline, neomycin, or streptomycin, etc., can be injected intramuscularly, generally at a ratio of 10-30 mg/kg during injection.
The above covers the symptoms and prevention and treatment methods of calf white scours, and we hope it can help you. To learn more about cattle raising knowledge, please stay tuned to us.