Minimise calf diarrhoea by good husbandry: treat sick calves by fluid therapy

Calf morbidity and mortality rates up to three weeks old were 11.3% and 1.2% respectively when good husbandry was practised compared with 36.6% and 5.4% with poor husbandry. The annual mortality rate was 4% in earlier years when management was inadequate. The main features of good husbandry were feeding at least 2.25 litres of colostrum to each calf within the first hour of life to boost its immunity while minimising infection rates by regular thorough cleaning and disinfection of calving boxes and calf pens and providing uncrowded, dry, draught free accommodation. By these means satisfactory control of early calf losses was achieved without concentrating on specific microorganisms. Detailed examinations of sacrificed moribund diarrhoeic calves showed that E. coli, cryptosporidia, rota and corona viruses were associated agents. The serum immunoglobulin level of any individual calf was an unreliable guide to its future viability because 12 out of 488 calves with high levels died whereas 53 with unacceptably low levels remained healthy. Nevertheless when calves were grouped by immunoglobulin status the highest mortality rates occurred among those with low levels. Clinical examination of diarrhoeic calves to determine the degree of dehydration was more reliable than clinical pathologic laboratory tests. Results of a treatment trial indicated that oral glucose-glycine electrolyte solution alone was as beneficial as the electrolyte plus an oral triple sulphonamide and streptomycin. This was not unexpected in view of the widespread antibiotic resistance also demonstrated.