Calf gastroenteritis
Many cattle farmers are concerned about the question of what is calf gastroenteritis and how to deal with it. There can be many reasons for the appearance of an insidious disease, but the most common is the transfer of a baby from mother's milk to another type of food. Most often, calf gastroenteritis affects pets almost immediately after birth.
Calf gastroenteritis
The intestines of young animals can react differently to each type of food. First of all, you need to keep the room clean and know how to properly feed the animal in the first days of life and until the period when the calf can eat on its own. Gastroenteritis comes in different forms, and without proper treatment can lead to undesirable consequences. If symptoms similar to gastroenteritis are found, it is necessary to immediately show the young to a veterinarian, as this is a serious illness.
Symptoms of gastroenteritis in calves
- The first and most basic symptom that appears in almost all individuals is diarrhea. With a different form of gastroenteritis, feces can be of different colors and with lumps.
- The animal is weak and cannot rise to its feet.
- At any stage of the disease, the calf refuses to eat and practically does not drink.
How Calves Can Get Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis, or as some farmers call this disease, gastroenterocolitis, most often occurs on farms where sanitary, epidemiological or infectious standards are not followed. The main reason is a sharp change in diet or a change in the feeding regime, which in no case should be done. The disease can manifest itself immediately after infection. The course of the disease for the calf is manifested in a change in mood and mobility: infected animals immediately become lethargic.
If given poor-quality food, it can also provoke gastroenteritis.
Low-quality products may contain bacteria that cause the manifestation of the disease. If the concentrated feed is moldy or the hay is already rotten, the risk of gastroenteritis in the calves is very high in such a diet. Young animals can catch the disease even after drinking sour, cold or dirty milk. The fauna should receive only high-quality and proven food. The body of young animals and the intestinal mucosa at a younger age are very vulnerable, so you should carefully monitor what food you give.
Also, do not abruptly transfer or change food to another: at this age, babies still do not digest food as well as their adult counterparts, therefore they cannot adequately respond to a change in diet, type of food or different feeding times. It should be a rule when newborn calves appear in the herd to feed them at the same time every day. If it becomes necessary to change the feed or feeding time, then this should be done gradually and for at least one month.
Treatment of gastroenteritis in calves
To prescribe a complete and correct treatment, you should make sure that this is exactly gastroenteritis.For this, the veterinarian takes blood from the calf for analysis. The level of leukocytes, erythrocytes and hemoglobin is also checked. The veterinarian must measure the temperature.
Treatment in young calves with gastroenteritis should be carried out immediately, as soon as the animal's malaise becomes noticeable. When neglected, the calf's body becomes dehydrated. Gastroenteritis in calves and its treatment should be carried out by cleansing the stomach and intestines.
In some cases, a laxative is prescribed. On the first day of treatment, young animals are not fed, but they are given a plentiful drink. So that the animal does not starve and the small organism does not deplete in a day, a glucose solution and ascorbic acid are added to the water. In cows against a background of viral diseases, the treatment is the same, only the dosage is calculated based on the stage of the disease and the weight of the cow. If, as a result of the infection, any formations have appeared, then their autopsy does not need to be carried out without the instructions of the veterinarian.
With gastroenteritis, antibiotics are also prescribed, which, with prolonged use, can provoke dysbiosis intraperitoneally. They also prescribe the intake of nitrofurans and sulfonamides, which help to neutralize dysbiosis. A good effect is given by iodinol, enteroseptol, etc. It is imperative to give all groups of vitamins during treatment, since after diarrhea the body is exhausted.
After the condition of the animal has stabilized, you can gradually begin to feed it with dietary food. You need to give food in small portions. Decoctions of rice and oat flour, as well as various decoctions of medicinal herbs, have proven themselves well.
Prophylaxis
In order to prevent the development of such a disease, animals should be kept in a clean room from the very beginning of breeding. It is very important to carry out weekly general cleaning of the entire premises using disinfectants. The fact is that in dirty barns, viral infections most often start. If one calf has contracted some kind of disease, then it must be isolated for a while, placed in a separate pen: if this is not done, then the disease can attack the entire herd.
It is important to follow the correct diet and not to transfer young animals from one feed to another unnecessarily. Frozen and damp grass, fresh or in the form of hay, is harmful to young animals, therefore it is recommended to let the animals go outside to graze only if the greens are not frozen. If the feed is hay, first check its quality and suitability.
It is imperative to install in a room where animals are kept, good ventilation and heating for the cold season.
In some cases, as veterinarians assure, you can notice gastroenteritis a day before the onset of the main symptoms, for example, diarrhea. Already on the eve, the calf may be lethargic and refuse food. If you take timely measures to treat such a disease, you can prevent the active development of gastroenteritis in the calf in the early stages.