Many cattle farmers are worried about what calf gastroenteritis is 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 the baby from mother's milk to another type of food. Most often, calf gastroenteritis affects pets almost immediately after birth.
Gastroenteritis calves
The intestines of young animals can react differently to each type of food. First of all, you need to observe cleanliness in the room 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 many 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 manifests itself 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 observed. 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 occur 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 foods may contain bacteria that cause the onset of the disease. If concentrated feed with mold or hay is already sweet, in such a diet the risk of catching calves with gastroenteritis is very high. 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. When newborn calves appear in the herd, it should be a rule to feed them at the same time every day. If there is a need to change the feed or feeding time, then you need to do this gradually and for at least one month.
Treatment of gastroenteritis in calves
To prescribe a full and proper treatment, you should make sure that it is gastroenteritis. For this, the veterinarian takes blood from the calf for analysis. The level of leukocytes, erythrocytes and hemoglobin is also checked. Be sure the veterinarian measures the temperature.
Treatment in young calves with gastroenteritis should be carried out immediately, as soon as the animal becomes noticeably unwell. When neglected, the calf's body becomes dehydrated. Gastroenteritis in calves and its treatment should be carried out with a cleansing of the stomach and intestines.
In some cases, a laxative is prescribed. On the first day of treatment, young animals are not fed, but given plenty of water. 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 the 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, some 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. Iodinol, enteroseptol, etc. give a good effect. It is mandatory to give all groups of vitamins during treatment, because after diarrhea the body is depleted.
After the condition of the animal has stabilized, you can gradually start 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.
Dyspepsia in calves complex treatment is the key to success. Therapy. (Rus)
gastroenteritis in calves abstract
The cause of cattle death in the Kostanay region could be pneumonia and gastroenteritis
Prevention
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 is infected with some disease, then it needs to be isolated for a while, placed in a separate pen: if this is not done, then the disease can attack the whole herd.
It is important to follow the correct diet and not to transfer young animals from one feed to another unnecessarily. Frozen and wet grass, fresh or in the form of hay, is harmful to young animals, therefore it is recommended that animals be allowed to graze outside only if the green is 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, according to veterinarians, gastroenteritis can be noticed a day before the manifestation of the main symptoms, for example, diarrhea. Already the day before, 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.