As calving season progresses, we hear of miracle remedies that will get an unthrifty calf up to snuff in no time. Whether oral or injectable, it’s good to understand what the active ingredient in the “cocktail” is that may – or may not – give the calf a boost.

Producers today have a new tool available to help keep calves healthy and minimize sickness events before weaning. That tool is IgY.

I occasionally get calls from customers and other producers about product features or lab samples where the results come back without a clear solution to the challenge. Some wonder why they even saw a scours outbreak and sick calves because they were doing a great job managing the calf environment and being diligent with their prevention program. It’s understandably frustrating for them, and they want answers.

Vaccine protocol discussions can be energetic and entertaining amongst calf raisers, consultants and veterinarians. It ultimately leads to comparing the current vaccine protocol to a large, well-established calf raiser in the region or even nationally. There can be value in this comparison, but the real value is understanding how these successful facilities arrived at their protocol.

Effective probiotics cost pennies per day and provide significant benefits throughout the entire life cycle of an animal.

By definition, scours is complex: a complex clinical symptom associated with multifactorial diseases that prevent the intestine from absorbing fluids and nutrients. Don’t throw up your hands and assume there is only so much you can do.

Calf health is an important consideration for dairy farmers. Disease impacts the health and welfare of calves and links to production, health and longevity of these calves as adult animals.

Combating the pathogen that causes scours, providing for the calf's physiological demands (hydration, energy and acid/base balance) and restoring intestinal health are the three main objectives of calf scours therapy.

While the anticipation of a new calf crop and new genetics is exciting, calving season always comes with plenty of challenges. Of all these challenges, neonatal calf diarrhea has the greatest impact on calf health and performance outcomes.