Not all milk replacers are the same. Sure, they differ by protein source, level of protein/fat and any medications or additives included. But milk replacers also differ on how well they support gut health and protect overall calf health. While you probably have a favorite milk replacer, new research shows that adding IgY, the avian equivalent of IgG (immunoglobulin G found in colostrum), can make a good milk replacer even better.

Stress on cattle is inevitable, but producers know the goal is to manage and mitigate the stresses animals experience, including transportation, weaning, parturition, dietary and nutritional changes, predation, commingling, vaccination, diseases and infections. 

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

“Do you have good luck when it comes to raising calves?” That’s a question you have likely been asked, but when it comes to preventing scours and ensuring calf health, it takes more than luck!

Mixing temperature and feeding calves IgYs can have a bigger impact on calf weight gain and health than expected.

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.

Cases began to appear more frequently from 2021 onward, as Chilliwack, British Columbia-based veterinarian John Dick began witnessing more cattle infected with S. Dublin in his clients’ herds, noticing that clinical signs varied markedly from the clinical signs typically present in other salmonella serotypes.

The immune system is the body’s military. It is tasked with being able to recognize pathogenic invaders that have entered the body and eliminate them as quickly as possible.

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.