Calf diarrhea: causes and how to cure quickly and effectively at home

Infectious or non-infectious diarrhea in calves is a common problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Due to diarrhea, the calf becomes dehydrated, the body is depleted, the mucous membranes of the digestive tract become inflamed, which, if left untreated, leads to death. Treatment should be started immediately after the diagnosis is made by a veterinarian, animals can be treated with medicines and folk remedies.

What is diarrhea?

Diarrhea is a violation of defecation, accompanied by increased output and liquefaction of feces, fever, intoxication, loss of appetite. Normal faeces from a breastfed calf:

mushy;
homogeneous;
yellow or brownish;
intensely scented.

A he althy dairy calf defecates after each suckling and a couple of times between feedings. Young animals switched to adult food should have normal faeces:

brown or brownish green;
dense;
strongly smelling like silage.

He althy young animals are emptied 6-10 times a day. More frequent emptying signals a pathology. Diarrhea in calves comes in 3 forms:

light - feces are liquefied, but not watery, the animal does not lose its appetite;
medium - feces are liquid, comes out often, the calf loses appetite, but dehydration is not severe;
heavy - watery feces, the animal is lethargic, hardly rises, staggers, the body is dehydrated.

Causes of diarrhea in calves

Causes of diarrhea in calves can be infectious or non-infectious.

Non-infectious provocateurs of pathology:

poor quality compound feed;
non-compliance with hygiene rules;
helminthiasis;
poisoning with poor-quality food;
drastic change in diet;
overeating;
weakened immune system;
hypovitaminosis;
stress.

It's enough to work in the barn with dirty tools, put food in an unwashed feeder, so that the calf swears. Less often, diarrhea in young animals occurs after vaccination against the background of weakened immunity.

In the first days of life, diarrhea can occur in a calf as a sign of adaptation of the body to the environment. This is a benign phenomenon that goes away on its own with proper care.

Infectious causes of diarrhea in calves:

Anaerobic enterotoxemia is a bacterial infection that causes severe intoxication that affects the nervous system. Transmitted by contact and through food.
Salmonellosis is a bacterial pathology that occurs when animals are unsanitary and crowded. Transmission of the pathogen occurs through the digestive tract.
Colibacillosis affects immunocompromised newborn babies. Infection is provoked by unsanitary conditions, chronic pathologies in the mother cow, hypovitaminosis, and liver failure.
Rhinotracheitis is a viral pathology of cattle, leading to mass mortality of young animals. The herpes virus is transmitted by contact, through food, less often by airborne and placental methods.
Adenovirus mainly affects young animals up to a month old. The virus moves by airborne droplets, through food and dirty bedding, captures the respiratory, digestive, lymphatic systems, organs of vision.
Rotavirus is carried by sick animals. Possible intrauterine infection of the fetus.

Associated symptoms

Symptomatic accompanying diarrhea depends on the cause of the pathological condition. Common symptoms associated with diarrhea of any origin:

fast weight loss, exhaustion;
sluggish, drowsy, apathetic state;
poor or no appetite;
drying of the nasal passages and upper lip area;
dry skin;
blanching of mucous membranes;
fever, fever.

The calf, which often drizzles, develops poorly, lags behind its peers in height and weight.The body receives less nutrients, vitamins, mineral elements contained in the feed, as they come out with liquefied feces. Loose stools lead to dehydration, disruption of metabolic processes, and intoxication. Bloody diarrhea signals an inflammatory process in the digestive tract. If thin blood streaks or lumps are visible in the feces, then a foreign body has entered the intestines, traumatizing the mucous walls.

White diarrhea is a sign of helminthiasis or hypovitaminosis. If a newborn calf defecates yellow liquid feces, then the problem is poor-quality feed or a disturbed feeding regimen. The color and structure of feces are not the same in infectious pathologies:

Anaerobic enterotoxemia - diarrhea is dark brown, bubbling, with bloody impurities. The animal has a fever, incoordination, muscle spasms, rapid breathing.
Salmonellosis - a liquid mass spontaneously flows from the anus.
Colibacillosis - diarrhea is yellow-gray, watery, foul-smelling, flaky, mucous, bloody inclusions are noticeable in it. There are colic, the stomach is hard and painful, the eyeballs are sunken.
Rhinotracheitis is accompanied, in addition to diarrhea, high fever, frequent breathing, coughing, foamy saliva from the mouth and clear mucus from the nose. Gradually, the nasal mucus becomes purulent, pneumonia occurs, the animal's body becomes covered with ulcers.
Adenovirus - brown-gray diarrhea with mucous, less often blood inclusions. A month old calf has profuse discharge from the nose and eyes, dry cough, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, excessive gas formation. After 3-5 days, nasal discharge becomes purulent.
Rotavirus - feces are watery, gray-yellow, smelling sour, blood streaks appear later. Despite being dehydrated, the calf refuses to drink. The heartbeat quickens, thick saliva flows from the mouth.

Diagnosis of disease

The diagnosis is made by a veterinarian, analyzing the conditions of livestock, feed quality, symptoms. Takes biomaterial for bacteriological analysis.

The veterinarian asks the farmer:

does the animal's body temperature change;
what the calf ate;
how long diarrhea lasts;
is there vomiting;
how often the animal defecates.

During the diagnosis, the veterinarian takes into account the color and consistency of feces, the density and soreness of the abdomen of the calf, dryness of the outer integument, heart rate.

Treatment at home

The sick animal is kept warm and dry, with good air circulation. Regularly clean and disinfect the premises and equipment. It is forbidden to overfeed a sick calf. Milk, compound feed and s alt are excluded from the diet until the digestive tract is restored. The pet is treated according to the diagnosis.

Medicated

Medicines are used for severe diarrhea caused by infection or intoxication. It is possible to give medicines only after consulting with a veterinarian, so as not to harm the animal's body.

Rehydrates

These are oral preparations used to restore the water-s alt balance in the body. The most popular remedy is called "Rehydrate". The medicine should be made as follows: dissolve 3 packs in 10 liters of water heated to 70 ° C, stir. The treatment lasts a week. In the first 2 days, the calf is fed 6 times, the solution is added to 250 ml of cow's milk or a substitute when feeding milk replacer.You can store the medicine for 3 days in a cool place.

Sorbents

These are body cleansers of toxins. The calf can be treated with Bifidumbacterin intended for people, which quickly restores the intestinal microflora. The powder is dissolved in warm water - 1 serving per teaspoon of water. The daily norm is 12-15 servings, divided into 2 or 3 doses 30 minutes before feeding. Treatment lasts 1.5 weeks.

Enzymes

Should be given if calf diarrhea is due to enzyme deficiency. An effective remedy is Gastrovet powder: 10 g is dissolved in 10 liters of water heated to 50 ° C. To stop diarrhea, a solution is added to cow's milk, left for some time to ferment, and the calf is allowed to drink. The daily dose, 90-110 ml, is divided into 3 doses.

Probiotics

These are restorers of intestinal microflora. Suitable pharmacy "Bifidumbacterin", veterinary "Lactobifadol" and "Olin". The dosage of "Lactobifadol" is 0.2 g per 1 kg of body weight, the drug is dissolved in water at 30 ° C, given 2 times a day with food, treatment is continued for at least a week. Probiotics are diluted just before use, as the lifespan of beneficial bacteria in the external environment is short. For the treatment of milk calves younger than a month, Monosporin is used. It is added to food in 50 g.

Antibiotics with electrolytes

Antibiotics are used for a bacterial infection that causes diarrhea. There is no cure for viral diseases; for prevention, calves are given injections of vaccines. Of the antibiotics, Tetracycline, Levomycetin, Biomycin are effective. Dose - 15-20 mg per 1 kg of body weight. Electrolyte - saline solutions that help with dehydration. They are easily prepared at home, the basis of the composition is potassium, sodium, chlorine, glucose (but not sugar - the calf's body does not absorb it).

Folk remedies

Folk recipes are useless for infections, they treat mild diarrhea associated with improper feeding, moldy feed. If the 2-3-day treatment turned out to be ineffective, then you need to immediately switch to medication.

Decoctions

To cure mild diarrhea in a calf, the following recipes are effective:

150 g of barley or rye grain pour 1 liter of water, cook for 30 minutes. Give a decoction to a sick calf for 2 days. Divide the daily portion of 0.5 l into 5 doses.
50 g of linseed pour 1 liter of water, cook for an hour. Add 2 liters of boiled water to the strained broth. Give 2 times a day for 0.5 liters.

Tinctures

The following recipes help with diarrhea:

100 g rose hips pour 1 liter of boiling water. Insist 8 hours. Water the calf 200 ml 3 times a day.
9 g of s alt dissolved in 1 liter of boiling water. Pour in 200 g of finely chopped onions (a variety with red husks), shake. Pour in 100 ml of sunflower oil. Insist 2 days. Give medicine during the day 5 times, dosage - 5 ml per 1 kg of body weight.

Tea solutions

In tea leaves (black, without flavorings), add a large spoonful of s alt, 3 raw egg whites. Dose - 10 ml of solution per 1 kg of body weight. Treatment lasts a month.

When using folk remedies for diarrhea, the calf should not be fed with milk.

What causes diarrhea

The lack of therapeutic measures in most cases leads to death due to many complications. Viral pathologies in calves are complicated by meningitis, encephalitis, blockage of the respiratory tract.Rhinotracheitis is accompanied by convulsive conditions, turning into paralysis. Colibacillosis affects the lung and articular tissues. Enterotoxemia is complicated by hemorrhages, intestinal inflammation with the formation of necrotic foci.

Surviving calves remain weak, have poor appetite, and do not grow to normal weight. Cows that had diarrhea at a young age have low milk production.

How to prevent diarrhea in calves

The main preventive measures are keeping the barn clean, using quality feed, strengthening the immunity of calves by drinking colostrum. To prevent diarrheal diseases, farmers:

comply with sanitary recommendations for keeping cattle;
regularly vaccinate livestock;
use anti-mold feed additives;
give calves vitamin complexes and supplements to improve digestion, strengthen immunity;
immunize pregnant cows a month before birth;
new animals are kept in quarantine.

Prevention of diarrhea in calves is easier than cure, it is enough to create good conditions. If diarrhea has already begun, then all methods approved by the veterinarian should be used to save the animals from death.