If biestings is not stored cold it could become a bacterial soup
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Colostrum management is probably the most critical aspect of scour control. Ensuring the calves receive 10% of bodyweight in the first 12 hours of life is critical. A 3-2-1 approach (3 litres, within 2 hours after birth as the 1st feed) is a useful yardstick.
It is desirable that you continue to feed colostrum and post-colostral milk to dairy calves over the subsequent weeks. Colostrum should be stored in a hygienic manner, as if it is left at room temperature for a number of days, it can potentially become a “bacterial soup”.
Storing deep frozen in ziplock bags in 0.5 litre aliquots can ease management and thawing. Avoid mixing colostrum if Johne’s disease risk exists. A number of vaccines are now available for controlling three of the main scour agents and help to improve colostrum quality. These are listed in Table 1.
Calves from vaccinated suckler cows generally receive enough antibodies in post-colostral milk to successfully prevent virus attachment. If you are already into the calving season, but your calving spread is adequate to allow a three week distance to calving, consider vaccination with a product that will give you the fastest onset of protection. From the list in Table 1, considering it is a one-shot primary course vaccine, Rotavec Corona is probably the most appropriate product to solve this situation. For less urgent onset of immunity, the other vaccines may be considered, but a primary course of two doses must be administered when first starting a vaccination programme on a farm with these other products.
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Colostrum management is probably the most critical aspect of scour control. Ensuring the calves receive 10% of bodyweight in the first 12 hours of life is critical. A 3-2-1 approach (3 litres, within 2 hours after birth as the 1st feed) is a useful yardstick.
It is desirable that you continue to feed colostrum and post-colostral milk to dairy calves over the subsequent weeks. Colostrum should be stored in a hygienic manner, as if it is left at room temperature for a number of days, it can potentially become a “bacterial soup”.
Storing deep frozen in ziplock bags in 0.5 litre aliquots can ease management and thawing. Avoid mixing colostrum if Johne’s disease risk exists. A number of vaccines are now available for controlling three of the main scour agents and help to improve colostrum quality. These are listed in Table 1.
Calves from vaccinated suckler cows generally receive enough antibodies in post-colostral milk to successfully prevent virus attachment. If you are already into the calving season, but your calving spread is adequate to allow a three week distance to calving, consider vaccination with a product that will give you the fastest onset of protection. From the list in Table 1, considering it is a one-shot primary course vaccine, Rotavec Corona is probably the most appropriate product to solve this situation. For less urgent onset of immunity, the other vaccines may be considered, but a primary course of two doses must be administered when first starting a vaccination programme on a farm with these other products.
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