Recently, a client of mine showed me a list he had printed off the computer and it showed the top 10 things that kill calves. He had losses down through the years and wanted an “objective” look at what the likely causes were.

His assessment was pretty clear – pneumonia was the number one killer of calves and that was exactly his experience as well.

Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs were costing him more than he would have wished for. His instructions to me were to sample the calves, identify whether “bugs” were about and suggest a vaccination programme to prevent future pneumonia.

After all, prevention is better than cure, which he had laced our conversation with on more than one occasion.

However, vaccination, no matter how targeted, would not compensate for a poorly designed shed.

His shed, where the calves were housed, was spotless (this being August – well before housing and any weanling pneumonia) and, as he quoted himself, power-hosed top to bottom each year.

The problem was that the shed also housed the tractor, the combine harvester and the slurry tanker.

It would also be housing the round bales of straw, all 400 of them.

After calving, the calves spend a month in the big shed with all the cows and other cattle and then come into the “calf shed” at one month old and remain there till turnout.

This is commonplace and, from a calf pneumonia point of view, there are two big problems with it.

Firstly, young calves should not share the same airspace as older cattle, as these older cattle are like a reservoir for bugs which are harmless to adult animals but may be detrimental to neonatal calves.

Secondly, young calves need to be in a controlled environment, free from draughts, etc.

They also need to be in a house with a lower roof than would be acceptable for older cattle and tractors, not to mention 400 round bales!

Michael Sexton is a vet in Riverview Vet Clinic, a 10-vet practice in Bandon, Co Cork.