Now that spring is here and calving has begun, calls for sick calves are coming in thick and fast.

A common complaint over the phone is that ‘my calf has a draw’, ‘a beat’, or ‘a blow’. This may sound like a case of pneumonia, but in calves under a week old it could be septicaemia.

Septicaemia (blood poisoning) is a rapidly fatal disease that can kill in a matter of hours.

It occurs when a toxin producing E coli bacteria colonises the blood stream after gaining entry via the upper respiratory tract, the navel or the gastrointestinal tract.

Initially the septic calf appears dull, looses its suck reflex, becomes recumbent and develops a fast shallow breathing pattern.

Rectal temperature is usually low (this is unlike pneumonia) and blood vessels in the white of the eye will appear dark and injected.

At this stage of the disease, veterinary attention is urgently required. If left untreated, the calf goes on to develop meningitis and treatment becomes futile, with any surviving calves going on to develop septic arthritis and neurological defects.

Essential early treatment involves intravenous anti-inflammatories and a course of antibiotics.

Intravenous fluids will help to flush out toxins from the bloodstream and improve chances of survival.

Invariably, calves that succumb to septicaemia will have received inadequate passive antibody transfer from the dam.

Prevention is always better than cure and septicaemia is best prevented by providing the calf with three litres of good-quality colostrum in the first two hours of life.

Excellent colostrum management will produce a hardier and more disease-resistant calf.

The best way to check if your colostrum management is up to scratch is to blood-test multiple healthy calves in their first week of life. The RVL will carry out the zinc sulphate turbidity (ZST) test on six to 12 samples for only €10. This would be a useful, practical and cost-effective tool in any calf herd health investigation.

Charles Burgess works at The Vet Hospital, a five-person mixed practice in Gorey. The Vet Hospital, Gorey, is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. For further information, go to www.xlvets.ie.