Diseases of calves can be a real headache for a farmer, especially a beginner. If you decide to breed this type of cattle, you should be informed about the animal’s health problems, because only a healthy individual can generate income from milk, meat or selling offspring. If you provide pets with proper care, balanced nutrition and veterinary services, it is likely to avoid problems with livestock health. Let's move on to what diseases of calves and their symptoms are most common.
Calf diseases
Varieties of Infectious Diseases
This group of diseases causes maximum damage to livestock, often leading to its death. The owner must at least learn to recognize the first signs of the disease in order to start treatment on time. Otherwise, it is likely that the cattle will die, and the calf's disease will spread among other domestic animals.
It is worth saying that it is only necessary to describe the diseases in a comprehensive manner, that is, telling everything in order: symptoms, illness and treatment of calves, as well as preventive measures. What are the most common infectious diseases in calves? It:
- Diplococci;
- Colibacillosis;
- Cryprosporidiosis;
- Salmonella;
- Enteritis;
- Dysentery.
These ailments can safely be called the most dangerous, since the signs develop quite quickly, and the infection spreads in many ways. It is necessary to ensure such conditions of keeping cattle in which the risk of an ailment will be minimal. The following can be attributed to the complex of measures:
- hygiene of the barn and surrounding area;
- high-quality fresh food and water.
Even if the animal becomes ill, under normal conditions, the healing process will be much faster and easier. You can also protect other animals from infection, thereby facilitating the course of treatment for yourself and the veterinarian.
We describe each of the listed diseases of calves in more detail.
Colibacillus infection
This disease is called colibacteriosis, most often young animals suffer, so newborn calves are at risk. The disease in calves is caused by E. coli, which enters the food or water of livestock.
Symptoms of colibacillosis:
- Increase in temperature indicators.
- A significant increase in the mucous membrane.
- Diarrhea: stools are frequent, frothy, green, or yellow.
- Calves are lethargic, weak.
- Appetite worsens or is absent altogether.
- The folds near the mouth and lips noticeably swell.
If one or more of these symptoms become noticeable, you should immediately seek help from a veterinarian. If colibacteriosis is left untreated, it is likely that the animal will die from intoxication or dehydration.
How is colibacteriosis transmitted? As mentioned earlier, the transmission routes are most often foodborne, that is, through food or water. However, the possibility of the spread of bacteria from an infected animal to a healthy one is not ruled out. It is also worth considering that not only calves suffer from colibacteriosis, but also young piglets, goats and other representatives of domestic animals.
An error in feeding can provoke the development of colibacteriosis, especially at the moment when the calves are breast-fed. For example, if the cow had a dirty udder or had an inflammatory process, the risk of infection increases markedly. If you closely monitor the cleanliness of the barn, food and water change according to the schedule, you can significantly reduce the risk of this disease and maintain the health of calves.
Diplococcus infection
Diplococcal infection is a disease that cannot be told about when talking about diseases of calves. As in the previous case, the disease most often affects young animals: calves from birth to six months of age. The danger is that the animal literally melts before our eyes. From the moment the first sign of the disease appears to death, only a few days can pass.
How to recognize the development of diplococcal infection? The calf becomes lethargic, weakness is manifested, as intoxication increases. Traditionally, with infectious diseases of calves, the temperature rises and the classic symptoms of poisoning appear, which makes it impossible to immediately make the correct diagnosis and choose the right treatment at the very beginning. After this, the cow’s condition worsens, inflammation in the joints is added, then the pathogen makes its way into the respiratory system. You usually serve as the cause of death, either pulmonary edema or massive bleeding in some vital organ. The pitfall of this disease is that the pathogen changes the composition of the blood, thus blood coagulation is significantly reduced. In the terminal stage, the animal can die from any injury, including from a shallow scratch, as blood loses the ability to clot.
How is diplococcus transmitted? Despite the fact that the scale of the lesion is astounding, because almost the entire body suffers, the transmission routes can be only two options:
- through the gastrointestinal tract (through food or drink);
- airborne.
To minimize the risk of cattle falling from this insidious disease, it is worth paying sufficient attention to hygiene and preventive veterinary examinations. Calves should receive only fresh and high-quality feed.
If you still failed to save the calf, you do not need to self-medicate, this is too risky in this situation. It is recommended that you contact your veterinarian immediately after at least one of the above symptoms appears. The doctor will be able to identify the pathogen and prescribe adequate treatment if it is relevant at this stage of the disease. The farmer's task at this stage is to isolate the calf from the rest of the animals and conduct a thorough disinsection of the room.
Salmonella
Salmonella infection is called salmonellosis or calf paratyphoid. Young individuals that feed on mother's milk are most susceptible to infection. Find out what symptoms this disease may have:
- a sharp jump in temperature;
- respiratory failure: shortness of breath appears, the cow breathes shallowly, sleeps and wheezes;
- the classic picture, as in food poisoning: diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes with bloody impurities;
- gait is disturbed, as the inflammatory process goes to the joints and bone tissue.
The danger lies in the fact that it is difficult for a person to distinguish the onset of salmonellosis from ordinary poisoning, for this reason treatment often begins already when it makes no sense.
The causative agent of salmonellosis penetrates the calf usually through the food tract with poor-quality contaminated food or water. Options for the development of the disease may be different. It happens that a calf dies in a week, but there are situations when the disease acquires a chronic course. It depends on the state of the animal’s immune system, what is its weight and nutrition, what are the conditions of detention, and so on. The chronic form of the disease is considered the most insidious, since throughout life a cow is a carrier of Salmonella, infecting other domestic animals and humans, including.
The chronic form occurs in those animals that have recently suffered from salmonellosis, but the treatment did not have the desired effect, but only dulled the symptoms. Thus, the conclusion suggests itself that only a specialist, an experienced veterinarian, should carry out the treatment in order to bring it to its logical conclusion and completely kill Salmonella. The same applies to diagnostics; it will not be possible to independently fix the presence of salmonella in the blood or feces of a cow.
The peak incidence occurs during the period of mass calving of cows, it is at this time that maximum time is spent on hygiene and cleaning in cowsheds. Vaccinations and other preventive measures, unfortunately, no.
Cryptosporidiosis
Another serious disease for calves is cryptosporidiosis. The disease causes a parasite - the simplest unicellular creature - cryptosporidia. As with salmonellosis, the diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis is difficult. Traditionally, like many infectious diseases at the very beginning of their development, cryptosporidiosis can be confused with poisoning.
Starting the treatment of this disease, it is worth worrying about safety, since cryptosporidiosis can affect a person. Even despite the fact that for a person he does not pose a mortal danger, his treatment is quite troublesome and costly. As for animals, then, depending on age, the course of the disease can be different. So, the younger the cattle, the more difficult cryptosporidiosis is.
Symptoms:
- High temperature, often above 40 ° C. And do not rejoice if the temperature decreases, this is not a sign of recovery, but the imminent death of the animal.
- General weakness of the calf.
- No appetite.
- Diarrhea with blood, later the stool becomes completely watery, which only exacerbates the dehydration process.
- The respiratory system is affected almost immediately.
- Convulsions are allowed.
Cryptosporidia can enter the calf by airborne droplets or by eating contaminated food. Infection can occur from cow to cow, as well as from other domestic animals. In order to minimize the risk of mass infection, it is worthwhile to carry out disinsection in cowsheds and walking areas of calves and other domestic animals. If a diseased individual is found, it is necessary to isolate the animal immediately and ensure full quarantine. Naturally, treatment should be carried out only under the supervision of a veterinarian.
Dysentery disease
If the economy became the victim of this dangerous infectious disease, it is guaranteed that significant financial losses will be incurred. There are several varieties of the disease, its anaerobic form is considered the most dangerous, even suckling newborn calves suffer from it. Moreover, the peak of the disease ends already in 1-2 months of life. If a newborn calf becomes infected with dysentery, then in 95% of cases it is not possible to save the animal, death is inevitable.
It is a well-known fact that people suffer from dysentery. For this reason, it is worthwhile to carry out treatment and care, observing the maximum precautions, that is, use personal protective equipment, because even in humans, dysentery is quite difficult and difficult to treat, leading to death in some cases.
How to recognize the presence of dysentery:
- frequent liquid diarrhea;
- impaired appetite;
- there are blood clots in the stool, which indicates a violation of coagulation;
- an autopsy reveals ulcers and even areas of necrosis on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract.
It is the presence of such internal wounds that aggravates the course of the disease and makes its resolution practically impossible.
Since it is almost impossible to fight dysentery, scientists have developed a serum (vaccine), which gives artificial immunity from this terrible disease. It is also important to observe the hygienic requirements for the barn to prevent the bacteria from multiplying. The diseased animal must be urgently isolated and, if the treatment does not have the desired effect, slaughtered and disposed of. Moreover, it is important to burn the body completely, since neither the skin nor the meat is suitable for use.
Non-Infectious Calf Diseases
It is worth saying that calves are subject not only to infectious, that is, infectious ailments, but also non-infectious ones. The fact that the disease is not transmitted to another cattle, often misleads the owner, as he can underestimate the seriousness of the situation. As for the signs and characteristic symptoms, they often overlap with the infectious, which complicates the diagnosis. To make an accurate diagnosis, it is better to use the services of a veterinarian.
What non-communicable diseases of the calf are considered the most dangerous for calves:
- pneumonia and bronchitis (relate to respiratory diseases of calves);
- white muscle disease;
- rickets;
- tympany;
- enteritis;
- bezoyarnoe ailment.
Despite the fact that all these are non-infectious ailments, in some cases they can be no less dangerous and lead to cattle dropping, albeit not so massive. We learn about each of the problems in more detail.
White muscle disease
The reason for the development of this ailment is usually improper livestock conditions: unbalanced nutrition or unsanitary conditions. Often, white muscle disease affects young animals, especially those calves that are breast-fed. White muscle disease is also called muscular dystrophy, since it affects the muscles, exhausting them to the limit. If the disease occurs in winter, then more than half of the brood can die, even despite the fact that this disease is not considered contagious. Here, the mass of sick cattle is explained by the fact that the conditions are the same for everyone.
How to recognize the onset of the disease? The first symptoms usually appear in the first months of the calf's life, that is, this is one of the diseases of newborn calves up to 3 months of age. Outwardly, a change in gait, a decrease in physical activity, and even rare cramps are noticeable. Sometimes in more advanced cases, white muscle disease can lead to paralysis, complete or partial. If you carefully examine the diseased calf, you will notice that its skin and mucous membranes have become noticeably paler. Also, muscular dystrophy negatively affects the respiratory and cardiac systems, shortness of breath appears and the heartbeat is disturbed. It is worth saying that these changes are irreversible, that is, they do not return to normal even after treatment.
Dyspepsia in calves a comprehensive treatment is the key to success. Therapy. (Rus)
Casein-free puppy disease of calves. Autopsy. Casein gastrolith disease calves. autopsy
Diseases of calves - diagnosis of bronchopneumonia
Prevention of diseases of calves (young animals) with the help of vaccines "Skogard", "Bowie-shield Gold"
Severe diarrhea in a weekly calf.
Rarely, white muscle disease can be fatal. Death usually comes from the fact that a violation of vital systems leads to depletion of the heart muscle and the appearance of lung dysfunction. In order to protect animals, it is worth paying due attention to cleaning indoors with cows, as well as responsibly approach the issue of feeding. In the diet of the calf should be all the necessary vitamins and minerals that are required at this age.
Rickets in calves
Rickets is also a non-infectious disease that does not belong to a number of viral or microbial diseases. It arises due to poor care and insufficient number of walks in the fresh air, especially in sunny weather. In the most advanced cases, rickets can be combined with muscular dystrophy, then we can say that the calf is doomed to death. If we are talking only about the defeat of rickets, then the disease is not fatal. Dangerous is not so much the outcome as the course of the disease. Rickets exhausts the animal, leaving a mark for many years.
Rickets refers to seasonal diseases, so in winter the number of cases increases significantly. Of course, if cattle do not receive proper care, rickets can develop in the summer, but this is much less common.
Rickets can be identified by characteristic signs:
- The calf is poorly gaining weight and height.
- Frequent injury to the limbs due to the bones becoming more fragile.
- The spine is often bent, which can be seen in the photo or video to describe rickets in cattle.
- With complicated variants of the course of rickets, the respiratory system can also be affected.
To save the animal from torment, it is only necessary to revise the conditions of keeping and grazing, as well as add vitamins to the usual diet. It is especially recommended to pay attention to vitamin D, because it is its deficiency that causes the development of rickets in most cases. If you manage to make up for its deficiency, then 2 critical nutritional components, calcium and phosphorus, which are so necessary to maintain bone strength, will be automatically absorbed normally. Foods that contain large amounts of vitamin D are fish oil, ground flour, or regular chalk.
Nooar disease
Like all of the previous diseases described, an ooaric disease affects young animals, that is, those calves that are fed milk or have recently gone away from their mother’s udder. The disease is considered so dangerous that it can affect entire herds, often leading to death. The peak incidence occurs in the winter months, although outbreaks can occur at any time of the year.
What leads to the development of the disease? Most often, the reason is the lack of milk in nursing heifers or an incorrectly composed menu: the predominance of rough food in the calves menu. The situation in which the calves walk a little will negatively affect the course of the disease. What is a nooar disease? This is primarily a violation in the digestive system. During this ailment, undigested clots from particles of food and wool are formed in the gastrointestinal tract. These lumps interfere with the normal digestion of food.
You can suspect the development of this ailment in the case when cows and bulls begin to eat soil or any other inedible ingredients more often than usual. This suggests that similar bezoars formed in the body. Outwardly, one can notice that the calf began to gain weight poorly, his coat became dull and his stomach swelled. In addition to the fact that bezosnary formations negatively affect the general well-being of the animal, they also inhibit the immune system, which makes cattle more prone to various infectious and non-infectious diseases.
In order to prevent the development of nooar disease, it is necessary to pay due attention to the hygiene of the barn, and also feed the calves correctly. Moreover, feeding should be balanced in all categories of cattle: in cows, bulls and young animals. The menu must include light feeds, the processing of which does not need to spend a lot of time. If the animal does not cope with food, it is worth helping him by adding special preparations to the diet that improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and dissolve such clots. If such therapy does not help, it is worthwhile to seek help from a specialist as soon as possible, who will decide what is the best way to remove bezoars. It is worth saying that in most cases it is necessary to apply surgical methods.
Pneumonia in calves
Pneumonia in calves has many common features with the human course of the disease, belongs to the group of respiratory diseases. Just as in the case of a person, in especially advanced cases it can cause death. Pneumonia so depresses the effect of the immune system that an animal can become ill with something else amid a severe course of the disease. It is such complicated course of the disease that causes the death of livestock, especially young individuals.
Quite often, pneumonia develops against the background of existing diseases, such as white muscle or rickets, so the peak incidence occurs in the winter season. This is also facilitated by a change in temperature conditions on the street, humidity indicators.
The development of pneumonia can be suspected by the presence of such signs:
- The temperature rises to around 40 ° C and above.
- Whitish or green discharge is released from the nose.
- Breathing becomes rough, wheezing, shortness of breath appears.
- In some cases, digestive tract disorders such as diarrhea or constipation are added to the main symptoms.
- The animal looks tired, exhausted.
- Appetite worsens or disappears.
- The heart also suffers, arrhythmia or heart failure develops.
Pneumonia is considered one of the most dangerous diseases, as it often leads to death, and its causes may vary:
- All body systems are depleted and become unusable.
- Pulmonary failure occurs, the animal suffocates.
- Secondary infection. A new pathogen is connected to that pathogen that already infects the calf’s body, and the immune system is no longer able to withstand.
To prevent the development of pneumonia or at least reduce the chances of its onset, it is necessary to ensure normal living conditions and livestock. Naturally, nutrition must meet the needs of the animal, contain all the necessary amino acids, vitamins and minerals, all this will favorably affect the immune system of the cow.
The treatment of pneumonia is carried out only by a veterinarian, because only a specialist is able to choose the right method of combating the disease, which usually consists of several antibiotics at once. Self-medication is likely to destroy the animal, so you should not try your hand.
Parasitic disease group
In addition to the fact that there are infectious and non-communicable diseases, there is another group of ailments that are caused by parasitic diseases. Despite the fact that there is an opinion that these are non-dangerous diseases, do not underestimate them. Parasites in cattle in some cases can cause animal death. Moreover, the death will be so painful that it can not even be compared with death from dysentery or pneumonia.
The danger of parasite damage is also that they spread lightning fast in the barn, which makes the disease widespread. In addition, there are many diseases, the carriers of which can be ordinary-looking parasites. We learn about the most dangerous and common parasites that parasitize on the body of cows and calves.
Gadfly
A gadfly is a flying insect that causes a lot of inconvenience to cattle when grazing in a meadow. Outwardly, it is a small midge with a yellow abdomen, which, as part of a swarm, circles above cow herds. This insect lays offspring in cow's skin, and the larvae after hatching parasitize on the skin, which gives the animal a lot of unpleasant sensations. Young animals suffer most, namely dairy newborn calves up to 3 months of age, whose skin is thinner. If a gadfly has settled on the skin, then this can cause irritation and extensive ulcers.
One can suspect the presence of a gadfly if there are solid small tubercles on the skin - scars. Most often they are located in the back and on the sides. This is how gadfly nests manifest themselves, where the female parasite laid eggs. Since parasites cause the animal to constantly itch, this leads to the fact that the cows themselves can cause various injuries.
As the larvae mature, their need for food increases, so they try to crawl as deep as possible under the skin of the burenka. At this stage, the treatment process becomes even more difficult. By the way, only a specially trained person, that is, a veterinarian, should treat the disease. If you decide to remove parasites yourself, the risk of infection in the wounds will increase, which will further undermine the health of an already weakened animal.
Cow scabies
The causative agent of scabies in cows is a scabies mite. As in the case of the gadfly, the onset of the disease is difficult to miss. The damage mechanism is very similar to gadfly, as the scabies mite tries to penetrate as deep as possible into the skin of the cow, thereby causing it to constantly itch. The calf is constantly itchy, which makes it even refuse to eat and drink. In especially neglected cases, the cow loses hair in these places, bald patches form. The danger of the situation is that the parasite can affect not only animals, but also humans.
Parasitic disease is treated locally, special ointments and creams are applied to the affected areas. In addition, it is necessary to carry out a complete disinsection of the room in which the infected animal lives, in order to prevent re-infection and further spread of the scabies mite.
In conclusion
From the above article, we can conclude that there are many diseases that can affect cattle, and, in particular, calves. These diseases are especially dangerous in the early period, that is, until the calf reaches the age of one year.
Thus, it is worth treating the maintenance of the animal with all responsibility: to ensure proper care, observe sanitary conditions, and also choose the right balanced diet. You should not save on these items, otherwise you will have to incur large losses during the treatment of cattle or because of its death.
The manifestations of diseases in newborn calves should be treated with particular care, because it is this group of cattle that needs care most. So in no case can one ignore the disease after the detection of their signs, so you can stay completely without livestock.