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Keeping Calves Healthy

Keeping Calves Healthy. Jerry Bertoldo, DVM Extension Dairy Specialist NWNY Team CCE/ Pro-Dairy. Calf Management Practices. Dairy Skills Training. Health Triad. Environment. Disease Agent. Immunity. Causes of Mortality. NAHMS 2007. Does Infection = Disease?. NO!.

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Keeping Calves Healthy

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  1. Keeping Calves Healthy Jerry Bertoldo, DVM Extension Dairy Specialist NWNY Team CCE/ Pro-Dairy Calf Management Practices Dairy Skills Training

  2. Health Triad Environment Disease Agent Immunity

  3. Causes of Mortality NAHMS 2007

  4. Does Infection = Disease? NO!

  5. Does Vaccination = Immunity? NO!

  6. Primary and Secondary Immune Response (Anamnestic or Booster Response) Titer Response 2nd exposure Memory Cells Time in days from 1st antigen exposure 0 14 21 28 35

  7. Vaccination The Act of Administering a Vaccine Immunization Occurs following vaccination when a response can be measured. Protection Occurs when a properly immunized animal is protected against a specific disease following vaccination.

  8. Vaccine use • Maternal antibody interference is largely dissipated by 2 months of age • Vaccination programs should be based on history and risk of disease introduction • Calf raisers adopt early administration by necessity

  9. Advantages Rapid protection One dose? No adjuvant Better CMI and mucosal “Cleaner” product Less expensive Disadvantages May cause abortion No sunlight exposure Mix and use rapidly Inactivation with residues Possible viral contamination MLV Vaccines

  10. Advantages Safe on all pregnancies Stability Ready to use Use as needed Disadvantages More hypersensitivity Multiple doses needed for protection Little or no CMI or mucosal protection More expensive Killed Viral Vaccines

  11. Vaccination precautions • The 1st time use of E.coli, Salmonella, Pasturella, Hemophilus and Moraxella vaccines can be associated with delayed allergic reactions particularly in Holstein and Jersey cattle • Limit vaccinating to two bacterial components per time • Separate from next one by 7 days • Do not use 5 way Lepto on calves

  12. GOOD IMMUNITY CAN BEOVERCOME BYPOOR MANAGEMENT!!

  13. Vaccination failures – 5 to 15% • Maternal antibody interference • Age – under 5 days old • Stress (cortisol) – too hot, dehorning • Poor nutrition • Improper vaccine handling • Following directions – IM, SQ, how deep???

  14. Vaccination alternatives • Intranasal – Nasalgen, Onset • Little maternal antibody interference • Quick response • Safe at very young age • Possible wider spectrum of effect • Oral – Calf Guard, First Defense • Timing just like colostrum

  15. Behavioral patterns for wetcalves vary by age • Lying down (73-81%) with age (55% lying in daylight vs. near 100% at night) • Standing (4.4-11.4%) with age • Eating (1.4-5.5%) levels off after 2nd wk • Grooming (2.5–4.5%) with age • Investigating (0.2-2.9%) with age • Contacting pen (2.7-9.0%) peaks in 3rd wk JDS 87, No 11, 2004

  16. Bedding Choices • Wood shavings • Straw • Sawdust • Pea gravel • Sand • Crusher fines • Paper by-products • Harvest by-products

  17. (+) Absorbent Comfortable Insulating Low initial pH Limited fly support Clean hair coats (-) Variability Availability Cost Supports coliform growth Wood shavings

  18. (+) Absorbent +/- Comfortable Insulating Low initial pH Limited fly support Cheaper than shavings (-) Variability Lung irritation Supports coliform growth Less nesting ability Dirtier calves Sawdust

  19. (+) Fairly absorbent Comfortable Best nesting Best insulating Low initial pH Clean calves (-) Worst for flies High streptococcal growth Availability Cost Straw (wheat is best)

  20. (+) Comfortable Cheap? Does not support bacterial growth Good drainage Best for fly control Great base material (-) Dirty calves Not for cool to cold weather Weight dictates mechanical handling Variability of quality Sand &Pea gravel

  21. (+) Comfortable +/- Cheap? Absorbent Can use with straw and shavings (-) Dirty calves Compresses readily Wet surface Variability of quality Dusty at times Paper by-products

  22. Baby calves and parasites • Nematodes, lice, mange and ringworm can be transmitted from adults or their environment, but are less problematic than flies • Exposure to sunlight, nutritional status, whether housed in groups or alone and contact with older cattle determines infection • Flies are dependent on environment alone

  23. Flies House fly • House (Musca domestica) and Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) are the major problems around buildings • Horn, face, horse, grub and deer flies are most prevalent in pastured cattle Stable fly Horn fly Face fly Cattle grub fly Horse fly Deer fly

  24. Diagnostic Work • Quantitative bacterial counts on colostrum, waste milk, pasteurized milk and rinse water from cleaned feeding equipment • Culture potential contaminated areas such as calf “hot box”, transport vehicle, area under feed and water

  25. Diagnostic Work • Check for water hardness and coliforms • Check forages for mycotoxins, pH and digestibility • How many deaths are posted and sampled? • Live calf sampling for pathogens • Screening for BVD, BLV, mycoplasma, salmonella

  26. Zoonotic Diseasesfor man and beast! • Crypto • Campylobacter • Salmonella • Lepto • Ringworm • Mange

  27. Feed Additives • Milk replacer antibiotic (NT) inclusion rates to change • Early and late wet period strategies • Better to have cocci control in milk replacer than antibiotic • MOS products generally give payback • Probiotics can be helpful

  28. Feed Additives • AS700, Aureomycin, Aureo+Bovatec • Good management or crutch? • Organic/chelated minerals up to 50% • High iron, hydrogen sulfide or sulfates • Animal source proteins • Serum, blood meal

  29. Welfare Issues • Depends on your perception • Ease of identification and visibility by public increases concern • Dairy world has an acclimated view of many welfare issues • Includes trucking, handling, noise, teat removal, vaccinating

  30. Tail Docking • Aid or substitute for cleanliness? • Public views as mutilation and unnecessary (like dogs?) • No research to show any benefit • A loosing battle?

  31. Tail Docking - Banding • Best < 21 days of age – shorter sensitivity period • Close-up heifers minimal effect • Local/epidural anesthetic of little value • Cortisol (stress) response no different than restraint response • Possible chronic pain – neuromas • number of flies on hind quarters

  32. Dehorning • Great variation in possible effect • Younger the better • Restraint is as big a player as pain • Easier position to defend than tails

  33. Paste Dehorning • Used to be a sloppy, poor method • Newer products have better consistency • Key = early, clip, right spot and amount • Minimal stress, mostly from restraint

  34. Hot Iron Dehorning • Younger is better • Painful and stressful without medications • Lidocaine = 2-3 hours of pain relief • The effect of restraint is equal to that of pain • Need sedative, local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory to stop impact

  35. Mediating Pain • Little effort in the industry to deal with post procedural discomfort • Banamine (fluniximine) only practical drug • IV should be only administration route • Half life is only 8 hours • Must be repeated every 24 hours

  36. Raising baby calves is one of the toughest challenges on the dairy! • Special nutrition • Naïve immune system • Pathogen exposure • Weather variations • A host of stressful events • They are bovine infants!!

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