SUMMER SOLSTICE AT 9:30 PM. Overcast and light rain. Continue daily splits with both 2’s and main mob. Move bulls every 2 to 3 days. We seemed to have worked through the calf sickness periods. Below I have attached future recommendations from our vet advisors:
Bill, I am a newbe in treating scours this time of year. We have calved in early April for years managing for scours with no scour vaccine but with using the Sand-hills method of moving heavies away from pairs every week to 10 days and thus having similar aged calves banded together. During these years we have had 125ish later calving but mature cows that calved out on their own from mid May through July 1st. They calve on native range, get moved about once a week, are only checked when we move them, the pairs left with the heavies the whole time, and never a serious scour outbreak. This year the mature cows were moved back to late April and the first calf heifers moved to May 20 with a 21 day bull exposure. We managed these heifers much like I understood you did with daily moves and not sorting calves from heavies. They just finished up calving. They have been on dry land improved pasture with a strong alfalfa component. We did not have the hot weather you did, several days in the 80's is the worst. But we did get hit hard with scours. I have no confidence that what we did treating wise is the best. But what we did was to treat in field at first with tripectate if they looked poorly (not necessarily messy), then add electrolyte if they were weak and hauling them home to the barn if they needed IV fluids or several rounds of drenching. We didn't use antibiotic unless they had a fever over 103 and then we used LA300. As the scours moved to the youngest calves we found they nearly all had to come to the barn. We'd usually keep them off the mom on electrolyte only for 36 to 48 hours. We'd use IV fluids if they were dehydrated enough that the eye was sunk. About a 15% death loss. Just a guess but maybe we treated 25% of the herd? Towards the end (we are just on the end of the deal now I think/hope) we quit drenching in the field and just hauled them to the barn because it seemed that getting them off mom's milk and in a place where we could treat easily and often was the trick. I am copying daughter Erica to check the accuracy of my email as she did much of this work. No question we need to figure out how to avoid this! dm Typical milk scours is 80 percent nutritionally caused with the temp stress causing faster dehydration in the calves. Alfalfa as you noted is more succulent and the cows will consume that forage over the Crested grass which will increase protein intake by 35 to 50 percent. This directly increases milk within 24 hours and extra milk not only causes scours but also changes the intestinal microbes. Drop nutrition by 25 percent and white milk scours dries up in a day or so No need for antibiotics except for secondary pneumonia. Electrolytes are critical Use skin pinch test and evaluation of how fast skin fold goes back to normal. A 2 to 3 second time needed is 5 to 7 percent dehydrated.....need electrolytes. I have a chapter in my book that describes this in more detail and will try to copy and paste it on email later today. Bob On a wildlife note, while doing one of our bird surveys on Monday the 21st I observed in one place 6 curlews, 2 Marbled Godwits, and 4 upland sandpipers-a summer shorebird special!
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Warm to hot then some cooling cloud cover. Cows slowly graze from SBW4a through County road paddock. In the evening I open first split into SBW1. Continue to monitor sick calves.
Clear and warmer. Moved cows into last split in 4a and then in the evening moved cows into county road paddock. Cows will graze the next 2 days into both corrals and then into SBW1. 2’s continue to move daily.
Less warm and clear. Moved both 2’s and cows into new splits. Calf milk scour problem continues.
Back to back 100 degree days. Just moved cows and 2’s once. Moved cows into 4a. Still wrestling with heat-stressed scours. Lost 2 more calves-painful and unusual.
Clear and warm. No moves. Natalie and I put out bird recorders at three bird monitoring survey points-new experiment with Partners for US Fish and Wildlife.
Moderate and clear. Moved 2’s to last split in paddock. Ryan doctored 4 calves and lost one. Lost 4 this week and not sure why, except the one from heat dehydration. Some hot temps arriving next week.
Nice cooling following the storm. No moves except bulls.
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Bill Milton
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