Wednesday, December 12, 2012

The Friend that Just Will
Not Go Away: PNEUMONIA
 
This time of year we see:
  • Wide swings in temperature from one day to the next
  • Low temperatures that challenge calves - especially those less than 4 weeks old
  • Too often not enough energy being fed to meet both the environmentally-determined maintenance needs and to allow calves to grow at least 1 pound a day.
  •  Irregular feeding of water or even no water fed at all to preweaned calves.
  • Calf barns being closed up to "keep the calves from being cold
For a great summary on pneumonia go this link:
http://www.dairyherd.com/e-newsletters/dairy-daily/Pneumonia-in-dairy-calves-145156445.html
 
Veterinarian Fred Gingrich of Country Roads Veterinary Services in Ashland Ohio say that to reduce treatment rates for pneumonia a calf enterprise needs to check its performance on:
  1. Colostrum management
  2. Ventilation
  3. Vaccination
  4. Nutrition
Enjoy and keep warm!           

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