Calves with Sam

Managing Physical Barriers to Infection

Dr. Don Sockett (University of Wisconsin) talked about this topic at a calf/heifer conference. His challenge was to suggest on-farm ways calf managers could reduce infection rates - particularly among pre-weaned calves. 

Here is his list of management-sensitive factors:

1. Intact skin and mucous membranes

2. Normal microbial flora 

3. Fatty acids in the skin 

4. Acid in the stomach (abomasum) 

5. Hair and cilia in the nasal and respiratory tract 

6. Enzymes in saliva, tears and intestine

7. Coughing, sneezing, vomiting, urination, diarrhea

I must admit that until I heard his presentation at this conference I had never made a careful survey of what I could do as a calf manager to manage these barriers. See what you think about this.

This resource is at www.calffacts.com , scroll down to "Healthy Calves: Managing Physical Barriers to Infection.