Scours Prevention in the Neonatal Calf

All farmers should take scours prevention seriously considering it accounts for more than half of calf deaths in the UK and is preventable through good hygiene and immunity management.

Kingshay Costings show it now costs £1,761 to rear a heifer to calve in at a target 24 months - a 14% increase on December 2021. With this in mind, farmers can ill afford any drop in growth rates caused by a case of scours, which could increase rearing times and associated costs and negatively affect a farm’s carbon footprint. Calves that experience scours are also more likely to succumb to other diseases such as pneumonia.

This Dairy Insight explores the causes of calf scours and shares practical tips on prevention.

Issued December 2023

About Kingshay insight publications

Kingshay has been producing bi-monthly publications for dairy farmers since 1991. Publishing on issues critical to the success of a modern dairy farming business.

These briefings include dairy insight, business insight and research insight, they provide dairy farmers, large animal vets, farm consultants and other interested parties with the most vital and timely information in a concise two-page format. The information contained in our insight publications is written and updated by our experts to ensure accuracy and to save you time.

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