1. Vaccines and Livestock Medicine
Ladies Calving Clinic
Vaccines and Livestock Medicine
Stettler Veterinary Clinic

2. A little indroduction…

3. Vaccines & Livestock Medicine
An outline:
VIGOUR score
Colostrum intake
Tube feeding calves
Scours
Pneumonia
Herd vaccination protocols

4. So you’ve got the calf out...now what!?
Assess the calf!

5. VIGOUR Score
V: Visual appearance of the calf I: Initiation of movement G: General Responsiveness O: Oxygenation U: Udder R: Rates

6. Colostrum: what is it and why is it so important?
Colostrum: the first milk secretions from the
mammary glands after giving birth, that are
rich in antibodies.
Baby calves are born completely ‘naïve’
Without the immunity provided in the colostrum,
calves will be susceptible to infection and death
Golden rule for beef calves *** 1 L of good quality colostrum
Within 4 hours of birth followed by sucking from the dam, or another
1 L before 12 hours after birth ****

7. Saskatoon Colostrum Company Ltd.
Making products from bovine colostrum
For 20+ years
Great resource/product to have on hand
Trusted product, as there are many out
there that do not provide the accurate
amount of antibodies a struggling calf
would need

8. Tube feeding a calf 101 1. 4. 2. 5. 3. Measure the length of the tube
Check your tube
placement 2.
Position the calf for tubing 5.
Allow gravity
to help you feed
the calf 3.
Place the tube feeder

9. HOST
ENVIRONMENT
AGENT

10. The Rundown on Scours -Scours defined -Causes
-Assessment & Treatment on Farm
-When to call the Veterinarian
-Prevention of Scours

11. A Trip to the Vet….
Full physical exam, assessment of the percent of dehydration in the calf
Hooked up to intravenous fluid therapy, +/- bicarbonate, glucose, vitamins
Supportive therapy like heat lamps/blankets etc.
Possibly the use of antibiotics, pain medications
Feedings of milk: tubing or sucking
Returning to the farm

12. Neonatal Calf Pneumonia
complex relationship of the environment, host and agent. Usually it is the viruses that come into play, and then secondary bacterial infections which end up killing the calf Environmental factors such as overcrowding, stress, cold or damp weather can exacerbate disease Clinical signs: rapid shallow breathing, coughing, discharge from nose and/or eyes, may have high temperatures +/- antibiotics +/- vaccines

13. A Very General Herd Vaccination Program
Calves (1-3 months of age, commonly at pasture turnout in a traditional system)
i) 7 or 8 way Clostridial vaccine
ii) Histophilus somni vaccine*
iii) Mannheimia hemolytica vaccine*
iv) IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV vaccine*
v) castrate bull calves/dehorn/brand if not done previously
vi) Growth implant for steer calves (do not implant bull calves that
may be used for breeding, replacement heifers should probably
not be implanted as well)
Calves (Weaning)
i) 7 or 8 way Clostridial Vaccine
ii) IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV vaccine (modified live)
iii) Histophilus somni vaccine*
iv) Mannheimia hemolytica vaccine*

14. Replacement Heifers (at least 3 weeks pre-breeding)
i) IBR/PI3/BVD/BRSV vaccine (modified live)
(eg. Bovishield Gold FP5, Pyramid FP5, Express 5)
ii) 7 or 8 way clostridial vaccine
(eg. Covexin plus (tetanus), Vision 8)
Breeding Cows (at least 3 weeks pre-breeding)
ii) Campylobacter fetus (Vibrio) vaccine * (if using community pastures)
Replacement Heifers (Pregnancy Examination: Post grazing/breeding season)
i) Initial dose Scours vaccine (E. coli/rotavirus/coronavirus)
ii) Endectocide pour-on
Mature Cows (Pregnancy Examination: Post grazing/breeding season)
i) Endectocide pour-on
Replacement Heifers (Pre-Calving: Timing is dependent on
label claims of vaccines)
i) 2nd dose Scours vaccine (E coli/rotavirus/coronavirus)
Mature Cows (Pre-Calving: (Timing dependent on label claims of vaccines)
i) Scours vaccine (E coli/rotavirus/coronavirus)
(Cows require only single dose if they have previously
received two doses as heifers)

15. Thank you!