Have you said or heard someone say, “Yeah, we have diarrhea in the calves, but they get over it quickly.” Do they? How bad can a few “bad days” really be? However, what if we were to tell you that the duration of diarrhea is linked to decreased growth rates and reduced milk production in the first lactation? It matters a whole lot more than we give it credit for.

Combating the pathogen that causes scours, providing for the calf's physiological demands (hydration, energy and acid/base balance) and restoring intestinal health are the three main objectives of calf scours therapy.

Neonatal diarrhea, or calf scours, is one of the costliest diseases in the cattle business and is responsible for more mortalities in calves under 1 month old than any other disease.

There are a few things you as a producer can do to help increase the odds that your calves will overcome calfhood diarrhea.