Livestock Management
other scours prevention practices may not be successful. Lack of vital nutrients like protein will lead to in-
suffi cient immune response from the cow and lack of calf vigor upon birth. Producers should aim for cows to reach a body condition score (BCS) of 5 and heifers a BCS of 6 prior to calving.
The key to calf health and strong immunity is in the colostrum.
The overlooked organism Ensuring adequate nutrition requires managing the
parasite loads cows may be carrying after coming in from summer pasture. Cows with parasite problems may have compromised immune systems and can’t adequately utilize the feedstuffs provided. Parks recommends concentrating on lowering the
parasite load for pregnant cows. Often forgotten, para- sites affect the immune response of the cow and can impair the level of antibodies the cow will pass through the colostrum to the calf.
“We need to make sure we are addressing parasite
loads,” Parks says. “It’s one thing we can easily manage and it really gives the cow a chance to better utilize the nutrition in front of her, have a better immune system response and produce antibodies that are going to cre- ate better colostrum for the calf.” If the cow is weighed down by a heavy parasite load,
the immune system will focus on battling her infection instead of generating a high immune response to the pre-calving vaccine. This can put the calf at a higher risk of infection and negate some of the economic ben- efi ts of a pre-calving vaccine regimen. “We know parasites will cause a down regulation
on the side of the immune system that wants to pro- duce antibodies against viral infections,” says Parks. He recommends using a product that will rapidly kill
worms and will quickly alleviate the stresses placed on cows carrying a large number of parasites.
Timing is key The next step to addressing newborn calf immu-
nity to scours is a pre-calving vaccination program. By strategically vaccinating the pregnant dam, pre-calving vaccinations will stimulate the production of antibodies
56 The Cattleman January 2017
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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