Calf pneumonia

Calf Pneumonia

Pneumonia is basically inflammation of the lungs due to a bacterial or viral disease or any other factor. Calves are more susceptible to developing pneumonia due to their underdeveloped immune system. Calf pneumonia is a quite common problem in many cattle herds and it can result in slow weight gain or even mortalities in serious cases.

There are multiple causes of calf pneumonia however the major infectious ones are Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Parainfluenza III Virus (PI3), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Mannheimia Haemolytic and Haemophilus Somnus. There are other different mycoplasmas, bacteria and virus that may also be involved.

Some of these infectious agents can be transmitted through air droplets or aerosols. High humidity provides a way for some bacteria to survive in the air space. Risk of spread increases if calves are very close together in a confined space with poor ventilation or even by coughing in the kraal.

What increases the risk of calf pneumonia?

• Calves receiving inadequate or no colostrum / first milk within the first 24 hours. Colostrum contains maternal antibodies that help the calf develop immunity from diseases currently in the herd.
• Scours, if not treated early enough some infectious agents that cause scours can also cause pneumonia.
• Overcrowding calves in small camps.
• Mixing calves of different age groups, for example 6 month calves with 1 month old calves.
• Low temperatures or high humidity weather conditions.
• Poor ventilation in the case of calves housed in indoor pens.
• Dusty feed that causes irritation of the respiratory tract making it easy for infectious organisms to infect the lungs.

Signs of calf pneumonia.

• Coughing.
• Struggling to breath due to lung damage.
• A nasal discharge.
• A Fever
• Reduced food intake
• They look dull, depressed and have no energy.

How to treat Calf Pneumonia

• Where possible consult a veterinarian before treatment for specific treatment and product instructions.
• Isolate the calf and keep in a warm dry area. Isolating the calf prevents it spreading any infectious organisms to other calves.
• Antibiotics will need to be administered, you can find antibiotics registered for treatments of pneumonia on our online store under “Recommended Products By Disease / Condition“
• If the calf will not feed, you will need to bottle feed it until it can suckle on its own, check out our previous post on bottle feeding guidelines.

Preventing Calf Pneumonia

• Ensure that the calf has received colostrum as soon as it is born. Within the first 4 – 6 hours it should have drank at least 2litres of Colostrum. In the event that there is no colostrum from the mother you can give colostrum from another cow however make sure that it is good quality colostrum from a trusted source.
• Avoid overcrowding calves in pens and mixing of age groups. If possible, calves should be provided with indoor pens and maintain good ventilation in these pens.
• Ensure that calves are well fed, if calves are not fed well their immune response is depressed in addition to poor weight gain.
• Vaccinations can be considered in herds where there are many calf pneumonia cases. The vaccines available on the South African market are Respiravax and Bovi Shield.