Neonatal calf management

A guide to disease investigation

Abstract

An investigation of a calf disease problem on a dairy should follow certain consistent, repeatable steps. Whether you are the attending or consulting veterinarian, it behooves you to compile baseline information so you know the purpose of the calf raising operation (replacement heifers, veal, dairy beef). Baseline information can be obtained by interview but it should be corroborated by a review of the calf records, billing slips, or laboratory data. This information becomes your initial database which is used to accurately state the problem. It is imperative that there is agreement between veterinarian and owner about what the problem is. Subsequently, the investigation of a calf disease outbreak will be problem-oriented, thus avoiding the natural tendency to target everything in an operation which is problematic or could be improved.