Light southern calves, how to keep them alive?

[samantha]

Nothing is working this year! How do you keep lightweight southern calves alive the first month you have them? After twenty years we thought we knew this animal husbandry bit but this year.............. The sick pen looks like a train parked in Chicago they're marked up so much. Our death loss is already to high and we haven't got 100 lbs on yet.

Anybody have any good tips for receiving or the sick pen? I think we've tried everything but somebody much have something that works.

[kcm]

Let someone else buy them. I don't know where you are located, but I am hearing high death losses this fall in my area of Kansas because of all the dust(at least that is what we are attributing it too).

Whenever I am in a bind with sick cattle, I start doctoring anything that looks like it is thinking about getting sick. I also cheat on the amount of CTC I put in the feed. I realize that makes me a very bad man, but I would rather be an antibiotic criminal than a bankrupt cowman. If I were buying cattle, I think I might either cheat to begin with, before any got sick, or give them a shot of something long lasting when I received them. I assume the vet has posted a few and you know what you are up against??

[Roy@ranch]

Re vaccinate!!!! Draxxin for treatment.

Roy

Edit. Some folks call treating cattle with products like Draxxin vaccinating. It is not, when I say re vaccinate I mean give them another round of whatever respiratory vac. product your using. Just wanted to be clear.

[dman]

I agree with Roy and KCM. You need to re vaccinate with Bovi-Sheild, express or what ever you used. Did you vaccinate against them for H. Somnus too? And I wouldn't just treat those who were sick, I'd treat EVERYBODY! They all are sick already.