Say No to Scours – BioBos RCC

As we make our way through the dry period, now is a great time to prepare for when calves hit the ground. When it comes to calf illnesses, prevention is always better than fire fighting at the other end. Luckily, we have a tried and tested calf scour vaccine available called BioBos RCC proven to prevent scours and reduce viral shedding.

What does BioBos RCC cover?                                                    

• Bovine Rotavirus

• Bovine Coronavirus

• E.coli (ETEC)

These are three of the main causes of calf diarrhoea. Calf scours not only cause illness and death in calves, there are also longer lasting effects such as decreased growth rates and increased age at first calving.

When should I vaccinate?

• Cows and heifers should be vaccinated 3-12 weeks prior to calving.

• This will need repeated every year

  
  

This is a one dose vaccine with very low incidence of injection site reactions.

How does the calf get immunity?

• Calves get the immunity by drinking colostrum from the vaccinated cows and heifers. This is why it is so important that we provide them with enough good quality colostrum, quickly to pass those important antibodies from cow to calf. When cows or heifers are vaccinated with BioBos RCC it increases the level of antibodies in the cows blood, increases the level of antibody in the colostrum and providing colostrum protocols are good, it increased the antibody levels in the calves. Transition milk from a vaccinated dam will also provide some local protection in the calf guts.

  
  

Why should I vaccinate?

• BioBos has an excellent challenge study behind it directly comparing how protected and unprotected calves responded to infection. Calves fed colostrum from vaccinated cows did not develop diarrhoea, however, every unprotected calf had at least three days of diarrhoea and some calves died.

• Viral shedding in the calf faeces was reduced by up to 185 times when calves were fed colostrum from vaccinated cows.

If you are interested in vaccinating your herd or have any questions about calf rearing or scours please give us a call, we would love to help.