Skip to main content
PMC home page
Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research logoLink to Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research
. 1993 Oct;57(4):241–246.

Effect of birthweight, total protein, serum IgG and packed cell volume on risk of neonatal diarrhea in calves on two California dairies.

J Paré 1, M C Thurmond 1, I A Gardner 1, J P Picanso 1
PMCID: PMC1263635  PMID: 8269362

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine if there was a relationship between hematological, immunological and physiological variables of newborn calves and risk of diarrhea during the neonatal period. Four hundred and seventeen heifer calves from two dairies (A and B) in the San Joaquin Valley of California were enrolled at birth and scored daily, to 28 days of age, for evidence and severity of diarrhea (0 to 3). Calves were weighted at birth and blood sampled at two to five days of age to determine packed cell volume (PCV), total protein (TP) and IgG serum concentration. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine if age at onset of the first diarrhea episode and length of the first episode were associated with the hypothesized variables (PCV, TP, IgG and birthweight). The IgG concentration was not associated with the age at onset of diarrhea (p = 0.6052, Dairy A; p = 0.4393, Dairy B) but a high IgG concentration was associated with a decreased length of episode (p = 0.0325, Dairy A; p = 0.0912, Dairy B), particularly for calves born in the winter on dairy A (p = 0.0211). For calves born in the winter, those with either a high or a low birthweight had diarrhea at a younger age (p = 0.0102, Dairy A; p = 0.0020, Dairy B). Associations were also found for PCV and TP with both the age at onset and length of the first episode of diarrhea. Results suggest that parameters measurable at, or shortly after birth may have important prognostic value in evaluating risk of calf diarrhea.

Full text

PDF
244

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boyd J. W. The relationship between serum immune globulin deficiency and disease in calves: a farm survey. Vet Rec. 1972 Jun 3;90(23):645–649. doi: 10.1136/vr.90.23.645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Caldow G. L., White D. G., Kelsey M., Peters A. R., Solly K. J. Relationship of calf antibody status to disease and performance. Vet Rec. 1988 Jan 16;122(3):63–65. doi: 10.1136/vr.122.3.63. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Holland R. E. Some infectious causes of diarrhea in young farm animals. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1990 Oct;3(4):345–375. doi: 10.1128/cmr.3.4.345. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Katunguka-Rwakishaya E., Larkin H., Kelly W. R. Blood values of neonatal calves, and blood values and liveweight gains of calves fed on different levels of milk replacer. Br Vet J. 1987 Mar-Apr;143(2):184–190. doi: 10.1016/0007-1935(87)90010-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kelley K. W. Stress and immune function: a bibliographic review. Ann Rech Vet. 1980;11(4):445–478. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Martin S. W., Schwabe C. W., Franti C. E. Dairy calf mortality rate: influence of meteorologic factors on calf mortality rate in Tulare County, California. Am J Vet Res. 1975 Aug;36(08):1105–1109. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McGuire T. C., Pfeiffer N. E., Weikel J. M., Bartsch R. C. Failure of colostral immunoglobulin transfer in calves dying from infectious disease. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1976 Oct 1;169(7):713–718. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. RALEIGH R. J., WALLACE J. D. The influence of iron and copper on hematologic values and on body weight of range calves. Am J Vet Res. 1962 Mar;23:296–299. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Rao M. K., Nagarcenkar R. Calf mortality in crossbred dairy cattle. Trop Anim Health Prod. 1980 Aug;12(3):137–144. doi: 10.1007/BF02242645. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Robison J. D., Stott G. H., DeNise S. K. Effects of passive immunity on growth and survival in the dairy heifer. J Dairy Sci. 1988 May;71(5):1283–1287. doi: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(88)79684-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Roy J. H. Symposium: disease prevention in calves. Factors affecting susceptibility of calves to disease. J Dairy Sci. 1980 Apr;63(4):650–664. doi: 10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(80)82987-0. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Tennant B., Harrold D., Reina-Guerra M., Kaneko J. J. Hematology of the neonatal calf. III. Frequency of congenital iron deficiency anemia. Cornell Vet. 1975 Oct;65(4):543–556. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tennant B., Harrold D., Reina-Guerra M., Kendrick J. W., Laben R. C. Hematology of the neonatal calf: erythrocyte and leukocyte values of normal calves. Cornell Vet. 1974 Oct;64(4):516–532. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Thornton J. R., Willoughby R. A., McSherry B. J. Studies on diarrhea in neonatal calves: the plasma proteins of normal and diarrheic calves during the first ten days of age. Can J Comp Med. 1972 Jan;36(1):17–25. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research are provided here courtesy of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

RESOURCES