Lung Health

The lungs are an important organ in the young calf. As the immune system develops and the calf builds immunity, the lungs may be susceptible to disease. Lung health is a primary indicator of the successfulness of a calf rearing program.

Detection and Evaluation

Early detection of respiratory illness is key in helping the animal to recover. Recording incidence of respiratory disease and any treatments given is very important. Tracking animals that have been treated for respiratory illness will prove useful in evaluating treatment protocols, nutrition programs, cleanliness, and other management protocols.

Once you identify the age at which respiratory illness is prevalent on your operation you can work backwards to uncover areas that may need improvement to decrease disease. The following events make the calf more prone to lung infections:

• Failure of passive transfer
• Diarrhea
• Septicemia
• Poor nutrition
• Dirty environment
• Stress

Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Gold Standards state that operations should aim for less than 10% incidence of respiratory illness both before and after weaning. As the animal gets older the incidence of lung disease should drop dramatically.

Weaning

Weaning is a very stressful time for the calf and makes the animal very susceptible to respiratory infections. Before weaning animals, ensure that their grain consumption is adequate to promote proper rumen development, and facilitate any other changes to be as slow and smooth as possible.

Despite significant improvements in ventilation, vaccines, and antibiotics, we are still weaning too many bottle-fed calves with lung disease. One strategy that is becoming popular is to scan cattle using lung ultrasonography to identify subclinical lung lesions. A lung lesion even as small as 1 cm can affect calf growth, and lesions larger than 3 cm can impair first-lactation production. 

Dr. Theresa Ollivett, an Assistant Professor of Food Animal Production Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine explains that on many farms 60-80 percent of lung infections are subclinical with the calf never showing any symptoms. Scanning calves helps to identify animals that need to be treated early and is useful in evaluating the successfulness of various treatments. She urges producers to implement lung ultrasounds and to #weanclean to improve animal health and productiveness.

Gut Health

70% of the immune systems lies within the gut. Beginning from the moment the calf is born beneficial bacteria begin to colonize the digestive system.  Colostrum not only provides IgG for maternal immune protection, but also contains may components that promote the development of a healthy gut microbiome. 

Microbiota in the gut are in constant communication with the immune system and impact the way it functions. Imbalances in microflora in the gut will also influence the immune status of the lungs. This is partially why animals that experience a scour event are more likely to experience respiratory illness.  Avoid dysbiosis of the gut by implementing an effective colostrum program, early detection and treatment of scours, and by feeding a diverse probiotic and prebiotic supplement from birth and during any stressful event.

Written by: Mariah Gull, M.S.