Don’t let coccidiosis prevent spring calf success

With the UK recovering from the wettest winter on record and now basking in the mild spring weather, the perfect conditions are created for coccidiosis to go into overdrive. Scouring is the commonest disease seen in young calves and the greatest single cause of death so tackling coccidiosis should be high on every farmer’s list. Warm, wet days favour survival of the oocysts of the Eimeria parasite, so infection levels in calves are set to be high this spring. So why should farmers worry? Scour is one of the most costly diseases to affect production and average losses may be in the order