Calf Care Protocol for Our Dairy Calves with Merck Animal Health

dairy calf being treated with Merck Animal Health products to stay healthy

This is a sponsored post by Merck Animal Health. Read below for information about Nasalgen 3-PMH. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view and experience.

Today I am sharing all about calf care and some of our favorite products from Merck Animal Health. We have been using Merck products for several years in our calf care protocol. We find their products effective and affordable. They fit into our calf vaccines schedule and help us with our proactive dairy calf management. So when Merck came out with their new product, BOVILIS® NASALGEN® 3-PMH, we added it to our lineup of vaccines for our dairy calves.

For my non-ag followers or those looking to learn more about calf care on dairies, let me explain a little more about our calf care. Starting our calves off right is crucial. You might not think that calves play such a big role on our dairy, but our calves are the future of our dairy. In just two years’ time, they will be joining our milking herd. Getting them off to a good start, keeping them healthy, and making sure they grow all play into the cow’s health for the rest of their lives.

For us, it's all about prevention. Not only treating them if they get sick but trying to avoid them getting sick in the first place. To do this, we have a list of calf vaccines that will be given to our calves. Each of our calves has a “shot record” just like what kids have when they get their vaccines.

We vaccinate against several common calf diseases. Sometimes, there is a single dose. Sometimes there are boosters. Each vaccine has its protocol of when, how, and how much needs to be given to each calf.

One of the things we are trying to prevent is Bovine Respiratory disease (BRD). Think of this like a cold that a calf gets. But for some calves, it can end as pneumonia. BRD is usually worse in the spring and fall when we see big temperature swings from day to night. You know the days where it’s 80 and sunny during the day but drops to 40 at night. That is the perfect weather for causing BRD in calves.

Right out of college I participated in a calf research study on BRD. One of the findings was that even when a calf makes a full recovery from BRD, they can experience health effects for the rest of their lives including limiting their milk production. So preventing BRD and other illnesses from day 1 is our priority. Hence why we use vaccines like BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH.

What is BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH?

BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH is an intranasal vaccine that fights against BOTH viral and bacterial pneumonia. It is the first and only intranasal BRD vaccine that protects calves against 5 of the major causes of BRD including IBR, BRSV, PI3, Pasteurella multocida, and Mannheimia haemolytica. The viral antigens are developed to protect in any temperature situation1. You can begin using BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH when calves are just a week old, making sure they get off to a good start.

How to use BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH?

Administering BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH is really simple. It is a single dose of the vaccine applied in one nostril of the calf. No needle. No injections. Making it easier for staff to administer the vaccine. We have also found that with one dose, we are handling the calves less. This is less stress on the calves and less time for our staff to be treating calves. And again the blue dye gives a great visual indication of which calves have already received the dose. For us, we treat multiple calves at the same time. The blue color in the nostril allows our staff to ensure every calf has received its dose.

Benefits of using BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH

We have found several benefits of using BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH. The first being ease of use. It is a convenient single dose to 1 nostril. Eliminating the need for two separate vaccines, requires less manpower, less handling of the calves, and less stress on the calves. With BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH being administered into the nose, there are no injection site reactions helping us meet our Beef Quality Assurance standards. And the blue color makes it extremely visible to see which calves have been given the dose especially when treating multiple calves.

This vaccine is just one piece of our standard operating procedure (SOP) for dairy calf care and protocols. Other key protocols include colostrum, cleanliness of everything (bottles, nipples, holding pens, transportation equipment, and more), and naval dip procedure.

The BEST thing you can do for your calves is to make sure to provide colostrum. Our calves receive high-quality colostrum at the right temperature for 3 days (or 6 bottles) with the first bottle being as soon as possible after birth.

Make sure everything is clean and sanitized. Bottles, nipples, mixing equipment, all of it should be sanitized. The maternity pens, holding pens, transportation equipment, and hutches should all be clean. The goal is to minimize any exposure to bacteria or viruses from other calves, cows, or the environment.

Having a good naval dip procedure is also crucial for those newborn calves. We dip the navels as soon as possible after birth. We use an iodine solution to keep the area clean and prevent infection.

If you are looking to implement or update your calf care SOP, fill out the form below and I will email you the Merck Animal Health Dairy Care365® Newborn Calf and Handling (SOP) Template and Guideline. This SOP is a simple, but an effective template that you can fill out with your veterinarian to include all your information and your specific protocols.

The BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH vaccine is an important part of calf care. Gives our calves the protection they need early on with only one dose and easy application. For more information about BOVILIS NASALGEN 3-PMH, head to the Merck Animal Health website. You can also contact your Merck Animal Health representative or your consulting veterinarian.

1 Grissett GP, et al. Effect of Ambient Temperature on Viral Replication and Serum Antibody Titers Following Administration of a Commercial Intranasal Modified-Live Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis-Parainfluenza-3 Virus Vaccine to Beef Cattle Housed in High- and Moderate-Ambient Temperature Environments. Am J Vet Res. 2014;75(12):1076-1082.