Coccidiosis Prevention of Calves

We often see coccidia outbreaks in calves that are greater than 4 weeks of age that still aren't eating enough meal (<1kg per day). However the other time we see coccidia problems are when calves have the meal removed after weaning. The coccidiostats in calf meal inhibit coccidia growth, when the meal is removed the coccidia will continue their development and complete their life cycle which can result in disease. Trial work in NZ has shown that calves treated with Toltrazuril (Toltrox) when meal is removed are 3-5kg heavier 5 weeks post meal removal than those that aren't treated. This was in an environment with a relatively low coccidia burden. A lot of our farms will have much higher burdens than this so perhaps we could expect even greater weight gains. If you have had calves in previous seasons that just don't do well when meal is removed it would be advisable to consider the use of Toltrox in calves at calf meal removal.