In conjunction with good hygiene, good colostrum management and regular disinfecting for calves, look to use Crypt-Occur®. Crypt-Occur® is a carefully formulated synergistic blend of ingredients designed to support the gut, immune system and intestinal microflora of calves. Esterified butyrins and plant extracts maintain the barrier effect of the gut wall through their positive effects on the tight junctions and mucus production. Maintaining the immune system with egg products (dried), yeast components, fatty acids, prebiotics and probiotics to maintain the gut microflora, Crypt-Occur® is a formidable product for use.
Cryptosporidiosis – What is it?
Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal infection which can cause severe scours and high calf mortality rates. Calves become infected when they ingest the micro-organism Cryptosporidium parvum – a type of parasitic protozoan. If the calf ingests one crypto organism on day one, it multiplies to one million by day eight. At peak shedding, there may be as many as 10 million oocysts per gram of faeces, yet it takes as few as 10 of these oocysts to cause the disease in young, susceptible calves.
Crypto can infect humans as well as most mammals. Anyone handling an animal with cryptosporidiosis should take great care to practice good personal hygiene
4Kg bucket contains 200 x 20gr feeds.
Price incl delivery €340
Andrew Nicholls, Trewindle Farm, Lostwithiel, Cornwall
“We have had problems with crypto for years but never found anything that worked. However, after using Crypt-Occur for nearly two years now, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. Scours are no longer an issue and the calves are growing on really well. The calves responded very quickly to the product”
Life Cycle
The infective stage of the life cycle of Crypto is the oocyst which is passed in the faeces and which contains four sporozoites. Manure on the cow’s teats or from the environment provides the source. When the oocyst is ingested the sporozoites are released. The crypto organism burrows into the wall of the calf’s gut and incubates for approximately 48 hours, then it erupts into the lumen of the gut. These sporozoites go through several life stages and ultimately produce more oocysts. Both thick-walled and thin-walled oocysts are produced. The thick-walled organisms are passed in the faeces. The thin-walled oocysts can rupture and the sporozoites can infect new host enterocytes resulting in autoinfection which may lead to relapses or protracted disease. Infection of cells leads to cell destruction and results in shrinkage and fusion of intestinal villi (finger-like projections extending from the intestinal lumen that are primarily responsible for nutrient absorption).
Andrew Jackson, Dumfries, Scotland
Milking 1,000 cows; Herd Avg >10,000kg
“I have been using Crypt-Occur for six months and it is now an established feature of our calf health management programme. I highly recommend it to anyone with crypto-sporidium in their calves”
Symptoms
Symptoms vary enormously from mild diarrhoea to severe, watery scours and eventually death.
Typically, the disease occurs in calves under six weeks old with clinical signs appearing between seven to 14-days-old. As well as scours, calves will rapidly become dehydrated and then show, ill-thrift, loss of appetite and reduced growth rates.
The main thing to remember is scouring calves are prone to dehydration. The scouring calf must have lots of fresh, clean water available. Electrolytes can also be added to the water to replace the animal’s lost nutrients.
Infected calves suffer permanent damage to the intestinal lining which reduces their ability to absorb nutrients and water.
Even when calves appear to have recovered, depressed growth rates can persist. This will push back the date at first calving and increase finishing times in beef herds so there may be an influence on lifetime productivity.
Gethin Evans, Cefnmabws, Llanrhystud, Wales
“I have been using Crypt-Occur for the past 12 months to help tackle my crypto problem in my calves. I use it as a preventative on calves from 3 to 10 days old and treat at full rate if I ever get the odd case. I have tried many other products over the years to solve this problem, but they have all failed to give me the same results as I get with Crypt-Occur. It really does work.”
Janet Elliot, Henscott Barton, Holsworthy, Devon
“Crypt-Occur is an excellent product and I would thoroughly recommend it. It is easy to use and the recovery rate in calves is quick. If used in the early stages of crypto it is far more effective than any other product we have previously used. It is an essential product in our calves care routine”
Feeding Instructions
Day 1 up to day 10: feed 1 level scoop (20gr) per calf once per day
