Calf coccidiosis

When rearing calves, farmers strive for regular growth of their animals. This can only be achieved when the calves get enough food and when farmers ensure that the animals remain healthy. A common, yet underexposed, problem to the calves’ health is coccidiosis (also named eimeriosis). A 2011 study in Austria showed that only 45% of the farmers were familiar with the term “coccidia”. So, what is this? What is coccidiosis in calves? Coccidiosis is an important parasitic disease of vertebrate animals (including calves and adult cattle) and is a common cause of scours. The infection is mainly seen in calves from 3 weeks up to approximately 1 year of age and is highly prevalent on cattle farms. This high prevalence causes a big financial impact to farms due to reduced growth or even death of calves.