Bovi Sera

[cjc]

I haven't used it but a similar product was offered to me when I dealt with an ill calf that I was just pumping full of drugs to cure. The way it was explained to me was it was just to aid in his recovery and help prevent new problems as I had been hammering him with antibiotics for 4x the recommended timeframe, he also did not get colostrum so I needed to try and build his natural killer cells. I did not give this to my calf, I was injecting him with 4 drugs a day and I didn't want to give the poor guy anymore. I wouldn't be opposed to using it though.

I do like alternative medicine as another poster mentioned but I am also FOR vaccines especially when there are new animals being introduced. I would never unnecessarily give any animal in our herd antibiotics as an example but I will not hesitate to treat them. If its preventative I am always interested. I never used to feel this way but I lost a calf I cared dearly for a few years ago to a very preventative illness. Whether I am keeping the animal long term or not I will do my best to prepare their bodies for whatever disease they may face.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

I haven't used it but a similar product was offered to me when I dealt with an ill calf that I was just pumping full of drugs to cure. The way it was explained to me was it was just to aid in his recovery and help prevent new problems as I had been hammering him with antibiotics for 4x the recommended timeframe, he also did not get colostrum so I needed to try and build his natural killer cells. I did not give this to my calf, I was injecting him with 4 drugs a day and I didn't want to give the poor guy anymore. I wouldn't be opposed to using it though.

I think it is recommended to give it to animals who have not recieved adequate colostrum because it supplies antibodies when they can no longer absorb them. Did your calf make it?

I do like alternative medicine as another poster mentioned but I am also FOR vaccines especially when there are new animals being introduced. I would never unnecessarily give any animal in our herd antibiotics as an example but I will not hesitate to treat them. If its preventative I am always interested. I never used to feel this way but I lost a calf I cared dearly for a few years ago to a very preventative illness. Whether I am keeping the animal long term or not I will do my best to prepare their bodies for whatever disease they may face.

Yes, I am the same way. There's stuff out there that I think is essential, and many things that I think definitely are not. I'm not sure if Bovi Sera is one of them, so I want to be informed on what other people know or think.

 

[cjc]

I think it is recommended to give it to animals who have not recieved adequate colostrum because it supplies antibodies when they can no longer absorb them. Did your calf make it?

That's exactly the way it was explained to me. Personally I do not think that no colostrum or even adequate is a death sentence like many believe. My calf got zero. He was actually not nursed at all from birth until 4 days old and the first thing that hit his stomach on the afternoon of day 4 was milk replacer. I quickly rushed to the farm store and fed him powdered colostrum when I realized what was wrong and also got some good quality colostrum from a neighbors dairy the next day but from what I understand it was too late. The calf got joint ill about 5 days after I pulled him from the field and started bottle feeding him. We have no idea how it got in his system as his navel was fine so we assume through the gut, something our vet said had a 10% chance of survival. To say I babied this calf and gave it a ton of TLC is an understatement. He's 4 months old now and well over 300lbs. He is slower than my other calves but I really believe it nurture with that, that calf knows if he doesn't run for a bottle mama will walk it over!

This drug was recommended to me, not this exactly brand but a similar product. I kept this calf very clean, no other contact with people other than my mother and I and animals until all illness was gone for 2 weeks. I definitely considered giving it to him it was just the sheer number of needles I was giving him at the time. If I had a calf with pneumonia I would 100% give it to them. I treat all my calves like they are going to get pneumonia until they are 30 days old.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

From what I understand, Bovi Sera is used as a preventative mostly, not as a treatment. It is given before times of stress and sometimes during. It is supposed to help guard against Shipping Fever, and some other things temporarily.

The way I see it is that its made much like an Anti-toxin (like tetanus antitoxin). Like the tetanus antitoxin, I would think it helps in the treatment and gives short-term protection for the things below.

Quote-
"Bovi-Sera Serum Antibodies from Colorado – For use as an aid in the prevention and treatment of enteric and respiratory conditions in cattle and sheep caused by Arcanobacterium pyogenes, E. coli, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Salmonella typhimurium. Administer IM or subcut."

 

[Sweetened]

I don't use it. I can't figure out if it's an antibiotic or vaccination. It's wording indicates it's both, which, to me, seems like prophylactic antibiotic dosing, which is something I will not use in my rearing/husbandry practices.

 

[babsbag]

This is what I gleaned from my research.

Bovi-sera is made from the blood Serum of intensely vaccinated cows for things such as CD, Tetanus, Pneumonia, etc.

An antitoxin is also made the same way. It is a serum. Overly vaccinated cows, horses, or goats have blood drawn from them and then the serum is taken from it.

Both the antitoxin and Bovi-sera are passive antibodies, not made by the body.