Category: Animal Health (Page 1 of 5)

How to be better at dealing with pinkeye in cattle

How to be better at dealing with pinkeye in cattlePinkeye is a very common as well as a highly contagious disease in cattle. Once it shows up, if you do not take proper steps immediately, it can quickly affect all of your cattle.

It can occur year-round, but it is mainly a seasonal affliction. This disease usually increases in spring, peaks during summer, and then decreases during the fall. This cycle is because, like most bacteria, it prefers warmer weather to cold.

It can be very labor-intensive to treat, and as I mentioned a couple of lines ago, it can spread quickly if not taken care of in time. No matter the severity, it is best that you quarantine all of the cattle that have it so you can prevent it from spreading to the others.

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Important things to know about Bovine Leukemia virus

Important things to know about Bovine Leukemia virusBovine Leukemia Virus is a hidden but damaging infection. In fact, it could be in your herd right now, and you would likely not even know it is there. It already has a significant impact on the cattle industry at large.

This virus has already caused significant losses in the cattle industry, though currently more in the dairy industry than in the beef one. Your more direct cost will be due to loss of production, veterinary expenses, as well as replacement costs from the death of affected animals. Some of your indirect costs will be from loss of revenue due to the restrictions placed on your operation. A large Northeast slaughter plant that processes 350,000 cattle each year will condemn about 2,000 carcasses due to this disease.

Once it appears in your place, the ability to get rid of this disease will differ from herd to herd. The primary determining factor will be the producer’s ability to prevent it from horizontally transmitting. Having a good herd health plan in place will go a long way in preventing this from being catastrophic.

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It’s important to know the signs of calf dehydration

It's important to know the signs of calf dehydrationDehydration among calves is a severe problem that is often overlooked among producers. It can be caused for many reasons, typically from the summer heat and scours. The time from recognizing the symptoms to providing treatment is crucial.

When it comes to treating dehydration, producers need to be ready to step in quickly. It does not take long for a dehydrated calf to deteriorate if not treated promptly. While scours is often the cause, if you do not rehydrate with fluids, you will lose the calf.

The degree of dehydration can be hard to recognize, so observation is the key. Producers should educate themself on what to look for and what treatments to do. Here are five signs to look for when diagnosing dehydration in your calves.

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How to take the worry out of grass tetany

How to take the worry out of grass tetanyIt may not seem like it now, but spring weather will be here before you know it. All of the ice and snow (if you get any) will melt away, and forages will become green again. It is usually good when forages start to green up, but a hidden danger comes with the new green growth. It is a danger that can strike without warning and severely lower your cow’s production. This danger is known as grass tetany.

With the warmer weather and the winter moisture, your grasses out in the pasture will start their “Spring Greenup,” and things will start to look good again. It is during this time that forages come out of their dormant stage and begin growing rapidly again.

Though it may seem like the greatest time of the year, with all of the green across the pasture, it is not without its challenges and concerns. During this time of year, a particular problem known as grass tetany can cause issues with your cowherd.

For those of you not in the know, you may be asking, “What is grass tetany?” “What kinds of problems can it cause my operation?” and “How do I treat or even prevent it from happening?“. In regard to those questions, here are some things you should consider.

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Calf scours: what to watch for, how to treat it

Calf scours: what to watch for, how to treat itCalf scours is something that is concerning for all cow/calf producers. It causes more financial loss to producers than any other health problem in their herd. It can come out of nowhere and spread throughout your herd much like wildfire. The main issue with this disease is that it can be confusing for some people.

The trouble with calf scours is that it is not a single disease that causes it. Instead, it is a clinical sign that is associated with several diseases. Despite its many causes, one common sign is your calves having diarrhea. Regardless of what is causing it, diarrhea prevents the absorption of fluids in the intestines. Because of this, the onset of calf scours is very serious.

As any producer will tell you, it is severe. Calf scours is the primary cause of death in calves from 2 to 30 days of age. However, despite the seriousness of this disease, it is relatively treatable. The leading cause of death from this disease is dehydration from fluid loss. Let us look at ways to treat and prevent calf scours from taking their toll on your calf herd.

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Be on the look out for winter tetany

Be on the look out for winter tetanyWhen people think about tetany, they think of something that happens only during the spring. It’s something that usually occurs when cattle are eating lush spring grass or annual cereal forages. However, it can also happen when cattle are fed harvested forages like silage or hay.

Grass tetany is most often paired with cattle grazing immature cool-season grasses or lush annual forages. The thing about it is that tetany can also happen during the winter when cattle are being fed hay. Tetany can happen with regular hay, alfalfa hay, or annual forages that have been harvested for hay. It is especially true if the hay is being fed in a dry lot and is the only feed source.

For those of you not in the know, you may be asking, “What is grass tetany?“, “What kinds of problems can it cause my operation?” and “How do I treat or even prevent it from happening?“. In regard to those questions, here are some things you should consider.

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How to actually keep your cattle healthy during winter

How to actually keep your cattle healthy during winterIt may not seem like it now, but winter is on its way. The change in seasons also brings new problems to deal with to keep your cattle performing at their best. Keeping your cattle healthy during the stress of colder winter temperatures can be a pain in the neck. It is also doable.

Many different factors influence cattle health. One of these factors is nutrition. Cattle need to be in a sound body condition score in order to produce enough body heat and lessen the effects of cold stress. The environment itself, stress, and exposure to pathogens are also factors.

Health depends on providing proper nutrition to promote a strong immune system. Thin cattle are more vulnerable to the cold and possibly have weaker immune systems. Here are a few ideas to give your cattle the best chance to make it through winter. Continue reading

Ultimate fall herd health- Common problems to look for

Ultimate fall herd health- Common problems to look forThe fall season can be problematic for a beef producer. As you go into it after a dry, hot summer, the entire herd may be stressed. The combination of high heat, short grass, and low water tanks can stress cattle and make them more prone to disease.

This time of year can be a problem for all of your cattle. At the end of summer, the cows are likely pulled down to a thin body condition because of lower-quality forage and nursing calves. Your bulls are worn out from breeding and may also be on the light side. A typical situation during this time of year is that the calves deal with the most stressful time of their lives during weaning.

Producers can prevent or minimize health problems in the fall by reducing stress. You can do this by providing adequate nutrition and improving sanitation. Below is some information about four types of diseases you might encounter during this time of year.

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How to overcome BRD and protect your profits

How to overcome BRD and protect your profitsBRD, or bovine respiratory disease, is a general term for any respiratory disease in cattle. There is a range of factors that can cause this disease. The common names usually used for this disease are pneumonia or shipping fever. Stocker and feedlot operations are often where this disease occurs. It occurs more often there because of the extreme stress that calves are put under from weaning and then being shipped.

This disease has multiple causes and develops due to complex interactions between various factors—things such as environmental factors, host factors, and pathogens. The environmental factors are things like weaning, transport, commingling, and crowding, to name a few. These factors serve as stressors that adversely affect the immune system of calves.

While feedlot and stocker operations usually are affected by this, it can also happen to cow/calf producers. Almost 20% of cow/calf operations experience nursing-calf pneumonia. It is the leading cause of death for calves three weeks of age and older. To keep your calves right on track, consider these four tips to keep BRD under control.

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How to avoid nitrate toxicity following a drought

How to avoid nitrate toxicity following a droughtGrowing your own feed despite the cost of time and equipment can have many benefits. Having an inventory on hand can reduce some risks of short supplies. It can also help protect you from any seasonal price volatility. Both energy and protein production can better match your herd’s requirements for simple feed use.

However, despite all of this, there is still the risk of the weather turning against you. Weather events in the weeks, days, and even hours leading up to the harvest can ruin your best efforts. It can transform a carefully raised feed source into a nutritional time bomb. If you are not careful, it can not only reduce your production. Still, it can also endanger the lives of your animals.

Times of extreme stress, like currently with the drought, can cause a build-up of nitrates. While consuming some of them is not bad for your animals, if they eat too much of them, then it can become deadly. Here are some things to look for to prevent this from happening.

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