Summer pneumonia, sometimes referred to as pasture pneumonia, is a disease that is usually observed in calves on pasture late in summer. It can affect calves that have yet to be weaned from just one-month-old to even five months of age. The issue with this disease is that not much is known about it, and it can pop up from nowhere.
Why do your seemingly healthy-looking calves suddenly come down with pneumonia? Why this happens is a question that has plagued many producers over the years. Respiratory diseases in pre-weaned calves are always producers’ concerns, with unpredictable outbreaks.
The frustrating thing is that your calves may not even be considered “high risk” for pneumonia. They are still with their mother and are not having to deal with any stressors, such as changes in environment or diet. Understanding the why and how of this disease is crucial for any cow/calf producer.
Category: Animal Health (Page 5 of 8)
With summer arriving, treating pinkeye is an issue many cattle producers will face. As things get drier, it means more dust which means an increase in eye irritants.
However, there are things that you can do when this bacteria makes its appearance on your ranch. Treating the pinkeye infection early in your cattle is crucial. The longer you take to treat it, the higher the possibility that it will permanently damage your cattle. Visible damage to your cattle’s eye will mean severe discounts come sale time.
Since treating as early as possible is the key, the earliest treatment possible is prevention. Prevention is the better option of the two options because pinkeye is very contagious. Once it shows up in your herd, it would take little for it to spread to the rest of your cattle.
It is never good whenever your cattle are suffering from diseases. It can rob you of performance while at the same time increasing your expenses.
Many health problems that occur can be handled if they are detected early. If caught in time, they can be prevented or even minimized losses. You can then take steps to keep it from spreading or coming back. One main thing to remember is always to consult your veterinarian if you believe a health problem has occurred.
Though sickness can occur any time of the year, here are 4 of them that tend to happen during summer. I’ve included some signs to look for as well as steps you can take to minimize its effects.
Pinkeye 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 is possible that it can hit year-round but for the most part, it is a pretty seasonal affliction. This disease usually increases in spring, peaks during summer, and then will decrease during the fall. This 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 getting to the others.
Bovine Leukemia Virus is a hidden but damaging infection. In fact, this thing could be in your herd right now and you would likely not even know it is there. It already has a major 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 costs, 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.
The ability to get rid of this disease once it appears in your place will be different from herd to the herd. The major 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.
Dehydration among calves is a very serious problem that is often overlooked among producers. It can be caused for many reasons but typically from the summer heat and scours. The time from recognizing the symptoms to providing treatment is very important.
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 5 signs to look for when diagnosing dehydration in your calves.
It 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 things will become green again. Normally it is a good thing when forages start to green up but there is a hidden danger 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. It is during this time of year that 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?“. Well in regard to those questions here are some things that you should consider.
Calf 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. Rather it is a clinical sign that is associated with several diseases. Despite it having 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. It is because of this that the onset of calf scours is very serious.
As any producer will tell you it is something that is very serious. 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 fairly treatable. The leading cause of death from this disease is dehydration from fluid loss. Let us look at some ways to both treat and prevent calf scours from taking their toll on your calf herd.
When 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 occur when cattle are being 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 tetany can also happen during the winter when cattle are being fed hay. This 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 it is the only source of feed.
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?“. Well in regard to those questions here are some things that you should consider.
It 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.
Cattle health is influenced by many different factors. One of these factors is nutrition. Cattle need to be in a good 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 will possibly have weaker immune systems. Here are a few ideas you can think about to give your cattle the best chance to make it through winter.
Products
-
Agriculture word search book
-
You might be a rancher if joke book
$7.99
-
I love my wife
$22.99
-
Farm Strong
$22.99
-
Hay There
$22.99