Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
We can earmark an animal going thru the sale to strictly be for slaughter only. I just was not knowledgeable if the meat was affected.
Lucky":uak9n9gq said:Is this the same thing as "Fly Fever"? If so It would be very hard to keep out of the herd. You could do everything perfectly and if your neighbor doesn't do the same you could get it. I believe there a shot the vet can give to prevent fly fever. We buy mineral to prevent it but it's hard to say wether each cow gets enough. The shot is fairly expensive so folks that do it around here usually only do the bulls.
Lucky":co8vq189 said:I read that it was transmitted by ticks and can only stay alive for a few minutes outside the host body. It also said horn flies can't transfer it but I would think a horse fly could. I knew disease could be transferred while working Livestock but don't know of anyone thats changes needles and syringes for every cow. Does anyone here do this? Might be interesting topic to discuss.
Lucky, it's a PITA to prep before working cattle but after 1 positive anaplasmosis & 2 with lymphoma I switched to a disposable syringe & needle for every cow, calf, bull & replacement heifer. The only time I use a repeater syringe is if I'm doctoring a cow for whatever reason.Lucky":3cutxyre said:I read that it was transmitted by ticks and can only stay alive for a few minutes outside the host body. It also said horn flies can't transfer it but I would think a horse fly could. I knew disease could be transferred while working Livestock but don't know of anyone thats changes needles and syringes for every cow. Does anyone here do this? Might be interesting topic to discuss.
I actually spend quality time a few days prior to working cattle preparing & filling the syringes. The syringes/vaccinations are separated by cows/bulls, heifers & calves and stored in individual coolers. Makes it easy when we're working cattle because I'll have a cooler of (for example) Covexin 8 giving shots one side of the chute while one of my crew has another cooler & is administering Triangle on the other - grab a syringe, give a shot, throw it in a bucket, one-n-done, run the next one through. I take the used needles to my vet, who disposes of them.Lucky":2h5sq71c said:It wouldn't be very expensive to use a new needle and syringe everytime but as TC says would be a major PITA for me. I'm just running commercial cattle and would never find any decent help that would swap needles everytime. We have discussed it though.
Lucky P, you're one of the reasons I switched to disposable 3 years ago after our first Lymphosarcoma. Never recommended by my vet until after the fact & most people around here reuse needles with a repeater syringe until they're dull. Our 2nd was case last year and she was only 6 years old so I'm assuming she had been infected for a long time before her symptoms appeared. Losing cows is an expensive and painful lesson. My herd is also commercial (except for the bulls) but for me it's absolutely worth it.Lucky_P":1j41fj6d said:Commercial herd here; most cows in the herd are a 2- or 3-breed cross. Only registered animal is the walking bull.
I'd like to think that my females are of good genetic quality, but still, they're just commercial cattle. Nonetheless, it's worth the time and expense to change needles; even with 80 cows and their calves.
Lymphosarcoma, a malignant cancer of the lymphoid system, associated with Bovine Leukosis virus(BLV) infection was hitting our herd hard, as a result of me (and I knew better!) spreading the infection to the point that 40 of 44 adult cows were infected, back in 2007 - mostly because I reused needles until they got so dull that I couldn't poke them through the skin again. We were averaging 2 cows/year lost to lymphosarcoma.
Since that time, all 'clean' females and any heifer, even if born to a BLV+ dam, has only been injected with their own sterile needle.
Is it more time-consuming? Yeah, a little bit so, but not a huge hassle.
Expense is minimal; needles are cheap. In the long run, way cheaper than losing a cow to lymphosarcoma