Animal Health

[IluvABbeef]

Just a quiz to get your minds a-rackin away...

1) Forage production on you ranch is through the roof this year. To utilize that greenery, you decide to buy some feeder calves. Your order buyer sends you a bunch of grassers from all over western Canada. The calves arrive and look to be average quality. You process and feed them as you always do. Several weeks into the feeding period, some of the calves develop high temperatures. You treat them as you always have, but they do not seem to respond as you'd expect and one of the calves has already died. Besides the high temperatures, the sick calves are off feed, depressed, and have pronounced diarrhea. You note taht this diarrhea has chunks of cheese-like material in it.
What is your diagnosis?
What are the implications of this disorder?

2) You go out one morning to check your feeder cattle and find 3 dead animals lying together close to the water bowl. They looked like they died suddenly. This pen of cattle had been on your premises for 2 months. You have had no recet illnesses or no recent additions to the pen.
What is your diagnosis?
What is the first thing you should do?

3) It's mid-August. A purebred Simmental breeder has noticed an average-quality bull calf, about 500 pounds in weight, which has one testicle (the left) approximately 3- or 4-times larger in size tha the other testicle. On palpation, the enlarged testicle feels firm, yet doesn't appear to be painful.
What are the probable causes of such a swollen testicle?
How can it be treated?

4) In mid-March on a purebred cattle operation, one first-calving recipient heifer (Hereford X Holstein) is about to calve her highly prized embryo calf anyday. She is in top notch condition and the owner has been feeding good quality have with lots of alfalfa. She was out of sorts and a bit shaky and not eating or drinking this morning. Two hours later she's found laying down with a crook in her neck. She is not in labor.
What might be the source of her problem?
How could it have been prevented?

5) Just before dark one evening in the first week of June, a commercial cattle producer, who runs about 100 cows and calves, makes note of a bunch of calves frolicking in the pasture. The calves were running and bucking and some of the biger, older calves were squaring off and butting heads. The next morning, 2 of the older calves were flat out and another 3 bigger youngsters were showing signs of lameness.
What could be the problem on this ranch?
How could it be avoided?



Good luck folks. :cboy:

 

[Howdyjabo]

Are you trying to get us to do your homework again ?

 

[KNERSIE]

no 4 is milk fever. Treat with IV calcium,

Its unlikely to get milk fever in a heifer, as its most often seen from 5 years and older.

Next time replace alfalfa with oats and you're seldom going to have the same problem again.

 

[IluvABbeef]

Are you trying to get us to do your homework again ?

:lol2: Nope.

 

[IluvABbeef]

1. Coccidiosis, Give em a sulfur bolus that I get from the vet and treat the water with a coccidiostat.

2. Black leg have em posted by the vet to make sure.

3. Heck if I know. Banamine for swelling? and antibiotics for infection. I have heard that dexamethasone works well for infections of the prepuce etc.

4. Accidosis or bloat? Shouldnt have fed so much alfalfa to rich.

5. Also blackleg. Prevented by vaccinating with a 7-8 way clostridial.

Hint: you got one question right.

no 4 is milk fever. Treat with IV calcium,

Its unlikely to get milk fever in a heifer, as its most often seen from 5 years and older.

Next time replace alfalfa with oats and you're seldom going to have the same problem again.

Close..

 

[IluvABbeef]

If I only got one right then I reckon its either number 1 or 5. My money is on 5.

No tellin yet.

 

[Dusty Britches]

I take a stab at #3 -

You say it is an average quality bull calf. You don't say that the enlarged testicle was always there or just suddenly appeared. My guess is the breeder never really looked before now.

Treatment - casteration. Even if it is an infection that occurred a while ago which is why it is hard not, it will still affect the bull's fertility.

 

[ENNOT]

I think #2 is eletracution if the tank has a heater in it.

 

[milkmaid]

OK, I'll give it a shot. :lol:

2) You go out one morning to check your feeder cattle and find 3 dead animals lying together close to the water bowl. They looked like they died suddenly. This pen of cattle had been on your premises for 2 months. You have had no recet illnesses or no recent additions to the pen.
What is your diagnosis?
What is the first thing you should do?

I'd consider electrocution and check the wiring. First thing I'd do is disconnect power to the waterer just in case it is electrocution, so I don't lose any more calves.

3) It's mid-August. A purebred Simmental breeder has noticed an average-quality bull calf, about 500 pounds in weight, which has one testicle (the left) approximately 3- or 4-times larger in size tha the other testicle. On palpation, the enlarged testicle feels firm, yet doesn't appear to be painful.
What are the probable causes of such a swollen testicle?
How can it be treated?

Not too familiar dealing with bulls, but I'd consider infection or simply inflammation due to a bite, or having been stepped on or bruised in some way. Neighbor did have a bull with that condition once; bull recovered on his own and kept settling cows, so he never had the vet evaluate it.

4) In mid-March on a purebred cattle operation, one first-calving recipient heifer (Hereford X Holstein) is about to calve her highly prized embryo calf anyday. She is in top notch condition and the owner has been feeding good quality have with lots of alfalfa. She was out of sorts and a bit shaky and not eating or drinking this morning. Two hours later she's found laying down with a crook in her neck. She is not in labor.
What might be the source of her problem?
How could it have been prevented?

First thought is milk fever, but being a heifer it's rather unlikely. Only other condition I can think of off hand that results in the classic "milk fever" (nose-to-flank) position is botulisim.

5) Just before dark one evening in the first week of June, a commercial cattle producer, who runs about 100 cows and calves, makes note of a bunch of calves frolicking in the pasture. The calves were running and bucking and some of the biger, older calves were squaring off and butting heads. The next morning, 2 of the older calves were flat out and another 3 bigger youngsters were showing signs of lameness.
What could be the problem on this ranch?
How could it be avoided?

Not sure on this one either; could be any number of things - I know in Idaho after the snow melts, when the cows' hooves are soft from the winter and the ground is rocky, it's easy to end up with stone bruises and sometimes abcesses.

 

[Joey]

BVD, PI calves

Electrocution

Inguinal Hernia

Milk fever- holstein cross

Blackleg- Vaccinate

 

[IluvABbeef]

Answers: (long post)

1) Symptoms: feeder calves, one dies, diarrhea with cheese-like material in it....
Answer: These calves ae affected with Salmonellosis, a bacterial disease that can cause a number of clinical signs including diarrhea, pneumonia, septicemia, and arthritis. This is a provincially reportable disease because the organism can infect almost all mammals including humans.
The very young and old are particularly susceptible to this disorder, so it is important to keep that in mind when treating sick cattle. Transmission is mainly through oral fecal contamination, although it can be spread through unpastuerized milk.
Orginially, this disease was seldom diagnosed in feedlot cattle, but its prevalence is increasing with the large movements and mixing of cattle. For more info, contact your local vet.

2) Symptoms: find 3 dead by water bowl, looked like they died suddenly, no previous illnesses nor additions.
Answer: These animals died of electrocution. The first thing that should be done in multiple deaths in close proximity to a water bowl is shut the power off! If you identified the problem as the water bowl, and turned off the water instead of the power, you're lucky to be alive. While animals may injest toxins through the water, very few of these compounds can kill an animal instantly - electricity does.

3)Symptoms: mid August, notice letft testicle on av. quality bull calf 3-4 times larger than right testicle. Larger testicle feels firm, but don't appear to be painful.
Answer: The first possibilty - an umbilical hernia (usually seen at a young age), but that proved negative when a needle aspiration was done. The second possibility - orchitis (infection of the testicle). Needle aspirations showed a large amount of pus deep in the testicle, confirming the presence of orchitis.
The options for treatment are: 1) Broad spectrum antibiotics and non-steriodal anti-inflammatories. The prognosis is guarded, but worth the risk if you are trying to save a high-value potential herdsire. 2) Castration accompanied by antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy. Send the affected tissue to a lab for culturing and sensitivity tests.
In this case, the owner decided the bull was of average quality and catrated it, commenting, "I'd rather have a live steer than a dead bull."

4) Symptoms: mid-March, first-calf recipient heifer (herfXHolstein), top notch condition, feed good-quality hay containing lots of alfalfa; out of sorts and a bit shaky, not eating or drinking this morning. 2hrs later found lying down with crook in her neck - not in labor.
Answer: Without a doubt this is a case of milk fever which is occuring prior to calving. That's a bit unusual, but it does happen. It's easy to treat with veterinary supervision. To prevent this disorder, feed high-calcium forages during the last third of pregnancy and make sure Vitamin A/D/E and selenium levels are adequate in the feed. If levels are too low, boost them via injection. Another alternative is to use a non-dairy recipient in the future. That would sacrifice some potential milk for the calf after it is born, but would create fewer problems of this type.

5) Symptoms: calves frolicking, calves running and bucking and older calves squaring off butting heads. Next morning, 2 older calves flat out and another 3 showing signs of lameness.
Answer: The cause of this problem is blackleg (Clostridium chauvoei). The calves have been frolicking because the weather conditions were just right. The bunting and kicking from the bigger calves has caused some bruising in the more aggressive ones.
The bruising has created a low oxygen tension (or level) in the bruised area, causing the blackleg organism to go into its vegetative state and produce large volumes of toxin. The toxin will cause death, usually within 12 to 24 hours.
The animals that went down, both the dead and the dying ones, are unsalvagable. Treating the lame animals with high-levels of short-acting penicillin may save them, but sometimes they are left with a healing sore in the area of the bruise.
Of course the best prevention is to vaccinate with a reputable 8-way blackleg vaccine. Your veterinarian can help develop a comprehensive vaccination program for your herd's specific needs.

:cboy:

 

[bward]

Thanks for that quiz.... This sounds like the quizes that come from Canadian Cattlemen Magazine. You should keep them coming.