Dead cows
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The Portage County sheriff's office says the owner of the cattle has been working with a local veterinarian and it's believed the animals died from the IBR/BVD virus. The virus can cause respiratory and reproductive problems.
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals
WSAW reports samples from the dead cows have been sent to Madison for testing.
Authorities say there is no threat to humans or other animals
bigbluegrass
Well-known member
Could IBR/BVD kill that many cows that fast? I guess it doesn't really say they were healthy the day or so before. Wonder how many cows he had total in the herd? Dairy or Beef herd? seems more likely it was some kind of poison for that many to just drop dead with little or no warning. Once again, it doesn't say if they were sick or healthy I am just guessing.
Farmgirl
Well-known member
I bet that farmer will be a believer in vaccinating if he survives those losses.
My 2 cents,
Farmgirl
My 2 cents,
Farmgirl
djinwa
Well-known member
bigbluegrass":2h1ud793 said:
I agree that this scenario doesn't fit those viruses. My reading says they are rarely fatal, let alone 200 at once. Those viruses predispose cattle that are stressed and crowded to pneumonia, most commonly young animals in feedlots, but even then you don't get mass dying. Older cows in a field lack the stress and should be more immune.
Like you say, I'd be looking for something toxic in feed or water.
from what ive read they concluded the cows died of pnuemonia, and didnt all necessarily die at one time but within 12 hours of showing symptoms. and the vet said they didnt respond to treatment. one article i read says they were steers.
Suzie Q
Well-known member
On another thread on this forum it says something about pneumonia after soot being breathed in from a hay fire.
redcowsrule33
Well-known member
Just heard on the news it has been confirmed that the deaths were due to a mycotoxin in potato waste.
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2011/jan/28/toxic-spuds-killed-cows-portage-county/
Nasty stuff apparently. I wonder where the liability lies now? Or if he's still out of luck?
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2011/jan/28/toxic-spuds-killed-cows-portage-county/
Nasty stuff apparently. I wonder where the liability lies now? Or if he's still out of luck?
robertwhite
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Cattle eat sweet potatoes? (and yes, I am serious)
djinwa
Well-known member
The mycotoxin makes more sense. I assume the veterinary team read this thread and decided to take bigbluegrass' and my suggestion and look for toxic feed. 
dcara
Well-known member
robertwhite":38frcnem said:
The rumen is an amazing adaptation and can convert almost anything to life sustaining energy. A lot of things they will eat which will kill them include hardware lying around on the ground, wire on trailers in pastures, net wrap and string on hay bales, wet cement, and the list goes on.
bigbluegrass
Well-known member
Every once in awhile we get lucky and say something right :lol: :lol: I guess that was my once for this year :lol:djinwa":duvnjxu0 said:The mycotoxin makes more sense. I assume the veterinary team read this thread and decided to take bigbluegrass' and my suggestion and look for toxic feed.
djinwa
Well-known member
Howdyjabo":jxpovkum said:
You are ruining all the self-esteem training I went through!
Sorry- I just figured out you were keying in on my "ALL". I wasn't really trying to minimise your insightful suggestion to look at the feed.
That was aimed more at the land grant vets and ag specialists (and their students) who should have been tripping over themselves to figure out why there were 200 dead calves.
Had a situation here with cheatgrass that came in thick after the drought- I had to figure that one out on my own. and I resented that they weren't interested in my problem(involved 200 head+) as a learning opportunity.
That was aimed more at the land grant vets and ag specialists (and their students) who should have been tripping over themselves to figure out why there were 200 dead calves.
Had a situation here with cheatgrass that came in thick after the drought- I had to figure that one out on my own. and I resented that they weren't interested in my problem(involved 200 head+) as a learning opportunity.
djinwa
Well-known member
Howdyjabo":1hq6kdru said:
Well, either way, just kidding.
But yeah, it would be good training. Especially in the concept of not jumping to conclusions based on one sign/symptom. I'm not sure how the respiratory virus or pneumonia idea got started - perhaps someone assumed because of respiratory difficulty that's what they had, even if it didn't fit the big picture.
