Heat stress (?) claims a victim

[IluvABbeef]

Yep, came back home, went out to check the cattle, and found a two-week old carcass lying in the middle of the pasture. Third loss this year.

Aparently the animal of that carcass dropped dead to too much heat stress, or some other condition due to being exposed to too much heat, and with the heat and being baked in the sun, the meat and insides in the animal started some sort of decomposition-fermentation process, the corpse started to bloat (no, not from just the stomach, but from the butt to the head) due to build up of gases, and when something punctured the hide, be it a bird or coyote, the dead animal would've deflated like a balloon, or exploded, like an un-stabbed potato in the microwave.

Anyway, that's my theory when I seen the suddenly-suspiciously-thin corpse with dried, wrinkled hide.

Sorry for the gory details, but things like that happen. At least we didn't have to spend $500 of medicine on him.

 

[Joy in Texas]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[CUZ]

Hey, sorry to hear about your cow, and the thing is you'll probably never know what killed it. Yesterday I found a dead deer just in the edge of the creek. It was somewhat bloated and had been there long enough to be very pungent if the breeze blew the right (wrong) way. Don't know if it died giving birth, heatstroke, heart attack, alien abduction, snake bite, lead ;-) poisoning or what got it. Just another of "life's little mysteries" that pop up from time to time. But I do like your detective work and theory.

Cuz

 

[ALACOWMAN]

been 104 degrees in the shade here last few days suppose to be 110 tomorrow. that touch of brahman has come in handy

 

[IluvABbeef]

I was scared at first that it might've been a case of anthrax. :shock:

But of course you need lots of soil erosion and the right conditions for that to happen. And of course there'd be more than one going down like that within a day or two.

And I also knew it wasn't bloat because there ain't no plants in or surrounding the pasture that CAN cause bloat.

 

[Ryder]

Yep, came back home, went out to check the cattle, and found a two-week old carcass lying in the middle of the pasture. Third loss this year.

Aparently the animal of that carcass dropped dead to too much heat stress, or some other condition due to being exposed to too much heat,

I doubt it was heat stress. What has your temperature, humidity, heat index been running? I there shade? Do your cattle pant in the hot part of the day?

Losing three like that I would continue searching for some other cause.

 

[bigjohn513]

yea the "3" thing got me too...3 in how many?
3 in 20...you got a bigger problem
3 in 1000...may just be the heat or bad luck
anyway sorry for you loss...I have 5 hefer's due right now and im hoping they hold out

 

[Beefy]

i doubt it was heat stress.

 

[Canadian_Cowgirl]

Dont go scarin her!!

Karin did you give them blackleg shot??


Katy

 

[ChrisB]

I just lost 2 to sudden onset pneumonia. I would have never guessed, it's been low 90's everyday and very dry for 2 months. The first one died so fast I thought it had chocked even though I couldn't find anything, when the second one died I had a post mortem and the lungs were full of fluid.

Not saying that is your case, but something you might want to consider.

 

[IluvABbeef]

These folks can't scare me, Katy. ;-)

First off, yes there's shade, temps that week got to around, and a bit above 35 C (a few days it reached 39 C), high humidity (threat of thunderstorms pretty much every day), and cattle are out grazing and/or laying in the shade in the hot part of the day.

See, that's why I put a question mark after heat stress. It could be that, heat shock, or a sudden onset pneumonia. But DEFINATELY not Anthrax, that I'm positively sure about.

These steers are over 16 months old, and I'm sure that they'd've been vaccinated against blackleg when they were calves before they were sold to this farm, but since they were bought for us through private treaty from an auction, and with that there's no record of who or where they came from. So being folks who raise stockers that's a risk we have to take.

Okay, now for the "3" thing. The first one we lost to pnuemonia in December. Second one, viral pnuemonia between the end of April and the beginning of May. And this is the third death. Three deaths out of 82 cattle. Three is the most we usually have that many every year anyway.

 

[TheBullLady]

I think your diagnosis of "heat stress" is probably incorrect as well. If the steers were subjected to unusually high heat and no shade / water that might be something to consider, but I doubt you'd just find the carcass.

Obviously since the carcass is two weeks old and too long dead to post you'll never know, but I would be viligant with the remainder of the herd, to be on the safe side.