Dr. Brian Dietrich & Dr. Claire Varney

Abiqua Animal Clinic

Silverton, Oregon

2013

Abiqua Animal Clinic

• Mixed animal practice in Silverton

• Purchased in 2009

• Dr Dietrich’s agrarian interests include dairying, sheep farming, forage and pasture management.

• Dr Varney’s veterinary interests include cattle and small ruminants, in addition to small animals.

Beef Breeds

Dairy

Breeds

Dual-purpose Breeds

Restraint

Restraint

Handling Equipment

Handling Techniques

AGING

CATTLE

Nutrition

• Roughage• Concentrates• Water• Vitamins• Minerals

Roughages

• Forages– Cool season grasses

• PRG, ARG, TF, OG, Timothy, RCG

– Warm season grasses• Sorghum-sudan grass, forage corn,

Bermuda grass, pearl millet, teff

– Legumes• Alfalfa, clovers, trefoils, medics,

beans

– Forbs• Broadleaf “weeds”

– Toxic plants• Tansy, poison hemlock, bracken

fern, etc.

Pasture management

• Rotational grazing– Keep forage in growing

phase– Minimum 4 inch stubble

• Noxious weed control

Roughages

• Hay– Alfalfa– Grass– Grass/legume– Grain

• Straw– Grass– Grain

• Silage/haylage• Test, TEST, TEST!

Grains

• Whole grains• Processed grains– Rolled/Flaked/Steamed– Cracked/Ground– Pelleted

• Mixes• By-products– Grass seed screenings– Cannery waste

Water

• Clean and abundant• Sources– Man-made– Natural

• Parasite risk• Algae

Vitamins

• Fat-soluble– A, D, E, K

• Water-soluble– B vitamins, C

caM

or c

iM

or

Minerals

• Calcium• Phosphorus• Potassium• Magnesium• Sulfur

• Cobalt• Copper• Manganese• Molybdenum• Zinc• Iodine• Iron• Selenium

2:1

Balancing a Ration

• Assess the main components

• Determine needs based on:– Age– Gender– Use

• Balance first for protein and energy, then vitamins and minerals

Balancing a Ration

• Diet will consist of:– Local grass hay– 12% livestock grain

• Feeding a 1200 lb cow– Mid-gestation– Non-lactating

Balancing a Ration

Balancing a Ration

• Balancing ration to achieve 18 lbs of a 7.5% protein diet

• Local grass hay: 6% protein based on feed test

• Livestock grain: 12% protein based on label

Pearson Square

Local grass hay6%

Livestock grain12%

4.5 parts

7.5

1.5 parts

6 parts total

(1.5 /6) x 100 = 25% grain

(4.5 /6) x 100 = 75% hay

18 lb x 25% = 4.5 lb grain

18 lb x 75% = 13.5 lb hay

Choke

• Blockage of esophagus• Usually able to breathe• Results in bloat• Risk of inhaling saliva

and feed material, leading to pneumonia

• Object must be removed– Up– Down

• Common culprits– Apples– Pears– Beets– Onions– Potatoes– Cauliflower– Pineapples– Et cetera

Bloat

• Frothy bloat– Legumes– Treat with surfactant– +/- trocar

• Free-gas bloat– Choke– Grain overload– Nerve dysfunction– Relieve with tube +/-

trocar

Acidosis

• Due to:– Grain overload– Lack of dietary fiber– Decreased gut motility

• Evidenced by:– Inappetance– Lethargy– Bloat

• Sequelae:– Lameness– Liver abscesses

• Prevention– Change diet slowly– Ensure adequate fiber– Provide sodium bicarb?

• Treatment– Call your vet…– …who may give a

neutralizing mixture via stomach tube

Grass Tetany

• Causes– Low dietary magnesium– Decreased magnesium

absorption due to excessive potassium

• When? Often during spring pasture growth

• Signs– Incoordination– Inability to stand– Irritability– Death

• Treatment– Calcium/magnesium IV

infusion– Call your vet!

• Prevention– Provide magnesium

blocks starting with spring grass growth

– Add dolomitic lime to pastures

Respiratory disease

• Causative agents– IBR– PI3– BVD– Mannheimia hemolytica

• Contributing factors– STRESS– Transportation

Respiratory disease

• Prevention– Vaccination (see program

mentioned later)– Space out stressful events– Provide good nutrition

• Treatment– Hydration/Electrolytes– Antibiotics

Clostridial diseases

• Group of bacterial diseases caused by Clostridium spp.

• Require anaerobic environment• Produce potent toxins• Spores persist in the

environment• Examples: Black leg, red

water, big head, enterotoxemia, tetanus, botulism

• Prevention: Vaccinate!• Treatment: Largely ineffective

Reproductive diseases—Abortion

• Toxic causes• Bracken fern• False hellebore• Pine needle abortion

• Infectious causes• Leptospirosis

– Vaccinate!!

• Brucellosis– Bang’s vaccine

• Trichomonas fetus• BVD• Neospora

Reproductive diseases—Abortion

• Signs– Usually late term– May find fetus, placenta,

or just dirty tail

• Determining cause is difficult

• Abortion testing– Fetus and placenta– Blood sample

Reproductive diseases—Dystocia

• Signs– Restless/Straining– Vaginal fluid– Placenta

• Types– Leg back– Head only– Breech/backwards

• Call your vet!– Within 1-2 hours if no

progress

Reproductive diseases—Uterine prolapse

• Due to continued straining following calving

• Risk factors include difficult calving, calcium deficiency, and selenium deficiency

• Keep uterus clean and call your vet

Reproductive diseases—Milk fever

• Signs– Severe weakness– Head on flank– Hypothermia (ears)

• Risk factors– High milk production– Older cows– Inadequate or excessive

dietary calcium during last trimester

Reproductive diseases—Milk fever

• Sequelae– Hind limb nerve damage– Uterine prolapse– Decreased gut motility

• Get them up ASAP!– IV CMPK infusion– Oral supplementation

Reproductive diseases—Retained placenta

• Placenta should drop within 12 hours

• Treatment– Wait 72 hrs– If not out on its own, call

the vet– +/- Antibiotics– Never pull on it!

Reproductive diseases—Metritis

• Uterine infections• Due to unsanitary

calvings and uterine injuries

• Treatment includes antibiotics +/- hormone therapy

• Monitor closely following parturition

Reproductive diseases—Mastitis

• Bacterial infection of one or more udder quarters

• Contracted from the udder environment or fecal contamination

• Risk factors– Milking machines– Dirty environment– Teat trauma

Reproductive diseases—Mastitis

• Treatment– Culture first– Strip quarter frequently– Hot packing/topical

ointments– +/- Antibiotics

Other infectious diseases

• Johne’s disease– Contagious bacterial disease

that causes diarrhea– No treatment

• Tuberculosis– Federally regulated– Zoonotic

• BLV– Viral disease that causes

tumors

Toxin-induced disease

• Plant poisoning– Bracken fern– Tansy ragwort– St John’s wort– Poison hemlock

• Lead poisoning– Farm junk piles

Parasites—Gastrointestinal worms

• Live in stomach, small intestine, and cecum

• Suck blood and protein from the host

• Cause anemia, decreased body condition, and scours

Parasites—Gastrointestinal worms

• Life cycle– Eggs deposited in feces– Develop over days to

weeks into infective larvae

– Climb grass and are ingested

– Develop into adults which produce eggs

Parasites—Gastrointestinal worms

• Prevention– Rotational grazing– Multi-species grazing– High tannin forages– Genetic selection– Parasitic fungi?– Vaccines?

Parasites—Gastrointestinal worms

• Treatment– Treat based on fecal test!– Dewormers

• Use 1 until it doesn’t work• For oral medications, fast

for 24 to 48 hours• For resistance, consider

mixing classes

– Ensure adequate nutrition

– Diatomaceous earth?– Herbal remedies?

Parasites—Gastrointestinal

• Coccidia– One-celled organism– Life cycle takes ~3 weeks– Replicates in small intestine cells– Results in cell rupture– Bloody diarrhea and weight loss– Prevention

• Maintain sanitary environment• Maintain nutrition level• Rotational grazing• Coccidiostat in feed or water

– Treatment• Sulfa drugs• Amprolium• Must treat for 5 days to break life

cycle

Parasites—Gastrointestinal

• Cryptosporidium– Causes diarrhea in calves– Short life cycle– Autoinfection– Prevention

• Hygiene

– Treatment• Time• Supportive therapy• Good nutrition

– Zoonotic!!

Parasites—Liver Flukes

• Live in bile ducts of liver• Cause liver failure

– Edema– Jaundice– Weight loss– Death

• May predispose to clostridial disease

• 4 to 6 month life cycle requires snails

Parasites—Liver Flukes

• Prevention– Fence off water ways and

low ground– Tile fields– Control snail populations

• Copper sulfate• Slug bait

• Treatment– Clorsulon– Albendazole– Kills mainly adults– Treat in early fall

Parasites—External

• Flies– Irritating, blood-sucking– Lead to stress and

decreased production– Some species have

migrating larvae (warbles)– Spread pinkeye– Prevention/Treatment

• Ear tags• Dust bags• Air movement• Topical insecticides

Parasites—External

• Lice– Two main varieties

• Blood–sucking• Skin chewing

– Cause hair loss, itching, anemia, decreased body condition

– Treatment• Injectables (only work on

blood-suckers)• Pour-ons, powders, DE?

Skin disease—Warts

• Caused by a virus• Usually in young

animals• Unsightly, may bleed• Treatment– Neglect– Autovaccination– Commercial vaccine

Skin disease—Ringworm

• Caused by several species of fungi

• Lives in soil and on equipment

• Causes dry skin and hair loss• Can be zoonotic• Treatment

– Neglect– Sunlight– Various topicals (FDA!)

Skin disease—Photosensitization

• UV light causes reaction in unpigmented skin

• Skin dies and sloughs• Secondary to plant toxins or

liver disease– St John’s Wort– Tansy Ragwort– Liver flukes

Hardware disease

• Metal objects penetrate reticulum

• Cause pain and thoracic/abdominal infection

• Manifested by hunched posture

• Prevention– Magnets

• Treatment– Abdominal surgery– Antibiotics

Calf Management

• Colostrum• Nutrition• Hygiene

• Calf scours– E. coli– Rotavirus– Coronavirus– Salmonella– Cryptosporidium

Calf Management

• Navel ill/joint ill– Swollen joints and umbilicus– Colostrum!– Difficult to treat

• Pneumonia– Snotty nose, coughing, labored

breathing– Early treatment important

• White muscle disease– Prevention: Bo-Se

Castration

• Technique options vary with age, size and/or season

• Banding– “Easy” to do, no blood– Increased risk of tetanus– Use appropriate band!!

• Cutting– Fail-safe, bloody– Increased risk of flies/infection

• Crimping– Difficult to do right– May be price docked at sale

Breeding Programs

• Natural service vs artificial insemination

• Heat detection and synchronization

• Purebred vs crossbred• Seedstock vs

commercial• Flushing and embryo

transfer

Production Benchmarks

• 90% of cows should calve every year• Breed less than 83 days after calving

(2-3 heat cycles)• Breeding season should be 45-60

days long• 90% of calves should survive to

weaning• Wean calves at 6-7 months old• Calves should weigh 45-50% of cow

weight at weaning• Calves should gain 2.5-3 lb/day• Breed heifers at 60-65% of mature

weight (14 months)

Beef Herd Health—Calves

• At Birth– BoSe – 1cc/25# (for white

muscle)– Vitamin A&D – 1cc/75#– Dip navels with 7% iodine; do

not spray– Make sure calf nurses cow

within first 6 hours. If not, tube feed calf 2 quarts colostrum. Repeat in 4-6 hours.

– Intranasal IBR/PI3 if calf pneumonia has been a problem

Herd Health—Calves cont.

• One Month of Age– Burn off horns with electric dehorner– Castrate bulls

 • Three Weeks Prior to Weaning

– IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV vaccination– Haemophilus, if a problem– 7-way or 8-way Clostridium (blackleg) vaccination– Check for parasites – lice and worms. Treat if indicated.

• Weaning– Repeat IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV

vaccination– Haemophilus, if a problem– 7-way or 8-way Clostridium (blackleg)

vaccination

Herd Health—Heifers

• Four to Twelve Months of Age– Brucellosis vaccination for heifers (must be

done by veterinarian)

• Heifers at Breeding Age– IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV vaccination– Haemophilus, if a problem– Lepto 5-way vaccination– MuSe – 1cc per 125-150#– Repeat Clostridium (blackleg) vaccination– Vaccinate for Vibriosis (if bull breeding)– Deworm – use injectable or oral dewormers

(not pour-on)

Herd Health—Cows

• Every 4-6 Months– Lepto 5-way vaccination

• Annually (prior to breeding)– Killed IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV vaccination

– Haemophilus (optional)– Vibriosis vaccination (if bull breeding)

• At the End of Breeding Season– Rectal examination for pregnancy– Check teeth, teats, etc., and cull any open or

problem cows

• Three to Four Weeks Before Calving– Deworm – use injectable or oral dewormers

(not pour-on)– MuSe – 1cc per 125-150#– Check udders– Vaccinate for E. coli, Rota and Corona virus, if

scours caused by these organisms have been a problem in calves 

Herd Health—Bulls

• Annually (prior to breeding)– Killed IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV

vaccination– Haemophilus (optional)– Vibriosis vaccination– Lepto 5-way vaccination

Marketing Options

• Direct marketing– More personal interaction– Limited customer base

• Niche marketing– Able to set the price– Customized product

• Auctions– Easy, available, convenient– No price control

• On-line marketing– Huge customer base– Minimum quantities

Harvesting Options

• Federal law requires that products to be sold be processed in a USDA-inspected facility

• Products for home use are exempt

• USDA mobile slaughter vs slaughterhouse

• Beef share program