Principles of Animal Diseases

Objective 5.02: Discuss the major diseases of cattle, swine, and poultry

Causes: Noninfectious Diseases and Problems

Faulty Nutrition Ration is not balanced

Metabolic disorder Not adequately digested

Trauma Wounds or Injuries

Toxic Substances Poisonous materials such as chemicals, plants, and

spiders Congenital Defects

Birth defects

Common Cattle Diseases

brucellosis – causes abortion during last half of pregnancy,

afterbirth retention or sterility

shipping fever – complex with many symptoms such as closed

eyes, fever, coughing, diarrhea, or discharge from nose and is more common in young cattle during times of stress such a shipping

Common Cattle Diseases

Black leg– Bacterial disease that lives in soils and infects

animals through wounds. Sudden death, lameness, swollen muscles and high fever. Can be vaccinated

Mastitis Bacterial infection that causes inflammation in

mammary glands, more common in dairy cows Prevent through proper sanitation

Common Swine Diseases

a. transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) caused by a very contagious virus that

has symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea with white, yellow or green feces and kills almost 100% of baby pigs which have TGE

b. pseudorabies caused by a virus that has symptoms of

fever, vomiting, convulsions and tremors and causes sudden death of young pigs within 24 hours of appearance of symptoms

Common Swine Diseases

c. Swine Dysentery Bacterial disease that causes bloody scours Recommended treatment is the use of one of

the several recommended drugs in the drinking water

d. Mycoplasmal Pneumonia Chronic disease that causes coughing in

young pigs Reduce feed intake and causes reduced

weight gain. Death loss is low Prevent with vaccination and sanitation

e. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS)

Viral disease that causes late term fetal death, abortion, weak pigs and respiratory disease in young pigs

No effective treatment Prevent with vaccination

Common Poultry Diseases

Aortic rupture – An artery in male turkeys between 8 and

20 weeks ruptures and turkey bleeds to death.

Newcastle disease is caused by viruses and has symptoms

of gasping for air, sneezing, breathing difficulties, tremors and paralysis.

Avian pox (Fowl pox) is caused by a virus and has symptoms

of yellow cankers in the mouth and eyes and scabs around the head.

Common Poultry Diseases

Coccidiosis Caused by protozoan parasites and has

symptoms of bloody diarrhea, weight loss and droopiness

Affects numerous livestock species Treat and prevent with drugs called

coccidiostats

Aspergillosis (Brooder Pneumonia) Caused by fungus or mold and includes

symptoms of loss of appetite, gasping, sleepiness, convulsions and death

Prevented by using mold free litter and has no effective treatment

Common Goat/Sheep Disease Tetanus

Bacteria that lives in the soil and enters the animal’s body through a wound

All livestock animals can contract tetanus Animal who receive preventative maintenance

procedures such as castration or docking should be vaccinated

Entertoxemia (overeating disease) Bacterial disease that causes sudden

death of animals Foot Rot

Extremely contagious bacterial infection that causes lameness, found in all livestock

Weight loss due to limited mobility is problem Treat with footbath solution Prevention includes sanitation and hoof

trimming

Sore Mouth Virus that causes mouth, lip, nose blisters

Principles of Animal Diseases

Objective 19.02: Describe Treatments for the major diseases of cattle, swine and poultry

Treatments

Prevention is the best way to control diseases.a. cleanlinessb. vaccinationc. quarantine sick animalsd. avoid exposure to diseasee. isolate new animals

Treatments

2. Sanitation and good health management practices are important because some diseases have no treatments.

3. Cattle that have brucellosis must be slaughtered and disposed of properly.

4. The recommended treatment for cattle with shipping fever is the use of antibiotics and sulfa drugs.

5. The recommended treatment for bloody scours or swine dysentery is the use of one of the several recommended drugs in the drinking water.

Treatments

6. Drugs and vaccines are not effective in controlling and treating TGE and pseudorabies in swine.

7. Aortic rupture in turkeys is prevented by using a lower-energy ration and low-level use of tranquilizers.

8. Avian or fowl pox and Newcastle disease have no known cures.

9. Coccidiosis is treated by using drugs called coccidiostats.

10. Antibiotics are used to treat many poultry diseases including Ulcerative Enteritis, Chronic Respiratory Disease, Bluecomb and Avian Influenza.

Principles of Animal Diseases

Objective 20.01: Describe the major internal and external parasites of livestock and poultry.

External Parasites

1. Ticks – bloodsuckers

2. Lice – bloodsuckers and biting

3. Mites – cause mange

4. Blowfly – screwworm in larval stage

5. Heel Fly – cattle grub – causes the most economic loss in cattle

6. Horn Fly – smallest, bloodsucking species

7. other kinds of flies including horsefly, housefly and stable fly

Internal Parasites

Roundworms – stomach worms,

ascarids, pinworms, bloodworms, lungworms

Tapeworms – broad tapeworm, beef or

pork tapeworm Flukes

Flatworm that lives on or in other animals

Major Problems 1. Other than death, the most costly result of internal parasites in

cattle, swine and poultry is weight loss or reduced gains.

2. The major external parasites of swine are lice and mites.

3. Most external parasites of birds or poultry lower production by sucking blood.

4. The external parasite causing the greatest financial loss in beef cattle is the larva of the Heel Fly or cattle grubs because they lower rate of gain and damage hides and meat.

5. The major internal parasites of poultry are several types of worms.

6. Roundworms cause the most damage of any internal parasites for hogs.

Controlling Parasites 1. The most effective method of control is prevention.

2. Chemicals are the most common method of controlling external parasites.

3. Systemic insecticides that spread throughout the animal’s body is the most effective way to treat the Heel fly which causes cattle grubs.

4. Deworming pregnant sows and gilts about a week before farrowing kills the worms and prevents baby pigs from getting worms from their mother’s manure.

5. Mites, bedbugs and fowl ticks hide in cracks and crevices in poultry houses during daylight, and those places must be sprayed with approved chemicals during daylight to kill those external parasites.

6. Poultry have very little problem with worms because the birds are raised in confinement in wire cages.

7. Chemical, mechanical, biological and cultural methods are used to reduce losses from livestock and poultry parasites.