Ruminant Herd Health

Dr. Lauren Lyzenga

Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic

Goals:

• Biosecurity!

• Prevent disease

- Nutrition

- Housing

- Vaccinations

- Parasite control

• Identify and treat sick animals early

By Jacquie Wingate from Recovery, usa - Flickr, CC BY-SA 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3474660

Farm Biosecurity• Sanitize boots, hands, and wear clean clothes

– Between farms; between healthy and sick animals

– Visitors

• Wear gloves/sleeves when handling sick or birthing animal

• Healthy animals first, sick animals last

• Single use needles

• Sanitize equipment between animals

Nutrition

• Forages

• Salt and minerals

• Supplemental protein and energy

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Forages

• Cattle: 1.5 – 2.5% of body weight per day (dry matter)

• Small ruminant: 1.5 – 3.5% body weight

• Pasture: grass vs legumes? maturity?

• Hay• Grass hays: good maintenance diet

• Legume hays (alfalfa, clover): high protein and calcium

• Silage/balelage/ haylage• Nutritious; spoilage problems

Pastures

• Overstocking pastures and poor maintenance leads to:

– compaction and damage to pastures

– lack of adequate nutrition

– manure management and run-off issues

– Parasite overload

• Dry lot or indoor areas

– Confine animals when too wet, too dry, or pasture eaten down

Pasture rotation

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Dry lots and indoor housing

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Feed to Body Condition!

• Look and Feel

• Dairy breeds vs meat breeds

Supplemental Protein and Energy

• Who?

– Breeding, late pregnancy and lactating animals

– Growing animals

– Low body condition (BCS <2.5 - 3)

• What? Grains, pellets or tex mix

• Check label for species!

– Cattle feed should not be given to sheep and goats

Salt, Minerals, Vitamins

• Blocks or loose minerals

– Check label for species

• Sheep are sensitive to copper

– Selenium!

cattle, horses, goats and pigs

http://www.ranch-way.com/products/horse-feed/ranch-way-easy-feed-organic-12-10-all-stock-mineral

Salts, Vitamins, Minerals

• Protein licks with minerals and vitamins

• Injectable vitamin supplements:

– Only if inadequate in diet (poor forage, winter, no other supplements)

– Vitamins A & D

– Mu-Se (Vitamin E and Selenium)

– Pre-breeding, mid – late pregnancy, weanlings

Vaccinations

• Small ruminants (sheep, goats, camelids)

– CDT vaccine: Tetanus and Clostridium perfringenstype C & D

• Cattle

– Respiratory combination vaccine (Express)

– Clostridial combination vaccine (Covexin Plus)

– Additional: intranasal vaccines for viral and bacterial pneumonias, scour prevention vaccines

Internal Parasites

• Routine deworming

• Pasture management

• Animal assessment – FAMACHA (anemia)

– Body condition

– Fecal consistency (diarrhea)

– Bottle jaw

– Hair coat

• Fecal sample monitoring

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Organic dewormers

• Diatomaceous earth – not for internal use!

• Copper Oxide wire boluses (Copasure is one brand) – 2 gram boluses in adult goat/sheep, 1 gram in lambs

• Concentrated Tannins found in plants

• Big and birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, sulla, and sericea lespedeza (legumes)

• Fresh plants or dried

• Likely needs to be a high portion of diet

Lice and mites: Oh my! • Sunlight, stocking density

• Diatomaceous earth on animals/environment

• Pyrethin (from Chrysanthemum plant)

– No synthetic carriers (piperonyl butoxide)

– Powder or spray

• Sulfur + Hydrated lime (hot lime sulfur dip)

• Mineral oil, vegetable oils

• Enzymatic soaps

Fly Control

• Manure disposal

• Fly parasites (wasps)

• Chickens, ducks

– eat fly larva

• Fly tape and traps

• Insecticidals

– Pyrethrin

• Repellant sprays:

– Essential oils: Neem, peppermint, lemon, citronella, eucalyptus, clove, bitter orange, tea tree…

– Apple cider vinegar or Witch hazel

– Mineral or olive oil

– Dish soap

Foot health • Trimming: 1 – 2 times per year for most

• Lameness: examine and treat promptly– Foot rot: swollen foot, stinky and raw between

toes. Trim and clean feet, systemic antibiotics, topical treatment

– Digital dermatitis: warts on the heel of cattle, apply activated copper and zinc chelate gel (Hoof-Sol) and wrap for 2 days. Repeat

– Hoof abscess: carve out with hoof knife, block opposite toe – requires training

Birthing management

• Hygiene

– Bedding, wash vulva and wear sleeves if assisting, dip naval in 7% Iodine

• Colostrum

• Anti-inflammatory after difficult births – both mom and baby!

– Metacam good choice

– Not Banamine (flunixin)

Retained Placenta

• >24 hours after parturition

• Do not attempt to remove

• Trim to prevent dragging

• Keep mother in clean area

• Immune support: Vit A & D and Vit C

• Monitor temperature for fever

– Antibiotics

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Scours

• Hydration!!

– Electrolytes 1-2 times per day (bottle, tube feed, bucket feed)

– Access to fresh water

• Pain management – Metacam

• Severe cases: intravenous fluids & antibiotics

• Prevention: cleanliness, separation of older and younger animals, colostrum intake, scour vaccinations

Pneumonia

• Signs:

– Fever

– Breathing fast or with effort

– Cough, snotty nose

• Treatment

– Antibiotics!

– Anti-inflammatories

• Prevention:

– Ventilation/housing

– Biosecurity

– Colostrum

– Vaccines (cattle)

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Indigestion

• Signs: decreased appetite, abnormal manure (dry, loose, stinky), decreased manure, decreased ruminations, mild bloat

• Common

• Pump with fluids, probiotics, alfalfa meal

• Ginger, cayenne pepper – stimulate motility

Wounds:

• Suturing should be done within 12 hours if needed

• Flush with water and dilute iodine

• Dress with Golden Yellow Wound Ointment or unpasteurized honey

– Anti-bacterial

• Herbs – Yarrow, Plantain

Musculoskeletal and nerve injuries• If animal is unable to stand and walk, need to

be assessed by a veterinarian promptly

• Treatments:

– Acupuncture, chiropractic medicine

– Laser therapy

– Herbs – Corydalis yanhusuo, Comfrey

– Anti-inflammatories (Metacam, Anafen, Dexmethasone, Pre-Def 2X)

Urinary Stones

• Castrated male sheep and goats

• Prevention

– At least 1 month old before castration

– Encourage water intake

– High salt diet

– Calcium:Phosphorous ratio >2:1 in diet

• Avoid feeding grain (high phosphorous)

• Feed calcium – alfalfa, limestone

– Ammonium chloride for high risk

Urinary Stones

• Signs of urinary blockage

– Straining and repeated attempts to urinate, dribbling urine, blood tinged urine, vocalizing, painful, not eating

– Edema, Down, weak, bloated

• Emergency!

• Treatment?

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Mastitis

• Abnormal milk, swollen quarter, pain – Milk out quarter frequently

• Oxytocin if needed

– Massage quarter with peppermint udder ointment

– Mastotreet after milking twice daily in quarter

– Amplimune – immune stimulant, organic certified

• Fever, depression, dehydration– Fluid support

– Intravenous Banamine

– Antibiotics http://cahsspvd.pvamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Mastitis_2.jpg

Metritis

• Watery, brown, stinky discharge from uterus, straining

• Infuse 50% dextrose or Utresept

• Immune support: Vit A & D and Vit C

• Fever, depression:

– Antibiotics: Penicillin for 5 days or ceftiofur(Excede, Excenel)

– Anti-inflammatory