abiqua animal clinic mixed animal practice in silverton purchased in 2009 dr dietrich’s agrarian...
TRANSCRIPT
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