ANGUS BEEF BULLETIN EXTRA

March 21, 2019 | Vol. 12 : No. 3

Health & Nutrition


health_nutrition

Always Eating for Two

Nutrition matters for each stage of calf development.

How many months out of a year is a mother cow just eating for herself?

Hopefully none, says Janna Kincheloe, North Dakota State University animal scientist.

“The cow should either be lactating or developing a fetus at all times,” she says. “If she’s not doing that, she’s probably open and should be on the trailer headed to town.”

Prevent PI BVD

Checking the herd for BVD starts with calves.

It takes diligence to keep a herd free of bovine viral diarrhea (BVD). This disease can sneak into your herd in many different ways, but one of the most common ways it spreads through the herd is with persistently infected (PI) calves.

Complex Fatal Hay Nitrate Cases

High nitrate in hay killing beef cows in complex ways, MU specialists say.

Two years of abnormal weather changed plant growth, which changes livestock digestion. In the end cows die.

The words “it’s very complex” kept popping up in a University of Missouri (MU) emergency teleconference of state and regional MU Extension specialists.

Dealing with Diphtheria in Calves

Learn how to deal with upper respiratory problems in calves.

Upper respiratory problems include diphtheria, an infection that causes inflammation of the vocal folds of the larynx (voice box) at the back of the throat. Swelling from the inflammation can restrict the airways and make breathing difficult.

Steve Hendrick, veterinarian with Coaldale Veterinary Clinic, Coaldale, Alta., Canada, sees quite a few cases of diphtheria in cow-calf operations and feedlots.

Reproductive Tract Repair

Tips for reproductive tract repair and breeding success.

A brood cow is the heart of the herd. She is the one that lays down each year to have a calf to ultimately propagate her outstanding genetics or help feed the world. Even though her role is considered important by all those around her, being a cow is not always a glamorous job.

Are Killed Vaccines a Good Fit?

Killed vaccines offer benefits for all ages and stages of cattle.

You can’t always know the pregnancy status of every animal or have the time to separate pregnant cows from the herd. Yet with killed vaccines, you can usually vaccinate any animal — regardless of age or production stage — with confidence.

Finding Fevers From the Air

AgriLife Research targets feverish cows with drones.

Scientists within The Texas A&M University System are testing new technologies at a feedlot in the Texas Panhandle to find ways to reduce the use of antibiotics in livestock and provide consumers with a healthy meat supply.

Lately, drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras have been buzzing over a research feedlot near Amarillo, as researchers develop test methods to identify feverish animals before they show symptoms of illness, such as eating less feed, or infect other animals.

FMD Concerns

Study reveals pigs can transmit FMD prior to signs of sickness.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus spreads much more aggressively in pigs than previous research suggests, according to a new study by USDA scientists.

The study, recently published in Scientific Reports, shows that pigs infected with the FMD virus were highly contagious to other pigs just 24 hours after infection — long before showing any clinical signs of infection, such as fever and blisters.