Research has shown that a good fresh period is essential for cows. Hopefully, they begin milking, avoid health problems and start cycling quickly. According to Milo Wiltbank, this task is more easily accomplished if cows gain weight during the transition period that includes the 21 days before and after calving. Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, May 7, 2018. Link. According to … [Read more...]
Smithfield: every pig, every pen, every day (includes video)
Consumer pressure and perceptions routinely challenge animal care and food production practices. To support the release of the Animal Care section of its "2017 Sustainability Report," Smithfield released a new 360-degree virtual reality video, which transports viewers to one of the company's wean-to-finish hog farms. The company recently used the technology to take viewers … [Read more...]
Lash eggs, sign of illness not a funny egg
Lash eggs are not eggs. Rather, they are an egg-sized mass from the oviduct of a laying hen. And, they are a strange symptom of an illness that is the number one killer of laying hens. They are caused by salpingitis; an inflammation and infection of the oviduct. Source: Countryside Daily, April 26, 2018. Link. Salpingitis can be very hard to prevent. It is most common in … [Read more...]
Dry cow vaccination improves immune response, passive transfer
Linda Tikofsky, Boehringer-Ingelheim DVM, provides sound reasoning for a two-in-one effect when vaccinating dry cows. This is sound advice for producers and a good reminder for dairy veterinary teams and the animal health pros who service dairies. A lactating cow vaccination protocol should begin at least 30 days prior to breeding, Tikofsky says. By vaccinating cows during … [Read more...]
Animal welfare tops list of American causes
Americans say they care more about animal welfare than children’s education and hunger. That’s according to the findings of the “Causes Americans Care About,” a new study that gathered responses from 1,000 adults: 41% chose animal welfare number one. Children’s education ranked second with 38% of respondents. Hunger, chosen by 33% of respondents ranked number … [Read more...]
New calf killer in town
Salmonella Heidelberg, a disease identified fewer than two years ago, can quickly claim the lives of dairy calves. The disease is a risk for any dairy and has become a multi-state risk due to the frequent transport of dairy animals across the U.S. Additionally, S. Heidleberg is resistant to antibiotics and was linked to human cases in 15 states. Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, … [Read more...]
30-plus years of pork industry milestones, issues
Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council, reflects on the development of the pork industry. He highlights these issues as the most memorable: Mandatory pork checkoff Pseudorabies eradication program H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009 Application of technology Animal ID/premise ID Growth of exports Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome … [Read more...]
Baby bison may save Siberian permafrost
To avoid releasing billions of tons of carbon from warming permafrost, scientists in the Pleistocene Park, in the wilds of Siberia, are attempting to reestablish the ecosystem as it was 20,000 years ago. They believe the actions of grazing animals can help keep the ground from thawing. Bison from Alaska will soon join other grazing animals there. Source: Fast Company, April … [Read more...]
Cornell research: moderate cost for no antibiotics in dairy
A new Cornell University study pinpoints the financial toll that eliminating antibiotic use would have on dairy farms. The team took a systems approach that involves researchers in epidemiology, development sociology, and agricultural and health economics. Source: Dairy Herd Management, April 19, 2018, Link. To examine the effect of limiting the use of antibiotics in dairy … [Read more...]
Heed new pinkeye management protocols
Articles from AHD sponsor Addison Biological Laboratories provide information about how we should now manage pinkeye. Starting with a historical perspective helps. This is what we know: Pinkeye is a painful cattle disease that can reduce weaning weights as much as 17 lbs. to 65 lbs. per animal. Pinkeye is a multifactor disease. Once it begins to spread through a … [Read more...]
Cows love brushing (includes video)
Brian Murphy and his family installed automated brushes to improve cow comfort. The cows love the brushes and compete for position to take turns. Source: Dairy Herd Management, March 29, 2018. (Link) The brushes really help to keep the cows clean, especially this time of year when they are getting rid of their hair coat,” Murphy says. “The cows love to stand and rub against … [Read more...]
Beef herd vaccination protocols are critical
Prepping calves for next fall’s market starts now with a herd vaccination program for cows, bulls and calves. Annual operational objectives should include 100 percent healthy cattle. Herd vaccination programs are proactive and implementing vaccines recommended by local veterinarian help protect against known viral and bacterial issues in the area. The upside of processing … [Read more...]
Hoof-care diagnostic tool is cool (slide show)
Zinpro’s new Step Up program has neat tools for cattle lameness identification and management. They were developed in collaboration from Kansas State University's Beef Cattle Institute. The materials combine as much knowledge from the beef and dairy industries as possible, then makes it somewhat specific for beef or dairy animals, says Zinpro’s Connie Larson. It is available … [Read more...]
More than meat – raise critters for wool and more
Janet Garman provides an overview of wool-producing animals. Wool, fleece, and fiber can be harvested from a number of wool-yielding animals. These include sheep, goats, rabbits, camels, llamas, alpaca, bison, and yak. The fiber from bison, camels, and yak are the rare fibers. The fiber from the camelid family of animals is very soft and fine. It feels similar to alpaca and … [Read more...]
GlobalVetLINK honored by Technology Association of Iowa
Congratulations to the GlobalVetLINK team for being awarded a 2018 Prometheus Award naming it as the software company of the year. This award makes the sixth Prometheus Award from various categories since the company was founded in 1999. GlobalVetLINK’s has become the world’s most trusted, secured and independent repository of animal health data. Source: GlobalVetLINK, April … [Read more...]
Treat burned cattle properly
Upwards of 300,000 acres have been burned by recent Oklahoma wildfires. As AHD reported during the Kansas wildfires last year, getting burned cows and calves healthy again can be tough. The advice from Kansas State Research and Extension is as worthwhile this spring as last spring. Sources: High Plains Journal, March 20, 2017. (Link) For calves, heifers and bulls, there can … [Read more...]
Help Oklahoma cattle raisers
An untold number of Oklahoma cattle operators lost cattle, pasture and hay to recent fires, some of which still burn. The Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation has set up a relief fund for those who want to help with cash, check or online donations. Cattle need hay, too. Source: Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association. (Link) Click the link to donate online. Hay is urgently needed in … [Read more...]
AABP program benefits recent graduates
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners hosted the first in a planned series of educational meetings designed for recent graduates. The AABP Recent Veterinary Graduate Conference was open to veterinarians who had graduated since 2010 and 165 attended. The conference provided continuing education on beef and dairy medicine; including obstetrics, necropsy, examinations, … [Read more...]
The view from the gut
There has been ongoing confusion about microbe management in the gut. Continuous research is helping determine which bugs are good or bad, what happens during the production cycle and how antibiotics affect gut microflora. We determined that recent information published by National Hog Farmer would be best presented in its entirety. Animal health pros can anticipate parallel … [Read more...]
What did veterinarians learn at AASV? (slideshow)
It has only been five weeks, but the American Association of Swine Veterinarians 2018 annual meeting may seem a distant memory. Realistically, there has likely been little time to act on the information learned there. Now is a good time to refresh the action items from the meeting, discuss them with colleagues and industry representatives. Source: National Hog Farmer, March … [Read more...]
Backyard chickens may pose health risks to humans
Zoonotic diseases that backyard poultry may spread to humans include salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and avian influenza viruses. Widespread outbreaks of human Salmonella spp. infections linked to contact with backyard chickens have been documented in the United States since the 1990s. Source: Clinician’s Brief, March 2018. Veterinarians should advise owners of backyard … [Read more...]
Control flies, prevent disease
Fly control warrants concern from every animal health professional. John Maday discusses the cattle perspective, including VFD restrictions to historical practices. Producers can benefit by working with their veterinarians to focus more on parasite control and less on medicated feeds for preventing diseases associated with flies. Source: Drovers, April 4, 2018. Effective … [Read more...]
Latest Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
The April 15, 2018 issue of JAVMA has three papers that caught our eyes. We’ve linked to the abstracts below: Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2016 Outcomes of and risk factors for presumed canine H3N2 influenza virus infection in a metropolitan outbreak Case-control study to determine herd-level risk factors for bovine respiratory disease in nursing … [Read more...]
Urban poultry needs more regulation to protect human and animal health (includes video)
Backyard chickens are increasingly popular throughout the U.S. Nearly one percent of all U.S. households surveyed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported owning backyard fowl in 2013, and four percent more planned to start in the next five years. This is more than 13 million Americans flocking to the backyard poultry scene. Researchers from University of California - … [Read more...]
Sentinel chickens keep us safe from disease
Chickens do more than lay eggs and develop protein. Throughout California, 139 sentinel chicken flocks work hard to help ecologists and disease prevention specialists predict when human cases of West Nile Virus and St. Louis Encephalitis may occur. They’re sitting in coops throughout neighborhoods waiting to get bitten by mosquitoes. But, they don’t get sick from the diseases. … [Read more...]
Prevent lameness in dairy cows
Recent research findings published in the Journal of Dairy Science suggest that lameness prevention merits a strong focus on dairy farms. Michael Cox reviews the prevention issues and opportunities. Source: American Dairymen, April 2018, page 14. Like many animal health issues, lameness is a multi-factorial problem. Dairymen need to review their facilities and people … [Read more...]
The SIP principle for colostrum
It is well-documented that consumption of colostrum, the first mammary gland secretion from the dairy dam, is essential for low calf morbidity and mortality. It’s not quite that simple, says Maurice Eastridge, The Ohio State University. This process, called S I P, involves the: Supply of colostrum, Immunoglobulin (Ig) concentration, and Pathogens of low presence in … [Read more...]
Feedyard sector featured in March 23 New York Times
Antibiotic resistance in cattle is the focus of, “Hamburger Central, Antibiotics for Cattle That Aren’t Sick,” an article posted online by the New York Times and in print with the headline, “Drugs Go to Healthy Cattle. Should Consumers Worry?” on March 23. The article features three officers of Cactus Feeders, Dr. Martin J. Blaser, a scientist at a Manhattan, New York, Veterans … [Read more...]
Redefine deworming
Among all cow-calf manager’s input investments, parasite control offers some of the highest potential returns. Like so many aspects of beef production, deworming has become more complicated: There’s growing awareness that generic, calendar-based recommendations do not necessarily provide the best control in every production environment Cattle movements have … [Read more...]
Feet and legs evaluation important for cattle longevity
Feet and legs are easy to overlook on cattle operations. Nick Simmons, University of Florida Extension, provides a basic review of the importance of hoof and leg care. Two of the more common foot and hoof related issues are foot rot and hoof cracks. Source: Drovers, March 6, 2018. The hooves are one of the most important parts of the cow’s body, because without these, the … [Read more...]