|
Beef Cattle Health
Ration Changes
- Animals need time to adapt to changes in feed.
Ruminants especially need to gradually switch from high roughage rations to high
grain rations. Rapid changes may cause acidosis, or other digestive upsets in
cattle or sheep. Feeding hay to cattle and sheep before allowing them to graze
green crops or lush pastures can prevent some of the digestive problems. Or, you
might allow the animals to graze only a few hours a day until they have adapted
to the new feed. Some animals may develop allergic reactions to substances in
fresh, lush, green feeds. ~
Mold and Ergot
- Mold toxins or ergot can cause poisoning in animals.
Swine and pregnant animals are most susceptible to these toxins. These toxins,
if consumed at high levels, may cause abortion, vaginal or rectal prolapse,
internal bleeding or dry gangrene-like symptoms and, even, death. Weak and
starving animals are less able to detoxify these toxins. Addition of vitamin,
A,D, and E may help the animals tolerate theses toxins. Diluting the moldy feed
with clean feed may bring the toxin concentration down to a safe level. Dilute
ergoty feeds to less than one ergot body per 1000 kernels.
Back To Top
Rumen Impaction
- Feeding excessive levels of low quality hay or straw to cattle without
adequate grain supplementation to provide energy and protein can leave the
forage undigested and cause rumen impaction. Lack of water may also contribute.
Hammering low quality forage can increase the amount of forage eaten but may
also lead to impaction if the ration is low in energy and protein content. You
must be particularly watchful to ensure adequate energy intake during periods of
sever cold.
Problems due to
water - While producers have successfully used
clean snow as the winter water source for beef cows and sheep, this practice
must be used with extreme care as lack of water can lead to rumen impaction or
reduced feed intake. If you are concerned about the quality of water for your
livestock or have noticed your animals are eating less or drinking less or your
animals have scours, you should have a water analysis carried out to determine
the level of minerals present in it.
Pesticides and
Herbicides - If you intend to salvage cereal
crops for feed, ask about pesticide and herbicide applications to make sure
restrictions listed have been compiled with. Never feed seed grain treated with
chemicals. Awns from wild barley or "foxtail" can lodge in an animal's mouth,
sometimes causing an abscess. Hay with a lot of "foxtail" is unpalatable and
should be avoided.
Back To Top
Dicoumarol
poisoning or "Sweetclover Disease" - Moldy
sweetclover hay or silage may contain dicoumarol. This agent prevents blood from
clotting, so animals may bleed to death internally or from external wounds. One
rule of thumb for safe feeding is: 3 weeks on sweetclover and 3 weeks on another
feed. New low-coumarin varieties of sweetclover such as Polara do not become
toxic with molding.
Nitrate Poisoning
- Frost, drought and weed sprays may be factors in high nitrate accumulation by
plants. Oat straw and oat hay are most affected. Green oats should be cut either
immediately after a frost before nitrates build up or after 14 days with no
frost to allow the nitrate built up to be cleared by the plant's system. Green
feed cut after a frost should be tested for nitrates. Agricultural
representatives can do a quick spot test for presence of nitrates. If nitrates
are present, the amount should be determined.The rule of thumb for feeding is to
dilute the nitrate-containing roughage with nitrate-free roughage so the total
feed contains no more than 0.5 percent nitrate. For example if green oats has
1.0 percent nitrate it should be diluted half and half with nitrate free
roughage. This should be done with each feeding to prevent over consumption by
any individual animal. It does not work if high-nitrate feed is fed one day and
nitrate free feed the next. Forages containing nitrates may cause death to
cattle and sheep by interfering with oxygen transport by the blood. Symptoms of
nitrate poisoning include rapid breathing and pulse as the animal strives for
oxygen, frothing from the mouth, blue color of the mucous membranes, muzzle and
udder and brown colored blood. Treatment requires early intravenous injection of
a 40 percent solution of methylene blue.
Prussic acid
(Hydrocyanic Acid) Poisoning - Flax that has been
frozen or severely affected by drought may contain toxic quantities of prussic
acid (0.03 - 0.04 per cent). Symptoms of prussic acid poisoning are similar to
nitrate poisoning except blood remains bright red. Death usually occurs before
treatment is possible, although early intravenous injection of sodium nitrate
and sodium thiosulfate by a veterinarian may be beneficial. Where prussic acid
may be a problem, feed should be analyzed and suitable precautions taken.
Prussic acid in cured forage gradually disappears and is seldom a problem in the
winter.
Back To Top
Nutritional
deficiency diseases - Poor quality feeds supply
fiber to the animals, but are low in energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.
Inadequate amounts of nutrients may lower conception rate, disease and parasite
resistance, and may result in weak calves and lambs and sometimes still-born
off-spring. When low quality forages are fed, you must provide mineral and
vitamin supplements. Pay particular attention to supplying adequate vitamin A
and supplying minerals free-choice or force feeding. It bears repeating, know
the quality of your feeds and your animals requirements. Avoid wasting feed or
underfeeding by having your feed analyzed. Talk to your Ag Rep, Livestock
Specialist or feed company nutritionist about the best rations for your cattle.
The following disease conditions pose higher risks during very
dry periods:
- Pneumonia
- Severe blowing dust can irritate the respiratory tract of cattle and cause
an increase in cases of pneumonia.
- Poisonous Plants
- Poor pasture conditions increase the risk of plant poisoning. A good many
poisonous plants are rather unpalatable but when grass is short cattle will
eat such things as choke-cherry leaves, marsh arrow grass, etc. which can
result in poisoning.
- Blackleg
- Soil borne diseases such as Blackleg present a higher risk because cattle
are grazing close to ground level.
- Grass Tetany/AIP
- Severe drought followed by heavy rain may result in rapid, lush growth of
cereals and/or seeded pasture. This has the potential of causing grass tetany,
a disease somewhat similar to milk fever and a form of pneumonia variously
called AIP (atypical interstitial pneumonia) pulmonary emphysema, fog forever,
etc. The major symptom of this form of pneumonia is labored breathing. The
local practicing veterinarian can provide additional information regarding
these and other potential disease conditions. Hungry cattle should be fed
before being turned into new pasture. They may eat poisonous plants because
they won't selective graze at first. They should be watched carefully the
first few days for digestive upsets or AIP (change of pasture pneumonia).
Back To Top
|