While there are a couple of vaccines licensed for cattle, they do require multiple shots. Vaccines help, but focusing on decreasing stress and other diseases can limit mycoplasma infection.

Mycoplasma comes in many clinical forms but in feedlots we mainly see it in respiratory problems and in joints.

The respiratory problem is often indistinguishable from other common causes of pneumonia in the feedlot and the joint form can be very similar to histophilus abscesses.

Mycoplasma commonly plays some role, and it can be confirmed for chronic cases in feedlots with lab tests to verify veterinarian diagnosis.

A decision tree needs to be established early in the case to guide decisions to treat, ship or euthanize, for the welfare of the calf, if the case becomes clinical.

These cases cost the feedlot industry millions of dollars in treatment and labour costs, as well as in deaths and chronically ill animals that need to be euthanized. It’s not a fun disease to deal with.

Prevention

With mycoplasma, we need to really, unequivocally, concentrate on prevention.

Even though a few antibiotics have indications for mycoplasma on the label, those are more for metaphylactic treatment and use when exposure is imminent.

It is believed that after a few weeks in the feedlot pretty much all calves are infected (that is, have been exposed and are carrying the organism) yet in well-managed yards where preimmunized and preconditioned (weaned already) calves are purchased, the incidence can be kept to a minimum.

In cattle, mycoplasma is a secondary invader, meaning in the case of respiratory disease it often comes in secondary to the viral pathogens, especially IBR (infectious bovine rhinotracheitis). Other respiratory bacteria such as mannheimia, pasteurella or histophilus can also get established and set the lungs up for the invasion of mycoplasma later in the course of the disease.

A good number of these infections may then spread to the joints. Once in the joints, especially if more than one joint is involved, chances of recovery are slim to none. They then become an animal welfare issue and often cost lots of money in antibiotics, painkillers and other medications before a decision is made to euthanize.

In the bison industry, mycoplasma is almost always a primary pathogen and can cause considerable death loss in naïve populations of calves, cows and bulls. There appears to be immunity established once the disease goes through, but death losses can get quite high on initial exposure. Some bison feedlots live with a low percentage of it and ideally try to have their calves come in with maximal respiratory protection to minimize its severity.

Even though it seems primary in bison, by keeping lung health as high as possible, severity and incidence seems to be reduced. Bison cow-calf herds that have had bad outbreaks seem to be free of cases going forward, which to me means natural immunity is developed.

Stress

Anything then that reduces stress, and/or reduces the likelihood of the other respiratory bugs, theoretically should reduce the incidence of mycoplasma pneumonia.

Currently two mycoplasma vaccines on the market appear to have good efficacy, but here’s the kicker: they need an initial shot and either one or two booster shots essentially before the chance of exposure.

Feedlots that have a decent infection rate would need to know where they are sourcing their cattle and have them preimmunized before coming to the feedlot. Perhaps the original vaccination for mycoplasma done on the farm, then boostered at the feedlot, will help some.

We as veterinarians always talk about reducing stress. Transportation, processing, weather conditions, parasites, exposure to other cattle and co-mingling all play a role in determining whether calves will get sick.

We have direct control of preimmunization as cow-calf producers. The feedlots then can ask for preimmunized calves. The vast majority of calves are vaccinated in Canada these days for most of the major respiratory pathogens, as well as clostridial protection. The question then is, for which diseases do we pre-immunize? Cow-calf producers are vaccinating their calves younger and reap the benefits of having fewer calves get sick on summer pasture. If the boosters are then given at weaning, we should, in theory, have less respiratory disease.

If we can avoid unnecessary transportation stress by selling directly to feedlots through satellite or online sales, one transportation session is eliminated, and cattle go directly from the source to the feedlot. Distance transported is not as significant as the stress to calves of being loaded and unloaded multiple couple times.

Less sickness and stress lead to less mycoplasma, so it is prudent to use treatments that help calves manage their stressors. Various electrolyte formulations such as Destress have been tried to minimize shrink. Products such as probiotics yield fewer digestive upsets as well.

All these preventive measures ultimately lead to less respiratory disease and less mycoplasma pneumonia or joint infections. With more collaboration between the cow-calf sector (first line of defence), trucker (second line of defence), backgrounder (third line of defence) and feedlot owner (last line of defence) we can all do our part to protect these valuable cattle. Again, owners who calve, wean and raise their own seldom have severe respiratory issues, especially mycoplasma.

We may not ever eliminate mycoplasma but at least we can keep it at bay by the best prevention strategies we know: good husbandry and minimizing stress as much as possible.

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Through the system’s growing pains, lots of lessons have been learned and the system is being fine-tuned. Producers are deriving more and more benefit from using farm management systems linked to readers linked to scales, all based on the ability to read the radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. From lost animals, to identification at export, to transport, to traceability, a lot hinges on the tag being present so it can be easily read.

The purebred beef breeds are also using them somewhat for breed identification, in the sense that the different-coloured backs indicate a breed such as Angus (green backs) or Simmental (blue backs).

Some breed organizations have given incentives to register early and receive tags — which are positive ways to ensure use.

The standard tags are still yellow and many of the different sire groups, as well as some of the purebred breeders, are sticking with straight yellow. Many purebred breeders raise two different purebred breeds, so have elected to stay yellow as well.

The bison industry has the white tags, and a marketing fee is attached to them, but it is really easy to see if a producer has put in the wrong tag.

All these options help with marketing or differentiation, and lately I have not seen one microchip fail.

Made to last

Emphasis is now being placed on retaining tags. Before 2020 about 18 per cent of tags were lost by about six years — which most beef cows get to. Dairy cattle on average would not get that old before being shipped. Breeding bulls are usually done by around five to six years on average, so we need to have tags we know are going to last for at least those six years.

From wear and tear, to ultraviolet light, to freezing and thawing in Canada, there is a lot the tag manufacturers are trying to compensate for — and they are doing it.

In tags, the industry leader, and current leader in market share, is Allflex. I know it has been working to strengthen the neck of the tags and a new tagger on the market (the white one) has replaced its green predecessor. It has slightly longer handles, gives more mechanical advantage and even fits smaller hands better. This makes it easier to tag and reduces fatigue if tagging many animals in a day.

If a pin is bent or broken it’s imperative that the same type of pin be used in the same brand of tag. They are all slightly different.

If there is ever a report of excessive tag loss, an investigation, involving either the tag manufacturer or the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), may follow. In every case I have heard of, the incorrect tagger or pin was used, application was in the wrong area or weather conditions were the potential culprit. Be careful when installing tags in extremely cold weather, as cold tags are not flexible enough.

One must try and put the tag in an area where it’s least likely to be caught or ripped out. An RFID tag should be put ideally a quarter of the way out from the head and in the middle, so the male back end is behind the ear and the thick radio frequency part is in the inside of the ear. This has been found to increase tag longevity. If placed in the top of the ear, the backing frequently gets caught.

I have seen many tags almost rubbed too thin by bulls; they are hard on tags, especially dangle tags, whether from fighting, rubbing, or throwing up dirt with their heads. This abuse gradually wears out the tag backing.

It will be interesting to see if ultraviolet light has any negative effect on some of the new coloured backs. Both the yellow and white tags have been good that way, so time will tell.

Robust systems

If we can keep the retainability creeping upward, tags may be incorporated with other devices that might measure temperature or ruminal movements and could detect disease earlier. Such tags are on the market, but not yet married to CCIA tags.

Even though the U.S. does not have a true national identification system, countries with lots of cattle, such as Brazil, are getting rather robust ones, so the world is changing.

It is great to see tags starting to give back valuable information to owners, and that the beef breeds see this as a valuable step in differentiating themselves. It is positive from world trade and food safety standpoints.

The changeover to ordering CCIA tags from the CCIA office or through the breed association has also gone rather seamlessly.

I encourage everyone to check out the CCIA website and learn the 10 guiding principles for tag application; some have been mentioned in this article.

There is also a user-friendly Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) mobile app where your password allows input and retrieval of your data. The technology is here; let’s use it.

I see RFID tags applied early in a calf’s life and I see good management, usually. Don’t buck progress, as it only makes lives easier, and traceable marketing improves.

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Many calves travel to feed yards via auction markets and one of the major disease risks associated with the stresses of weaning, mixing and transportation is the syndrome known as bovine respiratory disease (BRD).

BRD is the most common reason for administering antimicrobial drugs to cattle and is probably one of the most important economic diseases of beef cattle in North America. As a result, it has probably become one of the most researched disease syndromes of beef cattle.

Despite the vast amount of research, we still don’t completely understand this complex disease. We understand stressors such as weaning, transportation, commingling and weather are important risk factors that can make the animal more likely to become sick with respiratory disease.

We know there is a combination of different viral and bacterial pathogens that can take advantage when these stressors occur and cause respiratory disease. However, most of these viral and bacterial pathogens are what we call opportunistic pathogens. Many times, we can culture these bacteria and viruses from normal animals and from animals suffering from respiratory disease.

New approaches to diagnosis

In the past, we have tended to focus on a subset of bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia hemolytica, Histophilus somnus and Mycoplasma bovis as some of the most important bacterial “causes” of respiratory disease.

However, over the last decade, new diagnostic tools have developed that allow us to evaluate the entire respiratory microbiome rather than just trying to identify one or two specific bacteria of interest.

In simple terms, the microbiome is the entire community or population of microorganisms that exists in a particular environment. In this case, we are interested in all the various fungi, bacteria and viruses that exist in the respiratory tract of calves at and around the time of weaning.

We want to understand more about this complex community of microorganisms rather than focusing on only the three or four bacteria that we think ultimately cause disease.

The microbiome can be changed by a host of factors, including age, antimicrobial use, management strategies, diet and even stressors such as transportation or commingling.

The current thinking by researchers is that shifts or changes in the microbiome population in the respiratory tract may actually allow some of these bacteria such as Mannheimia hemolytica or Pasteurella multocida to multiply, become dominant and cause disease.

Vaccine effects

A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology by researchers from West Texas A&M University explores the microbiome of auction market calves and evaluated whether the vaccine strategy at arrival at the feedlot affected the respiratory microbiome.

The researchers randomized 525 auction-market-derived calves into three groups. One group did not receive any respiratory vaccinations, another group received an intranasal respiratory vaccine and the third group received an injectable respiratory vaccine. Researchers then followed the respiratory microbiomes to determine if the vaccination status affected their microbiome communities within the respiratory tract.

One bacterial community that changed dependent of the vaccination program was the relative abundance of Mycoplasma species of bacteria. Mycoplasma species are also normally found in cattle respiratory tracts but are sometimes associated with chronic pneumonia and arthritis cases. The cattle that were given intranasal vaccines tended to have a lower relative abundance of Mycoplasma species of bacteria after vaccination.

The researchers also demonstrated major changes in the microbiomes of cattle during the first month in the feedlot, and the cattle that were most likely to get treated for BRD had a change in their ratio of Mycoplasma and Moraxella relative abundance.

Moraxella bacteria are often known for Moraxella bovis, which is thought to be an important cause of pinkeye. However, this is also a normal bacteria found in the respiratory tract of cattle.

We still have a lot to learn about this common and important disease and especially about the microbiome.

Studies on the microbiome are complex by nature, but they may open the door to new theories on how respiratory disease develops and provide us with new approaches to prevent this important disease.

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It’s one of the areas in cattle production where producers need to be particularly aware of animal welfare issues that include decisions about not culling, shipping or putting down cull cows when it becomes necessary.

We all need to have a plan for getting rid of cull cows. If we keep them for any length of time, there may be ways to get more growth and productivity out of them. However, we also need to recognize some cows are of the age or have conditions where the best management decision is to ship them early.

Decisions as to transportability must sometimes be made, and this is even more relevant with thin, multiple-lactation dairy cows for the beef market. In some areas of the country, dairy animals become beef animals, as in the case of dairy bull calves and cull dairy cows, and they make their way into the beef market. This is where co-operative crossover between dairy and beef producers will go a long way to strengthen both industries.

It’s important to start with a plan as to when and why to cull cows. I think many producers need to monitor cows’ age, productivity and longevity. This may mean that by a specific age a cow needs culling, regardless of if pregnant or not.

Some producers may have a select group of cows that is kept because reproduction is good but the calf is destined to be adopted to a younger cow at calving, so she becomes a surrogate on her last calving and culled right after that.

We all have a rough idea of the number of reproductive culls we will have each year based on the previous year’s open rate. The number of culls due to open cows will be quite variable, but usually in the five to 10 per cent range.

When saving replacement heifers, one must remember to keep common percentages in mind. Most producers keep the top 50 per cent of their heifer calves, which is 25 per cent of all the calves born. When one considers all the reasons for culling along with death loss in the herd, it is pretty common that close to 20 per cent of the cows are gone every year.

Culling due to lameness

Culling for lameness/arthritis may reduced if more attention is paid to hoof care trimming when necessary. Lame animals must be managed properly when culling. A producer needs to decide whether to keep them on feed and treat the ailment until the animal can be shipped, or ship for humane and compensation reasons. Some conditions will continue to get worse so immediate slaughter is the way to go. On-farm butchering may be an option.

Many options are available but until you are certain, hold off on treatment with veterinary drugs to avoid any residue issues.

After reproduction issues, lameness is the second most common reason for culling. Producers have realized that with proper trimming and examination of feet, many conditions can be successfully treated. There are many good trimmers and we need to utilize them better. They can add longevity into the herd, discover problems and many lamenesses that can be treated if discovered early.

With proper treatment of foot rot, hoof cracks, ulcers and sole abscesses, many animals can remain in the herd. Some farms have hoof trimming tables on site but many a lame cow is shipped because examination and the appropriate treatment associated with a good trim was not initiated. If animals are not going to be treated, then ship the earlier the better before weight loss and other health issues arise.

When the decision to ship is made, it is important to check the market. Old cows that are generally in good shape can just be shipped. But in other cases, a producer might find younger animals may render a greater profit by being fed out.

Larger producers often will work with someone else who markets cull cows. Many animals that are fed for a while will benefit from an implant program. Some youthful cows may fit into being recipients for an embryo transplant program, but health status will need to be checked for such things as Johnes disease and making sure their reproductive vaccination status is up to date.

If cows are open simply because there was a very tight window for breeding and they are youthful, they may fit into another usage but for sure would feed out nicely.

If a producer is unsure about the age of an animal, check its teeth. Bovines get all their permanent incisors by five. If permanent teeth are missing, the animal is likely more than 10 years old. By observing wear on the teeth and root exposure one can get a pretty accurate estimate of age. There are easily available charts to look at.

Checking age is extremely important on purchased cows but also on ones where ear tags have gone missing.

Cull cows can be an important extra income source and are worth looking after for both animal welfare and economic considerations — it all goes hand in hand. 

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The weather continues hot and dry, with thick smoke most days from the big fire that just keeps growing north of town. By last Sunday it had grown to more than 70,000 acres and more than 1,000 firefighters were trying to control it, but it is still growing daily.

August 20

Last Saturday we invited grandson Nick to eat dinner with us. We had a great visit (hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since he was here last winter with the fencing crew rebuilding some of our old fences and creating the new loading chute) then played Tripoli — a game he’s loved since we used to play it with him and his sister and parents.

Monday we moved the heifers to the lower back field, and the nine pairs (young cows) from the upper swamp pasture to the ditch pasture below Andrea’s house. The next morning one of the calves had gotten through the hot wire and was out in the hayfield, so Andrea and I got the calf back in. Phil Moulton brought three loads of round bales of second cut for the heifers this winter. We’ll be keeping all of Babe’s daughters to go back into the herd.

Yesterday Andrea helped me put black plastic on the stacks of round bales near Shiloh’s pen. After lunch, she drove Lynn to town to the eye doctor. He’s lost much of the vision in his right eye. The left one has been compensating and he didn’t realize it until he shut the left eye and couldn’t see much with the right eye. The eye doctor checked his eye and said the impaired vision is due to damage caused by high blood sugar, so now Lynn has to be more careful what he eats.

August 30

Last Monday we sent the six older cows, plus Pandemonium (the young cow that’s been in “jail” all summer with her calf) and Bimbo — the yearling bull — to the sale yard near Butte, Montana. We didn’t have to haul them in our trailer; the guy who hauls cattle to that sale from this area had room for ours in his semi, so he sent the guy who works for him with his big trailer to our place to pick up our cattle. The new loading chute worked great!

Then Andrea and I hiked to the lower field to check the heifers. When she’d looked at them the day before, one called Malindy had noisy breathing (but didn’t seem sick) so we wanted to check on her again.

She was the last to come out of the brush when the heifers came to greet us, and she was having trouble drawing air into her lungs. It sounded like snoring — a classic sign of diphtheria. This infection in the back of the throat affects the larynx (voice box) and is caused by the same bacterium that causes foot rot. It gets into mouth and throat tissues if there’s an abrasion. The infection and swelling reduce the diameter of the airway and can sometimes totally shut off the air passage and cause suffocation. The way to tell the difference between diphtheria and pneumonia is that the animal has trouble drawing air into the lung if it’s diphtheria, and trouble pushing air out of the lungs if it’s pneumonia (due to fluid and congestion in lung tissue) and the animals is sicker; pneumonia is a systemic infection whereas diphtheria is more localized in the throat area.

We brought Malindy to the corral to doctor, with a couple of buddies to keep her company. It was an effort for her to breathe, so we brought them very slowly. We got her into the head-catch and administered antibiotics — long-acting oxytetracycline that gives coverage for two-plus days — to combat infection, a small dose of dexamethasone to help reduce swelling and inflammation, and a large dose of DMSO squirted into the back of her mouth.

DMSO is excellent for treating diphtheria because it is a great anti-inflammatory and reduces swelling immediately. We’ve used it many times to treat calves with diphtheria and it works better than anything else to shrink obstructive swelling and allow the calf to breathe. When I checked on Malindy an hour later (after we let her and her buddies into a pen with shade so she could get out of the heat) she was breathing easier, no longer making snoring sounds, and contentedly chewing her cud.

The next morning Rick Doroney came at 6 a.m. to start working on Andrea’s roof. It gets so hot during the day that he prefers to start work almost before daylight, to be able to quit by mid-afternoon when it gets hot and windy.

Even though Andrea’s house is only 10 years old, shingles started blowing off the first year. The guys who built the house didn’t take the backing off the shingles and they didn’t stick down. With every strong wind, more shingles blew off. We kept putting some back on, but it finally got to the point where there was too much bare roof, so we hired Rick to put a metal roof on. Andrea and Jim helped. Andrea was on the roof taking out nails and removing old shingles, and she and Jim lifted the long metal pieces up to Rick so he wouldn’t have to keep going up and down the ladder.

Thursday afternoon Lynn and I went to town and he did the town errands while I went to the dentist. It’s time to try to do something about my broken teeth. I had some chipped teeth a few years ago, then broke more in October 2019 when Dottie tripped while galloping after a wayward cow (taking a herd to the 320 for fall pasture). When she did a somersault and squished my head into the snow and frozen mud, it not only broke the back of one eye socket but also broke more of my teeth.

At that point I was more concerned about my vision than teeth so I put off having them fixed. Then COVID came along and I didn’t go to town at all, and didn’t worry about the teeth. I was getting by, until a few more pieces broke off. Now I can’t chew on either side; I eat soft food or things I can nibble with my front teeth. The nice thing about the meat from China Doll is that it’s so tender I can take small bites of those roasts and mush it around with my tongue enough to break it up and swallow it!

But it’s time to get my teeth fixed. The dentist is going to try to fix them, but my next appointment isn’t until September 27 so I’ll be eating carefully in the meantime.

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Even though there is little that can be done to prevent such losses, there are still several things to discuss. Questions to be answered include diagnosing the actual cause of death, determining whether there is insurance coverage and finding out if there is some type of disaster assistance available, depending on how many animals are involved.

I have written before on different types of electrocution and many times there is a solution to prevent future losses, but with lightning there is so much energy so quickly that survival is rare and there isn’t much that can be done.

Anytime several animals appear to have died suddenly and there has been a severe storm, one has to be suspicious that lightning might be involved. Most deaths that I’ve seen occurred along fence lines or on high spots in the field.

Multiple deaths often occur where cattle have gathered for protection against the storm. Some have suggested increasing the number of ground rods used with an electric fence will reduce the risk of cattle being electrocuted, but the fact is there is so much electricity for such a short time that grounding only takes away some of it. I would imagine that if cattle were near the fence on the other side of the field from the strike, there may be only minor consequences. In my experience, damage such as blown-apart posts or large tree limbs burnt is evident in the immediate vicinity.

There are 2,000 to 3,000 human deaths annually in the U.S. due to lightning strikes. We are probably lucky there is a relatively low number of cattle death losses due to lightning in Canada, but there are no doubt some animals killed on pasture that are not found in time to confirm the diagnosis.

Symptoms

Signs of a lightning strike on the carcass include burn marks down the legs, because with four hooves on the ground, they are grounded so well. There is often a lot of subcutaneous hemorrhaging and there also are often large, prominent seromas (fluid-filled pockets) around the udders. Cattle killed by lightning decompose and bloat extremely quickly.

Other circumstances that can cause sudden death include blackleg, bloat, gunshots, water hemlock poisoning, blue-green algal poisoning, urea poisoning or anthrax. These causes need to be ruled in or out. There are a few other sudden deaths but if multiple deaths the diagnosis may become easier.

For producers coming across dead cattle, it is important to identify the cattle and inventory them in case they are insured under a farm policy that includes an “Act of God” coverage.

Because insurance is available, often disaster assistance programs will not cover these losses. I think they should provide compensation. Lightning-related death losses occur pretty infrequently and usually involve individual animals or pairs. Most producers can accept one or two animal death losses. But it’s the large losses of several animals at one time that’s disastrous, but to take insurance every year would be cost-prohibitive.

As several producers have told me though, it is the old Murphy’s Law of ranching. If they lose an animal it is usually the prized member of the herd or the young ones or a herd sire. Many of the individual death loss cases have involved a herd sire resting or standing high on a hill overlooking the herd. The good news is new herd sires are often insured for their first year and many times the storms happen after the breeding season is done.

In these sudden-death situations, if there is insurance or a chance of compensation make sure your veterinarian does at least an inventory and takes pictures of ear tags and at least attempts to autopsy and confirm pregnancy if possible. If females are killed, the loss includes not only the cow but the unborn fetus.

More natural disasters

With the more unpredictable weather patterns, there are more reports of other losses in the cattle industry. Causes can include drowning such as we saw in the B.C. floods, droughts, severe heat, wildfires, blizzards and hail damage.

All we can do is heed the warning of the weatherman and have some form of contingency plan to lessen the blow. Producers must always take into account their livestock as well as themselves, and seek refuge. Some of these weather issues can be widespread and cause big losses so disaster-type programs may be in the future of cattle production.

It is important to be prepared for a natural disaster as much as possible. At least know who to call and have some idea of services available, although hopefully they’ll never be needed.

If calling 911 in Albeta, ask for the “Emergency Livestock Handling Trailers.”These portable corral systems are available in about 20 locations spread around the province. They are for use in natural disasters and accidents such as rollovers. I think this emergency response was adopted in Alberta primarily because of the huge number of livestock transported on Alberta highways every day. These services are not specific to beef cattle but all farm animal species including chickens and pigs. Visit the Alberta Farm Animal Care Association (AFAC) website at www.afac.ab.ca to check out locations of the trailers.

Information and resources for dealing with a disaster are available from several sources including the Canadian Cattle Association as well as provincial beef organizations, vet clinics, auction markets, breed associations, and cattle transporters. Whether it is a question about transportation, feeding, or housing, in the event of natural disaster reach out and make use of the available resources.

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That’s too bad, because sound research has proven that poor nutrition during the early/mid-gestation months can sharply reduce newborn calf survival and long-term performance. That’s why I advocate that a well-balanced nutritional feeding program is warranted while bred cows are still on pasture in the late summer and until the first snow. It simply rewards us with good calf performance in the foreseeable future.

Here is some proof: University of Wyoming researchers demonstrated that low-level nutrition in pastures grazed by mid-gestation cows was responsible for a significant decrease in organ and muscle fibre development in their developing fetuses, which led to lower weights when these steers were finally weaned, many months later.

Other trials showed similar dire consequences in replacement heifers when their dams were restricted to 70 per cent of adequate nutrition during day 45 to day 185 of gestation. Unlike the steer trial, birth weights and weaning weights were similar to experimental controls, but heifers born to those nutrient-restricted cows had smaller ovaries and tissue luteal weights, which both are responsible for good post-pubertal reproduction.

These studies demonstrate that most of these problems would not be likely if the body condition of early/mid-gestation cows is maintained. For example, a properly fed cow during autumn and going into winter with an optimum body condition score of five to six (one = emaciated to nine = obese) has a great chance of maintaining health and a trouble-free pregnancy. This compares to a thinner cow with a BCS 4.0 or lower, which most likely has a difficult time surviving winter; often ending in a difficult calving season and producing poor calves.

Fortunately, early- to mid-gestation mature cows make the best candidates to either maintain or build optimum BCS. Their nutrient requirements are comparably low to other times of the year; because they are carrying a small fetus (as mentioned above), produce continuously less milk toward weaning time, and cold weather is non-existent. Therefore, these cows in order to support their own vital functions and an early-term fetus; require 52-55 per cent TDN (dietary energy), nine to 10 per cent crude protein, 0.40 per cent calcium, 0.25 per cent phosphorus, 0.20 per cent magnesium and salt, essential trace minerals and vitamins.

Consider protein supplement

During the autumn, most of these dietary requirements are often supported by decent pastures or even dried-out fields/stubble-grazing, complemented with some form of supplementation. For example, I make it a point to choose the type of molasses lick-tub to complement the quality of the pasture that the cattle are grazing. For example, a 20-30 per cent protein blocks should be placed on dried-out pasture with grass protein probably no more than five to six per cent. At the other end of the spectrum, I would place six per cent protein blocks on lush pastures, which might be a mixture of high-protein legumes (alfalfa or clover) or even medium-protein native grass.

Regardless of pasture quantity and quality, most fall pastures are usually deficient in one or more mineral and vitamins. They might contain antagonist elements that bind existing nutrients in this feeding program or upon ingestion by beef cows. For example, a test of many western pastures contains grasses with a high molybdenum content, which has been proven to contribute to many copper deficiencies in cattle.

That is why I recommend producers feed a high-quality cattle mineral that not only contain high levels of complementary calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium to lush or dried-out pastures, but also contain optimum trace minerals such as copper in their more “bio-available” forms (better known as “chelates”) as well as high levels of vitamins A, D and E.

For example, I met a beef producer that puts 200 confirmed-pregnant cows (after weaning calves) on pastures with lots of green fall regrowth. He feeds a high-copper and zinc mineral in order to strengthen their hooves (helps prevent foot rot), when introduced to such wet and lush grass.

His story is a testament to setting up an adequate fall-feeding program. This producer knows any dietary nutrient deficiency or shortage in the early/mid-gestation cow herd can jeopardize their future as well as their calves’, once they are born. He sees no point in restricting their autumn nutrition to save a few dollars now, but rob himself later on.

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Early in the course of the disease treatment is very successful and your veterinarian will initiate steps to prevent further cases. As it is a condition caused by a magnesium deficiency, it is important to take steps to prevent it, however if necessary, follow treatment advice.

In a classic case of grass tetany cattle (especially mature cows) become weak, staggery, go down and develop tetanic convulsive fits. Paddling with the front feet and snapping of the eyelids can also occur with heavy breathing and foaming at the mouth.

When your veterinarian examines affected cattle they often find a very high heart rate and potentially elevated temperature from all the hard work the muscles are doing. Not much else is found and since the cow is down veterinarians often administer a combination of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium much the same as one would treat a milk fever as these three minerals together or in combination may be low enough to cause a downer cow.

Most clinics are now set up to do in-house blood work so many veterinarians will often grab a blood sample before they begin to check for the levels of these minerals. We often see magnesium and calcium low together. Occasionally we look for high potassium another macromineral as it can lead to a secondary grass tetani.

Sudden onset

The real problem with grass tetany is it generally comes on very suddenly without warning and death can be very sudden. Post-mortems show very little and often leaves the veterinarians scratching their heads unless clinical signs are seen. Treatment initiated before they go down or just as they go down is often successful. If down for a time, treatment although it may reverse some signs, cattle seldom get up. So as the producer, a suddenly down cow is really a veterinary emergency. The combination calcium, phosphorus, magnesium products are often given by slow intravenous injection and more can be given subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. Your veterinarian when giving it intravenously will often listen to the heart so if problems occur administration can be quickly slowed down or stopped.

If one cow is magnesium deficient it is not uncommon for more cases to develop rapidly and one must assume the whole herd could be borderline deficient.

In almost all cases I have seen mineral feeding has been sporadic to non-existent for the past year. Magnesium is what you call a macro mineral along with the likes of calcium and phosphorus. These deficiencies may be a long time coming. Stresses like weather changes, starvation for even 24 hours, heavy pregnancy or milk loss from sucking by well-doing calves will lead to deficiencies. In a group of cows the lactating ones are usually first affected.

Changes to lush green pastures coupled with inclement weather can also precipitate an outbreak (lush grass lowers the magnesium level). I have seen a group of well-doing heifers on a sound mineral program that were starved for 24 hours to facilitate spaying have an outbreak when the weather turned inclement. Not only do veterinarians want to treat clinical cases when they occur they want to prevent further cases from developing by getting the much needed magnesium into them. Force feeding or drenching with magnesium oxide may prevent further cases if along with this producers start supplementing with a good mineral program containing magnesium.

Minerals key to prevention

Good trace minerals will have macro minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium as well as many micro minerals such as copper and zinc. Some producers are misled by terms such as trace-mineralized salt, that is primarily micro minerals with mainly salt to enhance consumption. The issue is the macro minerals are totally absent in these combinations. These products are much cheaper which is why they are purchased in the first place. When you purchase minerals make sure and read the label. All three cause downer cows but most definitely the most serious of these deficiencies in beef cattle is magnesium.

You can see your mineral program is absolutely key to preventing this sudden killer of cattle. Some areas have needed to increase the levels of the standard amounts of magnesium because of severe deficiencies but if we get too high, palatability is a problem and cattle may back off mineral consumption and we don’t want that. Work with your veterinarian and nutritionist or feed mill to make sure you have adequate of the macro minerals in your program and always keep a close eye on cattle in times of stress. Not all cattle will eat adequate amounts of minerals even though we have it out for them.

Grass tetany is a condition that is entirely preventable so by supplying good-quality minerals. You can prevent it as well as many other conditions caused by mineral deficiencies in your herd. Most other deficiencies come on slower but grass tetany is rather dramatic and it is the sort of drama we can use less of in our cattle herds.

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I saw that two of these steers had each something wrong with one eye; one animal had an inflamed dripping eye that was closed shut, while the other steer had a visibly cloudy eye. The manager took their ear-tag numbers and treated them that afternoon for pinkeye.

By now, I understand that the patches used to protect their infected eyes have fallen off and both animals are up to the bunk with the rest of the cattle, like nothing happened.

This story is a good reminder that early detection, rapid treatment and a good prevention program should halt the advancement of pinkeye in most cattle herds. We should also be reminded that untreated cattle that go blind in one diseased eye consume less feed and don’t gain as well compared to cattle with acceptable two-eye vision. For example, mid-American research (SDSU, 2013) states spring calves diagnosed with pinkeye weigh about 20 pounds less than normal, which translated in hard cash is about $30 of lost revenue at weaning time.

Even with a pinkeye program in place, some people are shocked when a string of their cattle come down with this highly contagious and painful disease caused by Moraxella bovis bacteria. In itself, the healthy bovine eye has adequate defense mechanisms to prevent M. bovis growth, but a number of factors particularly during the summer months come together that breakdown this natural protection and cause a pinkeye outbreak.

I find it surprising that pinkeye can literarily start with one animal; one eye for whatever reason starts to tear, which underlies the perfect environment for the M. bovis bacteria to thrive. The initial source of eye irritation can come from anywhere such as abrasive pasture grass, dust, wind, or excessive sunlight, yet by far the primary source of cattle eye irritation is the common face fly.

Flies are leading culprits

Face flies are naturally attracted to the head of cattle on pasture, and specifically attracted to the discharges of the eye. These flies have abrasive spongy mouthparts that stimulate the eye to tear, so they can feed off the secretions. Inadvertently, they fly from one individual transferring m.bovis from animals with clinical pinkeye or recovered pinkeye carriers (still harbour bacteria in inner eyelid surface) to healthy cattle. These flies also cause small scratches on the conjunctiva and corneas of the eyes when they feed, which makes it much easier for the M. bovis organisms to attach to the eye tissue and thrive.

Treating cattle infected with pinkeye can be straightforward, but nobody should wait for it to appear before medical action is taken. A sound program for pinkeye prevention may start with insecticidal and non-chemical control, which focuses around the head of the animal as well as takes into account that face flies spend only about 10 per cent of their adult life on the face of cattle. Face flies are usually found spending most of their time on fences, trees and other objects. In the fall, face flies tend to overwinter in cattle buildings.

Pinkeye control program

The underlying foundation of a good pinkeye control programs are:

• Ear tag protection. Plastic ear tags are impregnated with either organophosphates or pyrethroids. One tag per season is recommended per animal. Most people should be aware that the efficacy of the insecticide in ear tags is good for up to about five months of control.
• Strategic rotation of insecticides. It’s also common practice for producers to alternate organo- and pyrethrin-based tags every other year to reduce the chance of face-fly resistance. Note: a new ear tag has come out in recent years that contains both of these insecticides.
• Non-chemical and animal management. Some producers keep their cattle out of tall grass pasture and overgrown bush, which is not always practical, but reduces the incidence of eye irritation. In drylots, excessively dusty areas are controlled by various means. Ideally, infected animals should be isolated from the rest of the herd, because they are highly contagious.
• Nutrition prevention. Make sure nutrients that promote good eyesight and a functioning immune system (such as vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, copper and selenium) are fed.
• Feed management. I know of one feedlot producer who adds water to his beef grower diet to keep the dust down. Another producer quit emptying dusty feedlot ration on the heads of the cattle during feeding time to avoid irritating feed getting in the cattle’s eyes.

Such methods to halt pinkeye in cattle are important because of the serious economic losses when an animal loses sight of even one eye. Pinkeye might be a summertime disease because of the associated risks involved, but implementing the proper treatment and prevention programs can help producers combat the effects of pinkeye, all year round.

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We commonly see more blackleg and all the other clostridial diseases in dry conditions. With shorter grass, cattle and bison graze closer to the soil and increase the likelihood of picking up the organisms. Also slough holes, creek bottoms and other areas normally covered by water are exposed.

All livestock must receive preventative vaccinations and that includes mature stock if they have not had booster shots within a maximum of two years or less.

Anthrax

Anthrax is fatal as well and although very rare is often traced to these dried-out waterways. There is a vaccine for it, but generally it is only given in outbreaks or if a history in the area. Generally if it has been diagnosed in a herd, surrounding herds are vaccinated as well. The federal veterinarians (CFIA) no longer look after control of anthrax or removal and disposal of dead animals. Vaccination is then considered for several years subsequent and close neighbours may consider it.

Any producer along the same waterway may need to consider vaccination and should consult with his/her veterinarian. Always have a complete autopsy performed by your veterinarian in any sudden deaths of cattle you find to rule out these diseases. Private veterinarians through the provincial associations now can access quick tests on blood for the determination of anthrax. This could become a great help because if we suspect anthrax we are not supposed to open up the carcass.

Parasites

We always think of internal parasites being a problem in wet weather. This is for the most part true and desiccation (drying) does wonders to kill the parasitic larvae. However livestock, especially calves, will be grazing very close to the manured sites and may pick up parasites. Calves, because they are so inquisitive will eat whatever is available. If grass is short, picking at manure patties and licking dirt may become a pastime. This is especially true if being dry fed in confinement.

An easy check is to run routine fecals on about 10 per cent of the group in the summer. If worms are a problem they will be shedding at this time. Dewormers can often be placed in the minerals or feed to avoid bringing everyone back from pasture. Calves do not eat much mineral yet in studies they eat enough to get the medication for internal worms. Deworming results in gains up to 20 to 30 pounds over an average summer. In a drought condition we definitely can’t afford to be feeding worms and the extra feed efficiency helps as well.

Respiratory issues

With dry conditions come dust and other particulate matter in the air. Regular movement will stir this dust up. Often the respiratory tract is overtaxed clearing out this debris. Coughing is the normal response to purging the respiratory passages. If too much coughing is evident, watch closely as pneumonia can be the sequelae, or secondary result.

This year especially young calves will be hardest hit and even when moved out to pasture the dust has been unavoidable. In some cases mass medication of the calves has been necessary. Many producers now are also vaccinating the younger calves for the respiratory bacteria as well as the viruses. Many are using the new intranasal products that are out there

If coughing is evident in many of the herd always keep in mind lungworms. Even though it needs moisture to complete the life cycle, Watch the grazing pattern of the livestock. With drier conditions cattle, bison and other herbivores will seek out lower, wetter areas where vegetation is more plentiful. This is where exposure to the lungworm larvae may happen. Again fecal tests specifically for lungworm can help diagnose this condition if you suspect it. Alberta and Saskatchewan seem to be the two provinces we see lungworms in the most.

Water quality

With drought, water sources become taxed. All the issues with water quality need to be addressed. Blue-green algae will proliferate as organic matter builds up. Contamination by coliform bacteria and other water borne organisms such as giardia proliferate. You need to maximize water preservation by using the solar or wind pumps. This also improves water quality. Dugouts become extremely hazardous for calves getting stuck or bogged down especially if weak from another illness.

Toxic plants

Cattle may also start to forage on less desirable weeds such as stinkweed, lambs quarter, tansy, horsetail, locoweed, water hemlock and several others. Each of these plants has varying degrees of toxicity so watch for them if pastures get too low. Your veterinarian will know which toxic plants are resident in your local area and advise if there are any other diseases or health issues to worry about.

Management options

In a dry spell many management decisions need to be altered and health monitoring is one of them. We have producers in our area contemplating early weaning and implementing a deep cull on their cow herd in order to better utilize grass shortages. Early pregnancy checking is another way to cull early allowing only the pregnant cows to complete the grazing season. Fewer cattle will extend the grazing season.

Let’s always communicate as to specific conditions the local region is encountering. Veterinary clinic newsletters, provincial surveillance programs and neighbours talking among themselves allows us to help each other when strange environmental issues lead to disease emergence.

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