Next week, Barry Blakley expects several cattle will arrive at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon dead from lead poisoning.
Blakley, head of the biomedical sciences department, says it happens every year at this time.
“We will see, right after seeding, after the long weekend, four or five cases in our lab from around the province.”
The poisoning is usually caused by improper disposal of batteries. It happens more often in spring because cattle are turned into areas where discarded materials such as batteries have accumulated.
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As well, farmers are busy during seeding and often don’t dispose of batteries properly, leaving them where they took them out and where cattle can get to them.
Blakley said one reason cattle will chew on batteries is because they’ve spent the entire winter on the same diet.
“They will readily seek out and eat other materials,” he said.
Batteries also likely taste salty.
Cattle will drink crankcase oil, lick the grease from machinery and chew on used engine filters, all of which contain lead. It doesn’t take much to kill an animal and Blakley said a cow with lead poisoning will die within 24 hours.
Most cattle are found dead in pastures, but some symptoms include depression, loss of appetite, convulsions and nervous symptoms such as twitching. Death is often a result of respiratory failure from a convulsion.
Treatment for acute poisoning is rarely effective.
Blakley said farmers can reduce the risk of lead poisoning by disposing of used batteries without spilling them, storing oil and lubricants in closed containers and keeping cattle away from machinery.
Asked about a recent report of cattle dying from chewing the valve stems on tractor tires, he speculated that the animals may have got into lubricant or grease.
Some farmers bury used batteries but Blakley said over time the ground can shift and expose them.
“It’s nice and chewy, and one battery could kill three to five head,” Blakley said.
