Earlier this spring we had some desperately needed rain in parts of Western Canada. We still need more moisture in many areas but the rain in some locations will at least give the grass a good start in the pastures. However, after a recent phone conversation with another veterinarian I was reminded of a condition […] Read more
Stories by John Campbell, DVM, DVSC
Lead poisoning often seen when cattle are put on pasture
I was recently working on a herd investigation that involved neurological symptoms in young calves. We are suspecting that the symptoms are caused by some sort of toxin because there is no evidence of infectious disease. At the time that I am writing this column, I still don’t have a definitive diagnosis, but the case […] Read more
Pain control offers calves some relief following branding
Hopefully the rains will come for your area this spring and it won’t be long until we are turning cow-calf pairs out to green pastures. In many herds, as part of spring turn-out, calves will get processed and vaccinated for clostridial disease and some respiratory diseases as well. As part of processing, sometimes painful procedures […] Read more
Septicemia linked to cluster of deaths in newborn calves
Our disease investigation unit at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon is typically busy this time of year with outbreaks of neonatal calf diseases and some abortion storms as well. I’ve worked with several local veterinarians who described calves that were dying in the first few days of life. The typical clinical scenario […] Read more
Pain control in calving offers immediate, long-term benefits
Calving can be painful for the cow and the calf, especially when there is calving difficulty. Several studies have focused on the administration of pain control medication such as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) to calves that have undergone a difficult birth. Dr. Jennifer Pearson and her colleagues from the University of Calgary demonstrated in […] Read more
Body condition scores determine calf crop productivity
This winter has been difficult for many cow-calf producers. Many ranchers had difficulty harvesting adequate good quality forage because of last summer’s drought and the shorter grazing season. In addition, we’ve had some fairly cold weather across parts of Western Canada recently, which increases the nutritional requirements of our cows. I’ve often talked about the […] Read more
Preventive therapeutic drug may help prevent coccidiosis
A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a veterinarian who was dealing with a herd with a significant coccidiosis outbreak. Shortly after, I came across a recent clinical trial that evaluated one of the drugs that can help to control the disease. The authors of the research paper evaluated the use of a […] Read more
Investigation finds unusual cases of pneumonia in cows
The disease investigation unit at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine has recently been involved in two separate incidents of adult cows dying unexpectedly. One outbreak occurred in a dairy herd and another in a cow-calf operation. In both situations, the main cause of death in these adult cows was diagnosed as […] Read more
Culling decisions in the cow herd difficult but important
Weaning and pregnancy checking have been the major events at many commercial cow-calf herds over the last few months. As part of that process, many producers have to make decisions about which cows should be offered the early retirement option. This year many herd managers are also struggling with limited feed resources because of drought […] Read more
Stinkweed feed toxicity harmful, especially after fall rain
I recently had a phone call from a veterinarian describing unusual symptoms in a group of cows coming home off pasture. The cattle were well vaccinated and were displaying signs of being off feed and had lesions around their muzzle areas. Although we didn’t have a definitive diagnosis, it reminded me of a case I […] Read more
