Veterinarian Roy Lewis provides a variety of tips that can work on western Canadian cow calf operations, both commercial and purebred.
Stories by Roy Lewis, DVM
Canada must address potential veterinary drug shortages
If critical products are unavailable when needed, it could result in unnecessary human and animal deaths in the worst-case scenario.
Positive changes have been made to Canada’s BSE program
Canada has had BSE negligible risk status for some time now, but samples are still needed to maintain this status.
Individual animal care and marketing has its benefits
There is nothing better than having acute observational skills, knowing your animals and then following up with treatment or marketing in a timely matter.
Test for parasites in cattle herd to avoid over-medication
Parasite control is complicated, and herd management needs to be reviewed from time to time. | File photo
The old days of treating everything in the fall with an ivermectin type (Macrocyclic lactone) product year after year and always expecting excellent results are perhaps going away.
BSE testing continues despite country’s clean bill of health
Testing for BSE at slaughterhouses continues, despite the dramatic decline in cases in recent years and the fact that Canada’s last case was in 2015.
Producers must take foot-and-mouth disease seriously
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The recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Germany tells us that we all collectively need to be on the lookout for it.
Managing lameness in cattle can mean tough decisions
In cow calf production, lameness is second only to reproduction for culling criteria. It impacts all levels of the production cycle, and in the long term, it can become an animal welfare issue. Cow-calf producers must prevent and treat lameness and provide an area with feed and water close by where convalescence can occur. If […] Read more
Removing extra teats is usually a good idea if possible
The other day I saw supernumerary teats in the middle or intercalary position — between the normal teats on an udder — on a bred heifer close to calving and it got me thinking. Are these of much significance and what have I done with them in practice? Are there many negatives or can we […] Read more
Castration via banding is gaining popularity and safety
The first castration banders were likely developed to replace knife or scalpel castration. They were easy to use and eliminated the complications of infections and blood loss. Castration with a knife or scalpel is harder to master and animal welfare issues must be considered. Banders have been around for a while and I recently saw […] Read more
