Bulls can be hard to handle, but there are good facilities for examining and treating them. They should be vaccinated for most things you give to cows, with the exception of scours vaccines. Deworming and lice control should always be considered, since bulls get the highest load of flies in summer. When handling bulls, get […] Read more
Tag Archives animal health — page 10
New stress reliever has many uses on cattle operations
A new product released into the cattle and swine market has strong potential to help cattle producers in many ways. Its main premise is calming cattle for a considerable period of time. Making cattle calmer in the most stressful stages of their life can go a long way toward reducing sickness and improving weight gains. […] Read more
Multipronged strategy can prevent gastric ulcers in hogs
Gastric ulcers are commonly found in pigs. Severe cases causing death account for one to two per cent of finisher farm mortality. These ulcers, also known as stomach ulcers, are not a new phenomenon, first being reported in swine literature as early as 1897. However, the recent prevalence of mild to moderate cases showing some […] Read more
Feed testing the first step in planning winter feeding program
It’s that time of year, when you will see lots of articles about the importance of feed testing. I would certainly agree that feed testing is an important step in planning winter feeding programs for our cow herds. However, it is just the first step of the process. We need to take the information from […] Read more
Producers can manage a change in their health protocols
Producers are sometimes forced to change the medications they use because of availability. Other times, a change is prompted by bad experiences or adverse drug reactions. As well, new products will enter the market that need to be considered. How new medications enter the market depends on whether they are generic or a new standalone […] Read more
Animal personality can impact welfare and production
It is obvious to anyone who spends time with animals that each is an individual with a unique personality. Experts define personality as an individual’s behavioural traits that are related and remain unchanged throughout time and situations. The term is sometimes used interchangeably or slightly differently than temperament. As with many things in science, personality […] Read more
Caution needed when feeding brassica forages to cattle
Polycrops have become a more commonplace method of feeding beef cattle in Western Canada over the past number of years. They may also be known as intercrops, cover crops or cocktail crops but all involve a mixture of plant species that may range from three to more than 20 species. Polycrops can provide grazing when […] Read more
Federal government pledges more than $13 million to animal health, disease preparedness
Glacier FarmMedia – National animal health and disease preparedness has received an influx of more than $13 million in federal cash. Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MP Francis Drouin announced the funding at the Animal Health Canada (AHC) forum in Ottawa this morning. The money will be split between AHC’s three divisions: Emergency Management, the National Farm Animal Care […] Read more
Firm says new bolus designed to ease ketosis treatments
BioFerScience has encapsulated propylene glycol into a bolus to make it easier to administer the product to cows
Glacier FarmMedia – Giving cows a propylene drench to treat ketosis can be challenging and physically demanding for humans and risky for the animals. BioFerScience, a London, Ont., company, has created an alternative that is easier and safer to apply. Ketosis occurs when a cow is in a negative energy balance and uses up body […] Read more
Products to relieve stress in cattle continue to evolve
Reducing stress on cattle should take pressure off the treatments for respiratory disease. Less stress results in less shrink, so cattle performance may improve, but it also reduces morbidity and mortality due to disease. Cattle will do better if we can calm them down at the stressful times of their lives, such as weaning, showing […] Read more
