On-Call / Vet

It seems that every other week I hear about how unsafe our food supply has become, that livestock producers are poisoning an unknowing public with all manner of substances and that antibiotic use in livestock should be banned because of bacterial resistance to certain antibiotics. Much of what I hear on news shows and read in magazines or newspapers seems often to be biased against prudent use of pharmaceuticals in livestock production. I have a few thoughts based on experience and research that I would like to discuss in more detail in this column.
There are innumerable articles detailing all sides of the problem of antibiotic resistance, food safety and livestock production in general.

Everyone either has or is getting into small ruminants, whether sheep or goats. And there is a learning curve to having and caring for...

The harsh conditions of winter can present a challenge to some horses in maintaining an adequate body condition. Colder temperatures require increased calorie intake to maintain body warmth. Loss of body condition is often a very gradual process, occurring over several weeks to months, the problem can "sneak up" on horse owners if they are not proactively observing and maintaining their horse’s body condition.

One of the most common diseases among cattle during the summer months is pinkeye or ‘bovine infectious keratitis’. Many producers battle this disease every year even when preventative measures are taken. Thankfully, mortality with this disease is generally low or absent, however, morbidity may be as high as 80 percent. Economic losses are generally realized in treatment costs, reduced gains/milk production and reduced sale prices for animals with blindness or chronic lesions of the eye.

Over the past several weeks I have had numerous questions regarding the safety of Johnson grass as a forage or for hay. The extremely, hot and dry summer left many pastures short and several producers feeding hay as we approach fall. Johnson grass is a plant that tends to grow and proliferate during periods of heat and drought when other grasses fail to grow. As a result many pastures have an abundance of Johnson grass this year in comparison to other forages and during periods when feedstuffs are in short supply, producers naturally consider grazing or haying the Johnson grass. However, under the right conditions Johnson grass can accumulate high levels of nitrate and/or prussic acid and become highly toxic to livestock.

Many times clients ask about treatment for Fescue foot, but after several questions and upon physical exams, they are asking for a treatment for the wrong problem. There are major differences between Fescue toxicosis and foot rot.

Knowing when to assist with calving

If you own a horse, you are likely familiar with Coggins testing.  Numerous horses come by our clinic each year for this annual ritual. I find that while many owners know that the test is required and have had it performed on their horses numerous times, they still have questions about what the test is really for and why it is necessary.

Flies are a well known and common pest to most all classes of livestock. With heat and humidity, flies thrive and this makes summer in the Ozarks a prime environment for fly populations. Economic losses can be substantial, particularly in beef and dairy cattle. In cattle, flies can cause production losses in the way of reduced weight gain, lowered milk production and the transmission of disease.

The news has been full of information regarding influenza virus in recent months whether discussing the shortage of flu vaccines available for people, the spread of H1N1 or the more recent discussion of canine influenza. In this article, we are diverting a bit from livestock medicine to more of a companion animal topic, but I suspect that this topic may be of interest to most of our readers. In response to the recent media coverage I have begun to get questions regarding canine influenza, the signs of infection and need for vaccination.