Many health problems that occur can be handled if they are detected early. If detected in time they can be prevented or even minimize losses. You can then take steps to keep it from spreading or coming back. One main thing to remember is to always consult your veterinarian if you believe a health problem has occurred.
Though sickness can occur any time of the year here are 4 of them that tend to happen during summer. I’ve included some signs to look for as well as steps you can take to minimize its effects.
Pink eye disease
Although this cattle disease can occur any time of the year it is very common during summer. It is caused by bacteria that get into either one or both eyes. As the bacteria responsible for the disease spreads via face flies, preventing the fly population is a good means of preventing the disease.
This disease can begin very suddenly, generally, it begins with an excessive flow of tears in the infected eye. The animal will hold the eye partially closed while rubbing the eye and it will seek a shaded area. An ulcer will develop in the middle area of the cornea and a ring will develop around the ulcer, Usually, within a couple of days the entire cornea of the eye will become cloudy,
After this occurs the linings of the eyelids will become red with mucus and pus. The ulcer will deepen and then completely cover the cornea. If left untreated the eye will rupture, lose fluid, and collapse.
If you believe that one or more of your cows have the pink eye you must first isolate the infected animals so as not to let the infection spread to the others. Then you must have them immediately treated by a veterinarian to eliminate it.
How to Treat Pinkeye disease
Treating cattle with pinkeye early enough is important in preventing it from spreading. Depending on what stage the signs are will determine what treatment you will need to do.
Stage 1
Giving the infected cattle a treatment from a long-acting tetracycline such as Bio-mycin 200 or LA200 will be very effective at this stage. The recommended dose that you should give is 4.5cc per 100lbs of body weight subcutaneously or under the fold of the skin. A second dose given 48 to 72 hours may increase the percentage that will respond to treatment.
It is also recommended that you put a patch over the infected eye. This will prevent other irritants from getting in there making the problem worse. It will also help with the cow’s increased sensitivity to sunlight.
Commercially available patches will work well for covering the eye. If you are not wanting to do that 5″x6″ blue jean patches cut to size with glue on three sides leaving the bottom open will also work. To ensure that the patch stays on use cattle backtag cement to glue it in place making sure not to get any glue in the eye.
Stage 2
Treatment with tetracycline at the same dose as stage 1 will do the trick here. A bulbar injection with either penicillin or dexamethasone in the white portion of the eye will work just as well.
Stage 3
In this stage, tetracycline and a bulbar conjunctival injection will need to be given, Along with this you will need to place an eyepatch for sure. Also suturing the third eyelid of the cow over the eye closing them shut will be needed.
Suturing the third eyelid over the eye will prevent any debris or other irritants from getting in. It will also make the eye more comfortable reducing excessive tearing and possibly shedding the bacteria.
Another advantage of suturing the eyelid shut is that it will support a fragile cornea helping to prevent corneal rupture.
Disclaimer: Any suturing should be done by a veterinarian or someone who has been adequately trained to do that so as not to run the risk of damaging the cow’s eye.
Warts disease
These are fibrous tumors of the skin and mucus membranes of cattle. Several strains of the papillomavirus are responsible for causing them. In general, this virus is transmitted to cattle by direct contact with infected animals. In addition to using contaminated instruments, it can also spread through biting flies, such as stable flies or horn flies.
The wart usually occurs on the head, neck, and shoulders. The fungus can also grow in the mouth or on certain reproductive organs of cattle.
In order to prevent warts from spreading you need to isolate the ones that have them. This will keep the other cattle from getting it as well. You will need to keep them separate for a period of 3 to 12 months. This will give the cow time to build up an immunity to the virus. Once the immunity system has killed the virus warts will become dry and fall off.
Grass tetany
This typically occurs during years when we receive a good amount of rain in the spring. With the abundance of rainfall, grasses will grow very rapidly and be very lush and green. With the sudden growth, forages will be lacking in magnesium and it is the shortage of this mineral that will cause grass tetany.
Usually, the cows affected by this are thin and graze on lush green pastures high in nitrogen and potassium. In addition to extreme weather conditions and calving and nursing, extreme stress can also cause this condition.
The most common sign of this disease is the animal will be staggering around. In addition to this, they may also toss their head around, start to bellow a lot, and then gallop around before going to the ground with convulsions.
If you believe that one of your animals is affected, call your vet immediately so they can begin raising the magnesium level in your cow’s blood.
One problem with this disease is that it can occur so rapidly that often you may not even know they are having this problem until you find a dead cow. Prevention is pretty much the best course of action when dealing with this. I talk more about ways you can prevent this from happening in a previous post “Keep an eye out for grass tetany”.
How to treat the disease
Being able to treat grass tetany in a fast manner can be difficult because the death of the cow can occur rather quickly. One day the cow may look fine but then the next she will be dead.
It is vital that the blood’s Magnesium levels are corrected immediately in order to prevent grass tetany from worsening in your herd. There are a few different ways that you can go about doing that.
The veterinarian can administer an intravenous injection of Magnesium and Calcium solution to the cow in order to remedy this problem. This can work during the early stages of the disease when time is not as critical as later on.
If it is a serious problem and you need to act rather quickly the producer can inject the Magnesium/Calcium solution under the skin.
There are also some oral options that are available to the producer. Though these options are generally to prevent any of your cows from relapsing. These oral sources of Magnesium are:
- A Magnesium oxide powder for putting onto either feed or on the pasture
- Magnesium lick blocks
- Slow-release capsules
- Add soluble magnesium chloride or magnesium sulfate to hay or silage
- Adding magnesium to concentrates
You can purchase these products from your veterinarian or local feed store.
Sudden calf death disease
Nothing is more heartbreaking for a cattle producer than seeing a dead calf. It is especially heart-wrenching when it happens so suddenly.
The problem with the sudden death of a calf is that there are many things that can cause the symptoms of heavy breathing, a fever, and ultimately sudden death. If this happens you will need to have your vet perform a necropsy on the calf in order to determine what caused this to happen.
Two of the most common culprits of this are Blackleg and Lepto. Bacteria from the surrounding area cause these infections. It is good to know that both of these diseases are preventable with proper vaccination. Your local vet can tell you if either of these diseases is common in your area. They can also tell you what measures you can take to control them.
Though I only mentioned 4 of them here there are many different types of diseases that can affect your cattle herd. The Texas AgriLife Extension office in Bexar County has a paper talking about more of the ones that you can come across throughout the year. It includes some symptoms as well as some management methods you can follow.