In the last newsletter I wrote about trichomonas in cattle. This is
a small protozoa that can only be visualized with a microscope. A
bull will harbor the organism in his sheath arount the penis. When
he breeds a cow the organism is then passed into her. The bug will
keep her from becoming pregnant. A cow can clear up the infection
inside of her but generally by the time she does the bulls have
already been pulled from the cows. Typically, if a cow is bred it
means she does NOT have the organism. If a bull gets the organism
he can't get rid of it so he will need to be culled. It only takes
one infected cow in a herd to give it to a bull who will then spread
it to everyone else.
There is a vaccine available for this but it only helps a cow clear
it out of her body more quickly. It will not keep her from becoming
infected and it will not help a bull. Also, if a cow does become
infected and gets cleared up, she has NO lasting immunity. She can
become infected all over again.
Even up to just a few years ago this disease was only found in a few
isolated pockets out west. Now it is rapidly spreading and becoming
more prevalent. Most new cases seem to be coming from Colorado and
western Kansas. I would really be careful about purchasing animals
from these areas. Bulls can be readily tested with a culture of the
prepuce but there is no easy, good test for a cow.
K-State University has composed a web-site with a risk-assessment
program to figure out how much at risk your herd is for picking this
up. If you are interested in this info give us a call and we can
get the information to you.
12-1-08
For those with the air rifles that shoot the antibiotic pellets, it
looks like the USDA is going to continue to allow production and use of
the Ceftiofur pellets in cattle. We will have the supplies available.
For those of you with outdoor dogs, the beginning of cold weather signals a good time to start increasing the
amount of energy in their diet. Animals that just hang around outside will do well with just an increase in
energy but animals that hunt or work a lot will also need to have their protein levels increased.
With all of the farming that is going on the cows do get neglected a little. This is just a reminder that you should
still keep an eye on those straggler cows that haven't calved yet as we are delivering a lot of dead calves now.