Watch for Respiratory
Problems due to Drought and Dust
“With the drought we’ve
been having these past few years and a lot of dust blowing around, irritation to respiratory passages may cause respiratory signs — even in older cattle that we don’t expect to get sick,” says Dr. Brandon Dominguez, clinical assistant professor, large animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University. “Bovine respiratory disease
(BRD) is one of the major issues in the cattle industry, but we usually see it in stocker and feeder animals. It can affect cow-calf herds as well, especially when these herds are stressed,” he says. “Calves with snotty
noses that are lethargic and coughing should be treated, because the sick ones may be just the tip of the iceberg. It might be important to visit with your veterinarian regarding vaccination protocols and treatment plans. “Daily observation and
monitoring are important, to pick up any disease problems at the earliest signs. This will help determine success or failure of treatment,” Dominguez says. Work with your veterinarian to fi gure out a good herd health plan.
A Day in the Life of the Herd
By Heather Smith Thomas
A conscientious stockman learnsto tell the dif- ference between a healthy animal and a sick one. It helps to be able
to detect subtle early signs of disease. Early detection and timely treatment can often make the difference between life or death, quick recovery or prolonged treatment and convalescence for that animal. Disease is any condition resulting in impairment of normal func-
tion. We tend to think of a disease as something caused by infection with bacteria or viruses, but poor health can also be the result of parasites, malnutrition, congenital defects or injury — anything that interferes with proper body function. The best way to become a good judge of health and a reader of
subtle early signs of disease is to spend time with your cattle. See- ing them on a regular basis (whether feeding them during winter, or in a feedlot, or just walking, driving or riding through a group of cattle) enables the observant stockman to recognize the signs of health or sickness. Dr. Brandon Dominguez, clinical assistant professor, large ani- mal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University, says when a person
86 The Cattleman August 2013
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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