The Importance of Necropsies
“As environmental conditions
change (drier, wetter), the risk of some diseases will increase or decrease,” says Brandon Dominguez, D.V.M., M.S., clini- cal assistant professor, large animal clinical sciences at Texas A&M University. “When the risk increases, a
person should keep an eye open for cattle that die acutely. A thor- ough necropsy on those cattle is always a good idea, to fi nd out why they died.” This gives you a chance to possibly protect the rest of the animals, either with vaccination or moving them out of that particular pasture. “Some people shrug their
shoulders, drag off the dead calf and hope for no more deaths.” But by the time the third or fourth one dies a person might wish they’d checked the fi rst one to know what disease they are facing. “Any time there is an unex-
pected death, have the veteri- narian do a necropsy and other diagnostic tests. This can help make your herd health plans more up-to-date as conditions change,” says Dominguez.
A Day in the Life of the Herd
By Heather Smith Thomas
A conscientious stockman learns to tell the dif- ference between a healthy animal and a sick one. It helps to be able
to detect subtle signs of early disease. Early detection and early treatment can often make the difference between life or death, quick recovery or prolonged treatment and convalescence for that animal. In the August issue of The Cattleman, we discussed alert versus
dull behavior. Is the bull, cow or calf coming to feed or lagging be- hind? This month, we take a look at more signs to consider when assessing normal herd health.
Posture Note any abnormal posture. Resting a leg or sticking it out to the
side instead of putting full weight on it may mean a sore foot or leg and lameness. Arching the back with all 4 legs bunched up under the body
usually indicates abdominal pain, or chest pain due to pneumonia. Downward arching of the back may mean severe abdominal pain. Spraddling of front legs could mean chest pain or diffi culty breath-
ing. The bloated animal will try to stand with the front end uphill (front feet higher than hinds) for easier belching. “An animal standing with an extended neck should be looked at
more closely,” says Dr. Glennon Mays, clinical assistant professor in the large animal clinical sciences department at Texas A&M. “It may be having trouble breathing or be in pain.
90 The Cattleman September 2013
thecattlemanmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124