Beef Cattle Health
Beef Cattle Health and a Few Reasons For your
Beef Cattle Health Problems
Ration Changes
Animals need time to adapt to changes
in feed. Ruminants especially need to gradually switch from
high roughage rations to high grain rations. Rapid
changes may cause acidosis, or other digestive upsets in cattle
or sheep. Feeding hay to cattle and sheep before allowing them
to graze green crops or lush pastures can prevent some of the
digestive problems. Or, you might allow the animals to graze
only a few hours a day until they have adapted to the new feed.
Some animals may develop allergic reactions to substances in
fresh, lush, green feeds.
Mold and Ergot
Mold toxins or ergot can cause
poisoning in animals. Swine and pregnant animals are most
susceptible to these toxins. These toxins, if consumed at high
levels, may cause abortion, vaginal or rectal prolapse,
internal bleeding or dry gangrene-like symptoms and, even,
death. Weak and starving animals are less able to detoxify
these toxins. Addition of vitamin, A,D, and E may help the
animals tolerate theses toxins. Diluting the moldy feed with
clean feed may bring the toxin concentration down to a safe
level. Dilute ergoty feeds to less than one ergot body per 1000
kernels.
Rumen Impaction
Feeding excessive levels of low
quality hay or straw to cattle without adequate grain
supplementation to provide energy and protein can leave the
forage undigested and cause rumen impaction. Lack of water may
also contribute. Hammering low quality forage can increase the
amount of forage eaten but may also lead to impaction if the
ration is low in energy and protein content. You must be
particularly watchful to ensure adequate energy intake during
periods of sever cold.
Problems due to water
While producers have successfully used
clean snow as the winter water source for beef cows and sheep,
this practice must be used with extreme care as lack of water
can lead to rumen impaction or reduced feed intake. If you are
concerned about the quality of water for your livestock or have
noticed your animals are eating less or drinking less or your
animals have scours, you should have a water analysis carried
out to determine the level of minerals present in it.
Pesticides and Herbicides
If you intend to salvage cereal crops
for feed, ask about pesticide and herbicide applications to
make sure restrictions listed have been compiled with. Never
feed seed grain treated with chemicals. Awns from wild barley
or "foxtail" can lodge in an animal's mouth, sometimes causing
an abscess. Hay with a lot of "foxtail" is unpalatable and
should be avoided.
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