Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD), sometimes called shipping fever and pneumonia, is an economically important disease and a leading cause of death loss in beef cattle in North America. Survey data suggest that respiratory disease accounts for approximately 9 percent of all calf death losses in the United States (NAHMS, 2011). Bovine respiratory disease is […]
Authored by: S. Kerr, T. Hudson, A. Allen and S. Neibergs The goal of low‐stress weaning techniques is to minimize negative stress caused by nutritional, environmental, physical and social changes experienced by calves at weaning time. Stress increases cortisol levels, which reduces immune system performance and can predispose cattle or (calves) to illness from a […]
Authored by: A. Allen and D. Llewellyn Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) is the most economically damaging disease of beef cattle in North America (Griffin 1997). An appropriate immune response to the infectious agents (pathogens) that cause BRD is thought to be an important factor that leads to decreased incidence of BRD in cattle. Vaccinating […]
Authors: S.M. Smith, C. Beus, and D. Nelson Stressors of weaning, transportation, processing and handling can significantly impact an animal’s exposure and susceptibility to respiratory diseases through the various stages of beef cattle production (Hodgson et al and Mitchell et al). Decreasing stress during these management times with low‐stress cattle handling can help reduce the […]
Although we can try to keep the herd healthy by preventing disease, sometimes we still have to treat and how effective our treatment is depends on a number of factors.
What is biosecurity? Biosecurity includes those set of management practices that prevent disease from entering the farm or ranch or prevent disease from being transmitted between animals. When you look at a cowcalf ranch, the extensive nature of the range the cattle inhabit can make the thought of biosecurity impractical. However, even large ranches can […]
Authored by: C. Beus, S. Smith, D. Nelson The widespread and economically devastating cattle disease known as Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRD), was for many years referred to commonly as “Shipping Fever,” because the disease was most often seen shortly after cattle had been shipped from one location to another. This was especially true of […]
Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex Series Authored by: D Moore, R Kasimanickam and T Hudson When we think about the detrimental effects of dystocias (difficulty calvings) on a cow/calf operation, we often associate them with dead calves, retained placentas, uterine infections, calving paralysis, de- creased future conception rates, and vaginal and uterine tears (Fourchon, 2000). These […]
Authored by: D Llewellyn, A Allen Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex Series Nutritional management of the pregnant cow for optimal calf health The bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) sometimes called shipping fever and pneumonia is an economically important disease and a leading cause of death loss in beef cattle in North America. Survey data suggests that […]
By Dale A. Moore, DVM, PhD A question that comes up from time to time is – can I improve my cull cows and get more for them? There are just a couple of studies that have looked at trying to answer this question. In a recent study published in the December 15, 2011, Journal […]