Bovine Flashcards
List 4 dangers associated with cattle?
- Their head is big and heavy
- They can kick forward and to the side
- They can stand on your toes
- They can squash you
- zoonosis
How would you safely approach a cow? (4)
- slowly
- diagonally towards the shoulder
- stand close
- make contact
What methods could you use to safely restrain a cow? (6)
- Head collar
- Cast
- kick bar
- gate trap
- nose
- tail jack
How would you sex a calf from a distance?
What the animal urinate and see where the urine comes from, it will be closer to the anus in a female
Where is the best place to inject subcutaneously?
The neck
Where is the best place to inject intramuscularly?
In the neck within the triangle bound by the spine, nuchal ligament, and cranial border of scapula.
If the preferred sight for intramuscular injection is not accessible where else would you inject?
In the thigh in the semimembranous or semitendinous
What structures define the boundaries for an intramuscular injection in the rump?
sacrum, wing of ilium, ischium
List 4 general signs of ill health in a cow that you can spot from a distance?
- Loss of body condition
- Lameness
- Scouring
- rapid breathing
What peice of equipment can be used to keep a cows mouth open?
Drinkwater gag
What is the general appearance of a Simmental?
Varies from gold-red-white and can be one colour or patched over white. Usually has white bands over the shoulders and pigment around the eyes
What is the general appearance of a Guernsey?
Fawn or red and white colour
What is the general appearance of a Ayrshire?
White with patches of red or brown
What is the general appearance of an Aberdeen Angus?
Black
What is the general appearance of a Holstein?
Black and white
What is the general appearance of a Hereford?
Red with a white face and belly
What is the general appearance of a British friesian?
Black and white, smaller than holstein
What is the general appearance of a Charolais?
White with a pink muzzle and hooves
What is the general appearance of a Limousin?
Golden red colour which is lighter under the belly, face, and back end
What three important records can you usually find on a cattle farm?
- Passport
- Cattle movement records
- Breeding records
What are the regulations regarding ear tags in cattle?
They must have a Defra approved yellow ear tag that has all compulsory details, and a second with compulsory details but it may contain other information
Other than ear tags what other means of identification are there for cattle? (3)
- Eat tags
- Passport
- Breed
What are the principles of biosecurity?
A set of management practices implemented to reduce the potential for the introduction or spread of disease-causing agents
State some common zoonoses that can be caught from cattle (11)
- Ringworm
- Toxoplasmosis
- Clamydia
- orf
- BSE
- Rabies
- tuberculosis
- Toxocara
- TB
- Listeriosis
- MRSA
What are some key points about farm etiquette? (4)
- close gates
- climb gates and the hinge end
- Ask where to wash down
- client confidentiality
What types of disinfectants are used on farms? (4)
- alcohols
- acids
- alkalis
- Halogens
State some common farm dangers (5)
- boiling water on dairy farms
- Machinery
- quad bikes
- crushes
- animals
What is the main taxonomic breed of cattle in the UK?
Bos taurus
What is unique about the bod indices breed?
They are insect and heat resistant
Why to cows like to be milked at the same time?
They are creatures of habit that like routine
How should dairy cows be housed in summer?
Outside in the paddock
How should dairy cows be housed in winter? (2)
- Inside with cubicles, at least 1 per cow, comfortable size and bedding
- And a large straw yard with deep straw
What factors affect how much a dairy farmer is paid for milk? (4)
- volume
- nutritional content
- season
- antibiotic contamination
Where do the UK lie in the order of highest to lowest number of dairy cows in the EU?
4th
What are the 2 most common dairy cow breeds?
Holestein and freisian
How long after calving will a dairy cow go to service?
3 months
Around how long is a cows gestational period?
282d/9 months
How long after calving will a cow be dried off?
10 months
What is the basic structure of a milking cluster?
Composed of a claw piece, and 4 teat cups, each with a shell and a liner
How would you prefer to start milking? (5)
- Add predip first if used
- Dry wipe each teat with a different paper towel or towel for each animal
- foremilk to check for mastitis
- attatch unit one teat at a time
- lift claw to start vacuum
What machine can be used to remove the milking equipment when the milking stops?
Autonomic cluster remover
What machine can be useful to outline mastitis cases while being milked?
In line mastitis detecter
How does a milking machine work? (5)
- Vacum applied between liner and shell in short milk tube
- Vaccum opened and milk flows
- air flow applied between liner and shell to cause shell to collapse around teat
- blood can now flow again
- pulsator alternates between vacuums and air
What condition can cows get if a vacuum is constantly applied to the teat without a rest period?
Hyperkeratosis
After how old will a dairy heifer be serviced?
a year and a half
How long should a calf be left with its mother for at least?
24 hours
After how long should a calf be weaned?
5-10 weeks, when eating at least 0.6kg of feed
Are the number of dairy farms in England increasing or decreasing?
Decreasing
In the worlds top producing dairy countries, what place is the UK?
10
Name 4 common beef breeds?
hereford, Aberdeen angus, charolais, Limousin
What is a suckler cow?
A cow kept to give birth and rear calves and then eventually fattened for meat
What is the common breed of suckler cow?
Usually cross breed of dairy and beef, one being hereford and fresion/holesetin
When are beef caves weaned?
9-10 months
What factors determine how much a farmer gets for a carcasse?
- conformation
- fatness
- size
How is confirmation assessed in a carcasse?
E,U,R,O,P (with U,O,P having plus or minus)
How is fatness classified in beef?
1,2,3,4L,4H,5L,5H
What is barley beef?
an intensive form of farming where animals are kept indoors and fed rolled barley with little protein and roughage. They are killed at about a year
What are the key organisation involved in the cattle industry? (5)
- BCVA
- DEFRA
- Breed societies
- ADHB beef/lamb
- ADHB dairy
What are some common welfare problems in the cattle industry? (3)
- Decreased veterinary involvement
- Intesification
- Reduced farm manpower
Up to how long can you use rubber rings on calves for castration?
Within the first week
What is a burdizzo?
A device that crushes the spermatic cord, a form of castration
After what age must local anaesthetic be used to castrate a calve?
2 months
After what age must local anaesthetic be used to remove supernumerary teats?
3 months
What are some of the common issues in the cattle industry? (4)
- TB
- Environmental impact
- antimicrobial use
- Food security
What are the legislations regarding identification of cattle?
All must contain 2 DEFRA approved tags with the CPH number
Within how many hours does the first tag need to be applied to a diary calf?
36
When must the second tag be applied to a diary calf?
within 20 days
Within how many days must both tags be applied to a beef calve?
20
What records is a farmer required to own/fill in? (4)
- cattle register
- medicine book
- passport
- British cattle movement service online
What are the positive impacts of cattle farming? (3)
- It helps maintain the rural environment
- maintains grassland
- maintains specific environments
What are the negative impacts of cattle farming? (3
- greenhouse gases
- pollute water
- poach land
What is the normal temperature of a cow?
38.5
What is the normal pulse rate of a cow?
60-80
What Is the normal respiration rate of a cow?
25
What are some of the common diseases and issues in the cattle industry? (7)
- infertility
- abortion
- poor conception
- endometritis
- mastitis
- lameness
- calf scour
What is digital dermatitis?
A bacterial infection of the skin behind the heel bulbs
What does a herd health plan outline?
Diseases present on the farm and how to prevent them
