Cattle Flashcards
What is this
Calf drencher
What is this
Calf feeder
What is this
emasculator
open castration for older calves
What is this
Burdizzo
Bloodless castrator
Crushes spermatic cord
What is this
Disbudding iron
Local anaesthetic must be used
What is this
Barnes dehorners
Small to medium horns
What is this
anti-sucking device
What is this
rumen magnet
What is this
Kick bars
Fitted to cattle to prevent them kicking
Routes of medical administration cattle
Oral
Intramuscular
Neck, shoulder, thigh
Subcutaneous
Neck & shoulder
Sites of blood sampling cattle
Jugular vein
Coccygeal vein (base of tail)
Auricular vein (ear)
What is a drinkwater gag cattle
Used to prevent excess intake of water by restricting opening of mouth
Fixed between upper & lower molars
Describe the reproductive cycle of cattle
- Proestrus
Development of follicles in ovary - Estrus
Release of mature egg from ovary (ovulation)
Cow receptive to mating - Metestrus
Formation of corpus luteum
Secretes progesterone to prepare uterus for pregnancy - Diestrus
If pregnancy doesn’t occur, corpus luteum begins to regress - Anestrus
Period of reproductive inactivity
What are some common cattle diseases
Infertility:
Many different causes
Clinical signs include abortion, anoestrus, cystic ovarian disease, poor conception rates
Mastitis:
Bacterial infection of udder
Clinical signs include changes in milk character, swollen udder quarters
Contagious – spread during milking
Lameness:
Many different conditions which affect mobility & gait
Common causes are digital dermatitis, white line disease, sole haemorrhage, ulcer
Calf scour:
Can result in death
Occurs in first few days to months of life
Caused by variety of different organisms
Risk enhanced through dirty, wet environments & mixing calves from different origins
Clinical signs include diarrhoea, dehydration, collapse, reduced growth rates
Calf pneumonia:
Occurs in first few days to months of life
Significant cause of death in calves
Clinical signs include coughing, dullness, nasal discharge, reduced growth rate
Caused by viral, bacterial or mycoplasmic organisms
Describe economics of beef industry
UK is not big contributor on worldwide scale (USA largest)
1.58 million suckler cows in UK
50% of beef animals come from dairy origin
Describe beef profitability
Profitability affected by finished cattle price which is influenced by animal’s weight & classification of carcass quality
Dairy bred steers produce poorer quality carcass
Purchased cattle price has large effect on profitability
Cost required to feed animal until finishing needs to be factored in
Describe year round calving (beef)
Increased feed costs
Challenge of dealing with calves of different ages
Doesn’t make most of grass growth over summer
Describe spring calving (beef)
Bull runs with cows over summer
Cows will ideally calve at grass next spring
Means sucklers won’t need additional feed
When cow is dry in winter, she won’t require massive amounts of high-quality feed
Unpredictability of weather & lingering cold temperature are disadvantages
Can lead to indoor calving in bad conditions
Conception rates can be lower during hot weather
Sale of spring born calves lower than annual average (leaner)
Describe autumn calving
Less cost effective due to higher labour requirements & extra feed cost
Calves have higher body condition score –> earlier breeding
Bull runs with cows over winter
Weather more predictable
Describe dairy industry economics
UK is 13th largest milk producer in world (India largest)
53% is milk & 24% cheese in UK
12,000 active dairy farms with 2 million dairy cows
Dairy products with £9.2 billion
Describe the life of a dairy heifer
- After birth calf stays with cow for 24-72 hours to receive colostrum
- Removed from mother & fed milk replacer diet for 6-12 weeks
- Weaned at 10-12 weeks (when eating 1kg of solid food & doubled birth weight)
- Non-lactating heifer until 15 months & 60% of mature body weight
- Served at 15-20 months
- Calve after 9 months gestation (80% mature body weight)
- Once calved she will begin to lactate & become part of dairy herd
Describe dairy profitability
Price farmers receive affected by milk volume, milk composition, hygiene & somatic cell count
Fuel, feed & labour also affect profitability
Prices higher in autumn than spring
Describe dairy cycle
After calving cow lactates for 10 months
After 3 months in milk, cow is served again
After 10 months in milk cow is dried off to prepare for calving
Dry period lasts 6-8 weeks after which she calves
What breed is this
Friesian
(dairy)
What breed is this
Jersey
(dairy)
What breed is this
Guernsey
(dairy)
What breed is this
Ayrshire
(dairy)
What breed is this
Brown swiss
(dairy)
What breed is this
Montbeliard
(dairy)
What breed is this
Simmental
(beef)
What breed is this
Belgian Blue
(beef)
What breed is this
Aberdeen Angus
(beef)
What breed is this
Hereford
(beef)
What breed is this
Limousin
(beef)
What breed is this
Charolais
(beef)
What breed is this
Belted galloway
(beef)
What breed is this
Welsh Black
(beef)
Main physiological parameters of cattle
Temperature – 38-39ºC
BPM – 45-80
Resp rate – 15-30
