Down Beef Cow Flashcards
What is compartmentalization Syndrome?
This is when a lot of weight is placed on a region of the body and pressure necrosis begins (Example, down cow)
How do you know a cow is down for musculoskeletal, peripheral/spinal nerves or starvation?
She will eat grain
If she wont it could be mineral deficiency, toxicity or sever septicemia
What may cause a cow to go down in the last 2 months of gestation?
Starvation or Musculosketal Injury
Winter Tetany
What may cause a cow to go down in immediately post calving?
Musculoskeletal
Mineral deficiency or toxic mastitis
What may cause a cow to go down in 2-30 days post partum?
Musculoskeletal
Mineral deficiency, toxic mastitis, toxic metritis
What are some causes of musculoskeletal or peripheral nerve injury?
Calving paralysis, spinal nerve damage, dislocated hip
How might you know that calving paralysis is the cause of your down cow?
She never got up after birth, had a dystocia or large calf, has a swollen or bruised vulva (calves head may be swollen and tongue stuck out)
How do you treat calving paralysis?
Aqua cow, hiplift and sling critical (prevent compartment syndrome), Antinflammatory, dexamethasone and NSAID
What are some common causes of spinal nerve damage?
Lymphosarcoma, Disc Disease or Abscess
Treatment of any of these is unrewarding
What is starvation?
Energy:Protien malnutrition
-high trough
-high loft
-energy deficency
What can lead to starvation despite feeding the animals?
Poor quality hay taking up space in the rumen and they cant get enough in to get the nutrients needed
Which group of cows is commonly affected by starvation and why?
Spring calvers because their energy needs are the highest when having to be fed hay at end of winter
What is key to remember when harvesting hay?
Earlier you cut more nutrients, later cut more hay itself… so cut somewhere in between
When it is cold and the cow is lactating what happens to energy requirements?
Increase
What does a good quality hay look like to nutrient analysis?
1st cutting, high dry matter, crude protein 9 and up, TDN 50 and low NDF good (still not enough for lactating cow in cold - need some grain to help)
When does average hay start to not meet energy needs of cow?
Late gestation and peak lactation
What happens to spring calving cows on hay?
They lose a BCS in a month!
Do protein blocks work?
Out west yes, not really here
When does hypocalcemia occur? What cows get it commonly? What are some signs? What do you treat with?
First 24 hours of calving, dairy, down, dull, hypothermia, 1-2 500ml bottles of CMPK slow
When does hypomagnesaemia (Grass Tetany) occur? What are some signs? What do you treat with? Prevention?
2-5 days or 20-30 days post calving, staggering, down hyperesthesia, 1-2 500ml bottles of CMPK and oral Magnesium, >10% Magnesium mineral mix and ensure good intake
When does winter tetany occur?
6-9 mont gestation
Ca, Mg and K all low but not low enough to cause the cow to be down by itself
What causes winter tetany?
poor quality hay or hay grown during fast growing conditions
-poor mineral avaliablity
Herd outbreak 2-5% over 24 hours
weather coming through
How do you treat winter tetany?
1-2 bottles CMPK
Oral ca-mg-k
Anti-inflammatories
What causes toxic mastitis?
Coliforms (gram negt rods - e.coli and klebsiella)
Uncommon in beef cattle, clost to calving, less common after weaning
Treat like dairy cow (oxytet IV)
