Retiring vet medicine professor Dr. John Campbell outlined the changes he’s seen in animal health, and expressed optimism about ongoing research, during a keynote address
Animal Health
Retiring vet medicine professor optimistic about future of animal health research
What ranchers need to know about bovine tuberculosis investigations in Canada
From surveillance to testing to restocking, two experts outline how an investigation works
From surveillance to testing to restocking, two experts outline how an investigation works
A case of bovine tuberculosis was detected in a cow at slaughter in Alberta. It was traced back to a farm in Saskatchewan, where more positive animals were detected, leading to the launch of a vigorous eradication and investigation process by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But many producers don’t know what this process looks […] Read more
Colic in beef calves can hint at serious problems
Colic in calves can be caused by several things – many of them fatal
When people think of colic, they usually think of a human infant who is fussy and crying. But colic occurs in animals, as well. Horse owners are often well versed in colic, as it is a fairly common occurrence in equines. In the beef cattle world, colic can mean many things and can be a […] Read more
Reducing disease risk from calving season onwards
Whether it’s scours or Johne’s disease, farmers and ranchers can reduce the chance of transmitting it
With winter calving almost at a close, grassland producers are preparing for their own spring calving season. Chad Ross calves his herd of 800 to 1,100 cows as close to nature as he can. The owner and operator of L-7 Land and Cattle at Estevan, Sask., switched to grassland calving in the mid-2000s. Unless a […] Read more
How barbed wire transformed ranching in the West
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Ranching in southern Alberta can be divided into two eras. One before the fence, and the one that came to stay, after the fences. From D. Larraine Andrews’s book, Ranching Under the Arch:“Responding to the new lease legislation, four corporate ranches, dubbed the Patriarchs, arrive under open range practices dependent on chinooks to keep grasslands […] Read more
Sleeping sickness in horses
Veterinary Case Study: Symptoms of Western equine encephalitis and tips for preventing the disease
Jane’s desperate phone call came after school Monday afternoon. She had noticed something different with Sisco last night when she groomed him. Sisco, a Welsh-cross, failed to eat his oats, seemed restless and wanted to lay down. Getting up when urged became difficult. Her hunch something might be seriously wrong with her new pony turned […] Read more
Evolution and circadian rhythms of cattle
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
DNA analysis has shown that domestic cattle descended from wild ox in southwestern Asia some 10,500 years ago. An international team of scientists from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and National Museum of Natural History in France, the University of Mainz in Germany, and University College London in the U.K. conducted the study by […] Read more
Stress, biosecurity and bovine respiratory disease
Bovine respiratory disease isn’t going away, but there are things ranchers and farmers can do to reduce disease prevalence
Shipping fever. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Whatever name you give it, it remains the number one cause of death in feedlots. It pops up on cow-calf operations, too. The Beef Cattle Research Council’s website notes that BRD is a leading cause of death, illness and antibiotic treatment in calves from three weeks of age to […] Read more
Lyme disease: maligned and misunderstood
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
There is nothing good about Lyme disease, but it’s time to sit and make sense of what Lyme disease is and what can be done about it. Lyme disease is spreading in Canada. The disease itself is caused by a bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) spread from ticks seeking a blood meal. It’s not a serious cattle disease, […] Read more
The link between stockmanship and animal health
Lee Sinclair has dedicated much of his professional life to teaching producers about low-stress cattle handling
When Lee Sinclair would come home from college and university in the summers, he worked at feedlots, which is where his interest in low-stress cattle handling started. “Nobody had ever told me position, distance and angles make the difference. All we were taught is, we’ve got to get this done,” Sinclair said. “So you use […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
