One of the remarkable events of the past century related to ranching has been the genetic evolution of brood cows. The industry moved from scrawny Texas Longhorn-crosses with 25 per cent calf crops to hardy European and English hybrids producing 90 to 95 per cent calf crops with offspring weighing upwards of 50 per cent […] Read more
Body condition, nutrition and vaccination for brood cows
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Coccidiosis in beef calves
Veterinary Case Study: Treatment protocols to help manage this common, yet troubling, disease
Nate walked through a pen of calves he had just weaned from his first-calf heifers. The day before, he’d noticed flecks of blood in some of the stools, but overall, the calves seemed bright and were eating the hay and chopped oats he offered in bunks. Today, however, he saw blood clots in stools and […] Read more
A case study of lupines and crooked beef calves
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Jim called one night concerned that his Holstein milk cow could not deliver a calf. The cow, a seven-year-old female bred by artificial insemination, had never had problems. But a trip to the Maritimes two summers ago was an unexpected catalyst for a new issue. Nova Scotia offered an array of “new things” for Jim […] Read more
Skeletal deformities of beef calves
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Much is written about genetic mutations in beef calves: why it happens, pathological descriptions and how to manage the deformities. Pathologists love to describe structural abnormalities of organ systems and what else has been discovered. The literature on genetic mutations goes far beyond what can be covered in one column, so I will only address […] Read more
IBR is a serious cause of abortion in beef cattle
Veterinary Case Study: After buying new stock, a rancher’s cow herd starts aborting third-trimester calves
Early one morning in January, Alf called upset over what he found when checking his herd of purebred Herefords. Lying in the straw were three aborted fetuses and two other cows appeared to be in the process of aborting third-trimester fetuses. Alf, an excellent stockman but very worried, asked the hard question of what might […] Read more
Preventing foreign animal disease in North America
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Experimental studies under controlled conditions have contributed enormously to our understanding of the pathogenesis and transmission dynamics of foot-and-mouth disease. The industry and scientific community must be complimented on the detailed plans developed to prevent introduction of diseases, such as foot-and-mouth in cattle and pigs, as well as plans to control foreign animal diseases, if […] Read more
Preparing for calving season
Veterinary Case Study: Dr. Clarke coaches a beef producer who has purchased 50 first-calf heifers right before calving season
Jim came into the clinic one day. He’d even called ahead to say he needed a few minutes of my time to talk about the 50 new heifers he bought and what they might need to help them through calving season without problems. Jim had become an astute cattleman through the years, always trying to […] Read more
Causes and risk factors of abortion in cattle
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
When examining abortion in cattle, it’s important to look at incidence, cause, definition, when to summon help and what to do. As an aid to producers, abortion can be defined as terminating pregnancy any time after around 42 days, when placentation is complete. Placentation is the establishment of membranes joining mother and fetal blood supply […] 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
Biosecurity on beef cattle operations
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
The term “biosecurity” is used throughout all aspects of food production, from growing food to moving commodities between different sectors, placement on grocery shelves and finally consumption and waste management. They are all related and all have their biosecurity plans. Those plans seldom account for what comes before and what follows. For the livestock industry, […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
