Cow and a Calf

Malignant catarrhal fever — learn about it; guard against it

Animal Health: Most sheep in North America are assumed to be carriers

“It took her piece by piece. Without a doubt it is the most devastating (cattle) disease we have ever dealt with,” says a member of a farm family who finally had to euthanize a valuable young purebred cow after two months of intensive therapy and investigation. Laboratory tests confirmed malignant catarrhal fever (MCF). The only […] Read more

Precondition calves regardless of weaning time

Precondition calves regardless of weaning time

The well-prepared, preconditioned calf rewards the producer, the buyer and, most importantly, the calf

Now is the time to start preparing calves for marketing with a sound preconditioning program developed in concert with your veterinarian. Drier weather may mean selling this year’s calves earlier, so preconditioning your calves sooner rather than later makes good sense. Do not wait and, out of frustration, call the trucker and just send the […] Read more


Facts about antimicrobial resistance

Facts about antimicrobial resistance

While the industry is already doing a good job, there is ongoing room for improvement

There have been volumes written on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the last several years. And it is important to remember just how good the Canadian cattle industry is doing in managing AMR and look to future changes veterinarians may make in their recommendations. For those of you craving more detailed information, there have been several […] Read more

cattle grazing

It’s that anthrax time of year

Animal Health: News Roundup from the June 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Anthrax spores can lurk in soil for decades and there’s no telling where the disease will pop up from year to year. All it takes is something that brings spores to the surface and the stage is set for an outbreak in cattle that happen to ingest them. Predicting when anthrax will occur in Canada […] Read more


Dr. Tye Perrett, Feedlot Health Management Services.

Calves from vaccinated dams did better in the feedlot

Canadian study looked at protection from respiratory and viral diseases

A uniquely Canadian study provides the first comprehensive look at feedlot health outcomes for calves from dams vaccinated before conception with Express FP. Dr. Tye Perrett, a managing partner with Feedlot Health Management Services, Okotoks, Alta., oversaw the project that reviewed Canadian feedlot records on 1.4 million calves born between 2007 and 2014 to compare […] Read more

Keep Q fever in mind this calving season

Keep Q fever in mind this calving season

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

Q fever is a potential zoonosis every stock person should keep in mind through calving, lambing and kidding season. The disease, Q fever, and the organism, Coxiella burnetii, when present represent a serious threat to human health. Every gram of afterbirth or fluid from an infected animal contains millions of infectious particles and only a […] Read more


Pre-breeding vaccinations for cows and bulls

Pre-breeding vaccinations for cows and bulls

Health with Heather Smith Thomas

Some diseases affect reproduction, interfering with the cow’s ability to carry a calf to term. It’s best to try to prevent these diseases by making sure cows and bulls have adequate immunity before breeding season. These vaccinations will vary, depending on specific risks in a certain herd, and timing will vary, depending on the calving/breeding […] Read more

The eyes help diagnose  dehydration (above) or bacterial inflammatory enteritis (below).

Calf health: The diarrhea diaries

The definition of scours is diarrhea, but diarrhea alone only means the calf has loose feces. The important question when a calf has diarrhea is whether it is making the calf sick. “It’s not as simple as saying, the calf has diarrhea, therefore, it has scours. You need to compare groups of observations, consider the […] Read more


Antibiotic alternatives for livestock producers

Antibiotic alternatives for livestock producers

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Antibiotics are a tremendously valuable tool in livestock production. For example, at this time of year, groups of lightweight, freshly weaned, shrunk-out calves with an unknown vaccination or nutritional history arriving at a feedlot after being transported long distances from pre-sort sales in cool, wet, fall weather are likely candidates for bovine respiratory disease (BRD). […] Read more

Intranasal vaccines get around maternal antibodies

Intranasal vaccines get around maternal antibodies

Animal Health: Maternal antibodies unpredictable


Calves are born without fully functioning immune systems, making them reliant on passive immunity from maternal antibodies for disease protection. As a result, we assumed for a long time that vaccinating calves at an early age was a complete waste of time and money as the maternal antibodies would attack any pathogens introduced in the […] Read more