Herd Health

It’s a lot less expensive to prevent animal diseases through vaccination than it is to treat them. Most diseases don’t show up overnight. They can be subtle, even showing no outward signs, but production can be significantly reduced. It’s essential to pinpoint which disease is causing issues in the herd by working closely with an experienced Lander veterinarian before it spreads.

A vaccination schedule is recommended for dairy and beef heifers beginning at birth to six months of age. Additional schedules should be planned, with the assistance of Lander Vet specialists, for heifers pre-breeding to calving and similar plans for adult cattle and herd bulls.

Prevention can also be helped when producers maintain a sanitary environment, provide proper ventilation and take immediate action when animal health issues occur.

For that quality milk to be available, she must have a calf to stimulate mammary development. As a producer, you know the most productive time of lactation is during peak milk. The more time your cows spend working during that most productive time in their lifetime, the more profit they’ll generate. You need to maximize that time.

Which leads us to planning for regular, consistent pregnancies. Your reproductive program should be a top priority on the farm as a new revenue stream. Lander Vet specialists can help develop practical reproductive plans customized for your operation and herd goals.

Herd checks are a common veterinary procedure and regularly begin by 5 a.m. on dairy farms. Bred cows are checked rectally by palpation or ultrasound to determine pregnancy. Lander veterinarians are experts in reproductive services. Herd checks can offer an opportunity to also check for lameness issues, body condition, udder health, sanitation environment and feed consumption,

Breeding defects and sub-optimal fertility in herd bulls can affect profitability. Lander Vet specialists perform semen analysis and bull breeding soundness exams that help maximize reproductive performance for herds utilizing natural service.

Additionally, ultrasound can be helpful in the diagnosis of disorders of other soft tissues including teat injuries, kidney, liver and lung.

Lander Veterinary Clinic team of reproduction specialists provides both in-house and on the farm services to dairies and ranches within the Central Valley area.

Establishing long-term relationships with our producers through regular herd visits to your dairy or beef operation, can provide sensible options to maximize animal performance and minimize herd disease problems.

Common herd health problems that we encounter include investigations for mastitis, abortions, calf diarrhea and pneumonia outbreaks, Johne’s disease, feeding issues, and high levels of fresh cow transition maladies — milk fever, ketosis and retained placenta, for instance.

Solving herd-wide problems frequently requires laboratory support and digging deeply into management practices on the farm. Dairy Diagnostics, Lander Veterinary Clinic’s laboratory arm, conducts a wide array of in-house tests and works closely with numerous state and national disease diagnostic laboratories to facilitate finding solutions to frustrating problems.

California Department of Food & Agriculture Rules:

All Dairy Breed Cattle

California requires a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) for all cattle within 30 days before movement into the state.

Exemptions:

Cattle moving directly to slaughter are exempt from the CVI requirement if brand documents or owner/shipper statements accompany the shipment.

Official Identification

All dairy breed cattle must have Official Identification (ID) and it must be listed on the CVI.

Brucellosis

California requires official brucellosis calf-hood vaccination and a legible brucellosis tattoo for all female cattle over 4 months of age before movement into the state. If the tag is lost, a “silver brite” tag is acceptable with the tattoo. For cattle movement from a Designated Brucellosis Surveillance Area, California requires a negative brucellosis blood test obtained within 30 days before movement and a special entry permit.

Trichomonosis

California requires a negative individual trichomonosis test on bulls 18 months of age and over, sampled 10 days after last contact with sexually mature cows, and within 60 days before movement into California. California requires a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued within 30 days before entry with the statement, “Trichomonosis has not been diagnosed in the herd of origin within the past 24 months.”

Tuberculosis (TB)

California requires a negative TB test for dairy breeding cattle 6 months of age and over, obtained within 60 days before movement into the state.

Resources:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/export/iregs-for-animal-exports/ct_iregs_animal_exports_home

Healthier Heifers for a Healthier Herd

Heifer calves are the future of your dairy. Ensuring your calves are as healthy as possible through nutrition, housing, sanitation, and vaccines can help improve the long-term productivity of your herd. While scours are the hallmark disease of hutch calves, pneumonia is another significant disease that can affect the long term health of your cattle, from decreased average daily gain, increased age to first breeding, increased age to first calving, to decreased milk production throughout their first lactation and their lifetime.

Thoracic Ultrasound can be used to diagnose early pneumonia and help direct your calf management program to decrease your incidence of pneumonia in hutch calves as well as monitor treatment success. Thoracic Ultrasound is quick, non-invasive, and provides plenty of information about the overall lung health of your hutch calves.

Pneumonia in hutch calves can be particularly frustrating as many calves with pneumonia never show any symptoms but still are profoundly affected later in life. It is estimated that for every case of pneumonia with symptoms (coughing, fever, etc) there are 2-4 cases that never show any symptoms that they are sick. The use of Thoracic Ultrasound can help identify these asymptomatic calves and ensure they are appropriately treated for optimal lung health.