Cattle with Staggers

At this time of the year the grass grows so quickly that it has little time to take up the essential minerals that are so important to keep the right balance in the blood. Cattle are particularly susceptible to this as they have only low levels of minerals like magnesium and they have a huge requirement for calcium when they first calve. These two minerals work together in balance low magnesium levels in the spring will lead to problems with milk fever if you are not aware of it. Cattle are not able to store magnesium in their body, they need a constant daily supply to maintain their blood levels. When cattle first go out to grass magnesium levels in their feed will be increased, if this is in the concentrate ration you will need to be careful with low yielding cows and any animals that are not taking their full ration as they may not get adequate supplies.

Look out for the first signs

Cattle have an instinct to find minerals when their blood levels dip, they may start to eat soil or take an interest in the urine passed by other animals. If you are aware that this is happening it is time to take action. Sometimes the easiest way is to put some of the magnesium mineral buckets in the field or at the feed barrier. If the buckets are largely ignored the chances are mineral supplies are adequate, if they are constantly queuing at the buckets you might find some more so they can all satisfy they needs.

Prevention and Treatment

Staggers is very much a problem that you should aim to prevent and not have to treat. If you do get a case you will need to act quickly. The best treatment is to try and get a bottle of calcium into the jugular vein, but this can be difficult and dangerous if the muscle spasms are violent. Magnesium should not be given into a vein as even small quantities given this way can stop the heart, it will be taken up quickly when you put it under the skin especially if you can spread it about. Cows with staggers do not loose the blood supply to the skin in quite the same way as when they suffer from milk fever. It can take several hours for animals to recover from staggers. It is not unknown for individuals to relapse and need further treatment. We have a supply of Rumbul Boluses which are useful as they slowly dissolve in the rumen and maintain blood levels for several months.

Cattle in Slurry Pits

Every now and again something unexpected happens and sometimes the way that you react to it can make things a whole lot worse. From time to time we are called to help because animals have managed to get into a slurry pit and cannot get out. I am not quite sure why but there have been several incidents lately. Slurry pits are dangerous places and the tendency is to assume that the fence is still secure as it has been there for many years and nothing has got through before. When cattle first get into a slurry pit they tend to swim around a bit at first then they will go quiet. It is usually better to let them settle down before you try to do anything. Fortunately the Shropshire Fire Service has an Animal Rescue Crew now and they are the best people to come and access how to get them out safely. This is usually a complicated process and it does take time, they use floating rafts and have a crane on one of their fire tenders that has a long reach. It can be very dangerous to attempt a rescue without professional help, it is just not worth the risk.

Scouring Cows

Johne’s disease is a growing problem in both Dairy and Suckler herds. Just why that should be is not clear. It is certainly more difficult to control in herds that are intensively farmed and it might be that we are more aware of it now more cattle are tested. Cattle can take years to show clinical signs of Johne’s disease and newly purchased animals can spread the infection for some time before you are aware that you have it on your farm. Affected cattle develop diarrhoea and will show signs of rapid weight loss, at this stage if it is Johne’s disease we will be able to detect the disease from faeces or blood samples if it is present on the farm. Johne’e disease can be difficult to detect in the pre clinical phase of the infection as there is a variable response to tests on both blood and faeces. Dairy cows will produce up to 25% less milk in the lactation before they are diagnosed and their fertility will be affected as well.

Control Measures

After you have had your first case it is important that you take measures to stop its further spread. Most animals get the infection as calves either by drinking contaminated colostrum or sucking at teats that are coated with faeces from other cows. The calving areas should be as clean as possible and new born calves should receive colostrum only from their dam. If you have Johne’s on your farm it is better to rear calves on powdered milk and not to feed discarded milk to calves as this can spread the disease.. Inspite of these measure the off spring of cattle that develop the disease have a high chance of eventually going down with the infection and they should not be kept for breeding.

Spring Grass and Horses

May is the month when we get most problems with new cases of laminitis. The main cause of this distressing condition is poor digestion and the main problem comes from using grass that contains high levels of sugars called fructans. The digestive system of the horse is not very good at dealing with fructans as they will not be broken down properly they produce acids and toxins that damage the wall of blood vessels. When this occurs the lamellae of the feet become swollen and the blood flow here is reduced so that the pedal bone is not adequately supported. After a short time the bone will start to rotate and it is very difficult to get it to work properly again.

Fat Ponies

Animals that are over weight are particularly prone to developing laminitis because the excess fat triggers the release of steroids that can also restrict the blood flow to the feet. Excess fat leads to an increase in blood pressure and the extra weight of the animal will make treatments difficult.

Treatment with Drugs

The drugs we use help to lower the blood pressure, reduce inflammation in the feet and make the animal more comfortable. Affected animals will need to be kept in until their digestive system has had a chance to recover. Some exercise is helpful if you have some short grass that the animal can walk on, but you must take care to stop him grabbing a mouth full of grass or his condition will deteriorate again.

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