How To Use A Calf Puller.

In most cases of dystocia, the calf can be pulled by hand. There are some instances, however, when a mechanical calf puller is needed during calving. Producers should have three goals when providing calving assistance, says Matt Miesner, Kansas State University DVM: 1) A live, viable beef calf. 2) The welfare of the cow. 3) Preservation of the dam’s reproductive soundness and her ability to breed back. In most cases of dystocia during calving, the calf can be pulled by hand after correcting any abnormality of position. There are some instances, however, when a mechanical calf puller, or calf jack, is needed to pull a calf. Once it’s determined that a calf can be safely pulled, Mark Alley, DVM, a clinical assistant instructor in the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says a calf jack is an excellent tool when used appropriately. Most experts say you should not apply more force than that of two strong men pulling by hand. But, if you’re alone in assisting a difficult birth, a calf jack can help generate the necessary force. The criteria Alley uses for predicting ease of birth during calving is if he can get the calf’s head and front legs into the pelvis without traction and can get his hand between the calf’s forehead and the cow. “This usually means it can be a vaginal delivery,” Alley says. If the calf’s head is hitting the cow’s pelvis, it may not come through and delivery by C-section may be necessary.more

China confirms one more human death from H7N9 bird flu.

A man in China's central Henan province has become the latest person reported to have died this winter from H7N9 bird flu, the state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday citing local health authorities. The 36-year-old roast duck salesman developed a fever and a cough around Dec. 25 in coastal Zhejiang province, near Shanghai, and returned to Henan in early January, Xinhua said. He was diagnosed with H7N9 on Jan. 10 and died the next day.continue

How soon should you help a calving cow?.

The question on when to intervene or call a veterinarian after a cow or heifer goes into labor is never easy to answer, but it’s an important especially when a live calf is the end goal. Calving times and how to manage cow or heifer so as to prevent loss of calf is important.The good news is that in most cases, everything goes just fine. The bad news? Sometimes things go wrong. That’s when it’s time to step in and help. “The basic rule of thumb for cows is that once the water sac has ruptured, if the calf is normal, it should be born within 30 minutes,” says Robert Callan, head of the Livestock Medicine and Surgery Service and chief of staff for the Large Animal Hospital at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. “In heifers, this time should be less than 60 minutes. It can take longer, for various reasons. In cows, it may be up to four hours and heifers up to eight hours, but you shouldn’t be waiting that long,” continue

Depression and social media.

Social media is a great way to learn,connect ,make money and most especially get the gist of whats happening around you,and somewhere else in the world.The social media trend has brought more people into your business than you could ever imagine and not many people can handle it. The issue of cyber bullying is another dark side of social media that runs deeper than you can imagine. Social media is fun,games plus other stuff but when cyber bullying steps in, unless you are strong on the inside,confident and comfortable with who you are,what you have and what you are doing its going to take you out. Social media cult or click is another level of bullying,these set of people are naysayers,shutting you up,stealing your voice and defining who you are or rather who they want you to be or who they feel you should be and if you are low on self esteem,confidence and vision you bow to them and follow the Jones'. These set of people use the same method of operation which basically is about your posts, their reaction to your posts is what sets the ball rolling. The funny thing is that they are your friends and they deliberately ignore your posts or post nasty comments or simply be outright rude and if you are feeding off comments,likes and share you just logged in to the depression avenue. A study has shown that people are fighting depression linked to social media,and there has been cases of people committing suicide because of bullying,and segregation or non-inclusion on social media clicks. There are other people that tend to water down these feeling by buying likes or tagging a popular person so as to boost the number of likes,this is outright crazy. Your life is yours,make it count dont subscribe to a sect or click that wants to rubbish you,you are better than that and much more precious than 1,000 likes or 50+ or 40 shares. This is the story of a young lady pushed to depression by social media continue

Investment opportunities in Zambia's agriculture and energy sector.

Nigerian multi-billionaire Aliko Dangote who was in Zambia for a one-day visit, Saturday afternoon paid a courtesy call on President Edgar Lungu to express his gratitude for the enabling environment that the country continues to offer investors at every level. During the courtesy call, Mr. Dangote expressed interest to consolidate his existing investments in Zambia and explore opportunities in the energy and agriculture sectors.continue more

USDA: Avian flu discovery reinforces need for vigilance.

USDA veterinarian urges poultry producers to not neglect biosecurity, keep close eye on birds With the recent detection of H5N2 avian influenza in a hunter-harvested duck in Montana, USDA Chief Veterinarian Jack Shere is urging poultry producers to be highly vigilant. The strain of avian influenza detected in Montana is genomically similar to the strain that was prevalent during the 2015 outbreak that was the responsible for the loss of millions of egg laying hens and turkeys in the United States, Shere said in a recent interview with USDA Radio News. continue

Kansas State researchers investigate the threat of influenza from amphibians.

Equine flu. Canine flu. Now do we have to worry about the frog flu, too?If you needed another reason to wash your hands after handling a frog other than warding off salmonellosis, researchers at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine have a new set of zoonoses to concern you that could be acquired from our amphibian friends—viral disease. Yongming Sang, PhD, is leading a project investigating the role of inferons in amphibians and how it might translate to viral transmission to people. The first publication of their work, featured in Nature’s Scientific Reports, discusses intronless interferons in amphibians, all signaling the need to more closely observe these vertebrates. "Amphibians have a previously unknown complexity within their antimicrobial interferon system, which is highly and differentially responsive to influenza infections,” says Sang in a release from Kansas State. “This suggests the need to study the possible role of wild amphibians as overlooked reservoirs/end hosts for influenza and other zoonotic pathogenic infections." continue