Trichomoniasis in a cattle herd.

A cowherd infected with trichomonas also called "trich" can be costly to your pocket book. Here's what you need to know about trich and the simple steps you need to take to protect your herd. Prevention of trichomoniasis may be the most important economic factor in a cattle ranch’s preventive health program. A sound program will help prevent abortions and ongoing losses at a time when every calf is vital to the bottom line. More commonly known as “trich,” this highly contagious venereal disease can wreck a herd’s reproductive efficiency. “For a cow-calf producer, there’s not another disease that comes close to the economic impact of trich,” said Dr. John M. Davidson, senior professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). “The economic impact of trich extends well beyond the lost pregnancies,” Davidson said. “Trich shifts the calving pattern, which reduces weaning weights and potentially shortens female longevity in the herd. It also takes a heavy toll on bull power as confirmed infected bulls should be slaughtered.” Trich is caused by a tiny protozoan parasite, Tritrichomonas foetus. In the cow, the parasite colonizes in the vagina and uterus. In bulls, it colonizes or lives in epithelial folds on the skin of the penis and prepuce. Reports from the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratories in 2014-2015 indicated that 3 percent of all sampled bulls tested positive for trich. “Trich poses a substantial threat in many areas of the United States: Gulf Coast, Mountain West, and the Central Plains,” Davidson said. “For cow-calf producers who ranch in at-risk areas, this venereal disease is a significant economic risk when introduced into their herd.” Dr. Jeff Ondrak, researcher with the University of Nebraska Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center, said even though some don’t see trich as a major problem for cow-calf producers, “it has never gone away” in Nebraska and other states. Testing remains an important part of a cow-calf operation’s breeding program,” Ondrak said. “A lot deals with how much you know about the disease. Those who have had to deal with trich are usually more cautious about testing than those who haven’t dealt with it.” Prevention starts by having close communication with a veterinarian to discuss your breeding program and how it can be improved to prevent the disease. Davidson said one step is to limit the breeding season to 2 to 3 months to help the veterinarian recognize the typical pattern of non-pregnant cows and/or fewer cows conceiving early in the breeding season. These management practices are also important; management practices to prevent trich: 1)Purchase only virgin replacements including bulls and heifers. This ensures that bulls have not been exposed to cows carrying the disease. “Purchasing non-virgin bulls increases your risk of introducing the disease into your herd,” he explained. 2)Test all bulls before and after the breeding season. Follow your state regulations for those bulls identified as infected. 3)Post breeding surveillance and excellent pasture breeding records are additional steps to limit the transmission of trich if introduced into your herd. (Test samples are taken from along the penis surface, then sent to a veterinary diagnostic lab for testing.) 4) When open range grazing cannot be avoided, vaccination and surveillance are critical to minimize the long-term effects to the herd’s efficiency. A neighbor may have a trich-infested herd and the old saying, “no fence is cattle-proof” may apply. Have a good surveillance plan to monitor pastures. 5)Vaccinate cows and heifers to aid in the reduction of shedding of the T. foetus organism. source

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