take two aspirin and ?

Giving your cows aspirin for pain relief? some new research from Kansas State University shows that it because it has a half-life of 30 minutes, it must be dosed at least twice a day, if not more frequently. Another fact was that oral aspirin showed a very poor bioavailability to the cow - only 30% was available to be absorbed.

As an example, pain-relief/analgesia for dehorning. All calves should be nerve blocked(lidocaine injected around the cornual nerve)which is a simple method of lowering the stress and pain of hot-iron dehorning. Lidocaine is not long-lasting though and consideration should be given for a longer lasting analgesia - prescribed use of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as flunixin(given IV)can provide a continued relief to the calf at this time, lowering stress and helping them recover more quickly. Aspirin in these situations is likely not the most appropriate medication to give an animal to provide more long-lasting pain relief. And if you're not using a cornual nerve block for dehorning your calves - you should! Just ask, and at the next farm visit, it can be demonstrated and put into use for your animals.

norzhill sale

two weeks from today the norz-hill cows and bred heifers will sell - some really nice well bred holstein cows, with over 22 EX cows having been bred here in hillsborough new jersey - 270+ head will sell on april 2nd.

the view

what do cows see? almost everything; nearly a 360 degree view around them when their heads are lowered and grazing because of the placement of their eyes on the sides of their head and the horizontal pupils. that kind of wide view is a huge advantage to prey animals like sheep and cattle but something to keep in mind is that they don't have much depth perception and have week eye muscles, keeping them from focusing quickly. ever wonder why when driving a tractor in the field a cow might not move nearly until the tire touches her? she may not know if you are 5 feet or 30 feet away, even though it happens nearly daily. watch them to see what they do - raising the head up and down is their attempt to focus and gain information on how close something is to them. realizing how they see the world can help with handling - the poor depth perception can make even a shadow on the ground look like deep hole and thus the cows balk at crossing it(or finally decide to leap over it, as many holsteins do over the gutter). when handling cattle remember they don't like being approached in a straight line, and especially if you are directly behind them; the opposite of what you want will happen as they will turn and face you. approach from the sides and let them see you there - also by keeping moving instead of being completely still this reassures the animal that you are not a predator and that you want to see and be identified. and don't forget the blind spot right behind the cow - walking up directly behind a cow, especially a kicker, without letting her know you're there will be a good way try and not get hurt.

by the nose

using an intranasal vaccine can help provide effective immunity at the spot where it is estimated 95% of infections enter the body - a new vaccine called Onset allows vaccination for IBR/PI3/BRSV/BVD without an injection and sidesteps the problem of 'maternal antibody interference'(protection passed to the calf from the dam’s milk that can prevent an immune response to vaccination) because of the vaccination site of the nasal mucosa.

i like the idea of this approach and the newer research showing that even calves right at birth have a fully competent immune system ready without worrying about the colostral antibodies will be very useful in helping calves get off to an even better start.

milk ads

not a 'got milk' ad but one of a nice series of ads from the Swiss Milk Producers

treat her nice and pack her with ice

sometimes after a difficult calving it can be a great help to the cow to take a rectal sleeve of ice (or snow if it's around)and lube that up and insert gently into the vagina; it seems really big, but she probably just had a 100lb calf come out the other way with difficulty. one thing they need though to do this properly is an epidural - it numbs that area and can also be a help in preventing the straining that comes along with a lacerated birth canal. once the bag of ice is in, i lean a bale of hay against the vulva to help keep it in and usually tie a bale string around the sleeve to make sure it doesn't go to far inward. the ice can help with some of the inflammation that is present and may go aways towards alleviating some of the complications of a difficult birth, including nerve paralysis.

goat fencing

advice heard from a goat farmer on how to make the perfect goat fence: to check that fence is okay for goats, fill pasture with water, if fence holds water, it will hold goats