Common Causes of Acute Death
A Cattleman's Nightmare
MOST COMMON CAUSES OF ACUTE DEATH IN CENTRAL OREGON
(A CATTLEMAN'S NIGHTMARE)
Bloat
Cause:
1. Legumes - Alfalfa - Clover
2. Obstructions - Potatoes- Apples
Rx:
1. Exercise
2. Stick in mouth
3. Pass tube
4. Therabloat antifroth agent
5. Last resort only - Trocarization - "stick"
Control:
1. Bloat blocks
2. Increase roughage when on legume pasture
Grain Carbohydrate Overload
Cause:
1. Grain
2. Potatoes
Rx:
1. Mineral Oil
2. Sodium Bicarbonate (IV/Orally)
3. Rumen innoculants/bacterial boluses
Grass Tetany - (Mg/Ca deficiency) (Misnomer)
Down animals, hypersensitive, excitement, aggressive, muscle
tremors, tetany.
Cause:
1. Starvation for 24-48 hours
-weather, transporting, yarding, movement
2. Young lush growing grass
3. Clover
4. K+ and Nitrogen rich fertilizer
5. Low phosphorous mineral
6. Oat hay and barley (Starvation)
7. Loomix (Mg settles to bottom-need to mix well)
Rx:
1. IV Norcalciphos
Control:
1. High magnesium mineral
2. Increase phosphorous fertilizer
Acute Bovine Pulmonary Emphysema
Dry range land to lush fall pasture.
Rx:
1. Remove from pasture
2. Cortizone
Control:
1. Slow conversion to lush feed
Lightning
Meat okay to use with early finding.
Choke - "Carotid hold" - "Vaccine reaction"
Cause:
Chute - appx. 1-2 minutes
Liver Flukes - Wide Spread in Central Oregon - Acute death
Cause:
1. Black's disease - Novyi
2. Redwater - Haemolyticum
*Chronic weight loss seen - diarrhea, CNS sign, bottle
jaw
Rx:
1. Curatrem and Ivomec combination
2. Albendazole
Clostridial Diseases
Cause:
1. Black leg
2. Malignant edema
Water Hemlock
Cause:
Toxin in root
Most common in fall and winter.
-Lower water levels, roots exposed
-Irrigation is off
-Ditches are cleaned
-Decreased food supply
Signs:
Death, frothing, convulsions, bellows in pain
Kills:
1. People
2. Animals
3. Socrates
Organophosphate Toxicity
Pour-ons during grub migration in spinal cord.
Don't apply after December 1st.
Dead grub in spinal canal causes inflammation, paralysis, death.
Milk Fever
Dairy cattle after calving.
Nitrate - Nitrite toxicity
Signs:
1. Respiratory distress
Cause:
1. Oat hay, especially when 3-7% stacked wet and warm
weather
2. Nightshade
3. Turnip tops 8%
4. Deep well water
5. Silage
Rx:
1. Remove source
2. Methylene blue IV
Control:
1. Mix forage high in nitrate to < .5%
CALVES
Pneumonia
Coccidiosis
Enterotoxemia
Selenium deficiency
Scours - E. coli/Rota/Corona
Froze to ground
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