It's Fair Season!

So here it is, the last day of the month and I’ve realized I have only written one post all month. What a slacker!!! Actually, we have been swamped at the clinic and to be honest when I get home at night, there’s not much energy left to write… Unfortunately, this is one of those “boring” posts with only one picture, but this is what I have been up to for the last few weeks: 

Aside from my routine herd checks, and the sick cows (which have been numerous with the heat), I’ve vaccinated probably close to 200 animals for the fair season. This area has a few pretty big fairs so there are LOTS of animals that need their “fair shots”. “Fair shots” include a respiratory vaccine and a rabies vaccine for cows, and only a rabies vaccine for sheep and goats. They all need an official identification number and a health chart that certifies that animal had no infectious diseases at the time of the veterinarian’s examination. It is easy work, but tedious.

Rabies Vaccine, Respiratory Vaccine and Official ID

Every animal must have an “official” identification number which is a metal tag in cows or a “scrapie tag” in sheep and goats. In the picture to the left you can see the metal tag with an individual number on it. These are cattle tags and are often referred to in New York as “21 tags.” The first two numbers (21 for NY) identify what state the animal was born and raised in. Each state has their own number, ie. Vermont is 13, Maine is 11, etc.  Following the “21” for NY, are three letters and then 4 more numbers. No two of these tags are the same. If an animal is sold and moved across state lines, this metal tag is in their ear and is the lifetime identification as to where that animal originated. No two animals anywhere in the country will have an identical number on their metal tag/scrapie tag.

An individual official identification is part of the animal traceability act that is happening all across the United States. There has been much discussion over the ruling because many farmers and ranchers feel like we already have enough of “Big Brother” watching over us, and this is one more way for them to do so. Unfortunately, what many of these farmers and ranchers don’t realize is the thousands of animals that move across state lines with no identification and possibly carrying infectious diseases with them. In the livestock industry, we are closely monitored with animal movement. Let me just ask you this… How many times have you driven to visit family or friends a state or two away, and taken your dog or cat with you? Have you had a health certificate from your veterinarian with you on every trip? Technically if you are crossing state lines with any animal, you should. In the cattle industry, ANY time an animal is changing ownership, heading for a show, going to an auction or even going to get slaughtered, they must have one of the approved official identifications. 

As an industry, we are not as diligent as we should be with this information. Most sales, cattle shows and auctions will require the appropriate identification and corresponding health certificate. The information then gets sent to the State Department of Agriculture for filing. However, private sale of animals occurs just as, if not more frequently and often does not have the aforementioned documentation. An animal heading for slaughter does not have to have a health certificate, but it must have an official ID.  So, why all the fuss?

 Let’s say I have a really good cow on my farm in NY, which I decided to sell in an auction. The person that buys my cow has a farm in Wisconsin and my animal does not have a “21 tag” in her ear.  Now my animal is loaded on a trailer and hauled from New York, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois up to the farm in Wisconsin and has stopped at other farms along the way, for water breaks for the cow. Well come to find out, my cow is infected with Foot and Mouth Disease (a HIGHLY contagious blistering disease). Now that she is in Wisconsin, multiple cows at the buyers’ farm have all come down with symptoms of Foot and Mouth and require a very strict quarantine to prevent further spread. The farmer in Wisconsin knows he bought a cow at an auction, but has no idea who the seller in the auction was, or what state the animal originated from, because there is no identification tag. Where do we start looking to find other possibly infected animals? How does anyone know where the source of the infection came from??? How can they really quarantine the appropriate animals??? If my cow had a “21 tag” in her ear, State and Federal Veterinarians know to start looking for the source right in NY and can quarantine appropriately. 

Now we haven’t had an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in the US since 1929 and this case may seem extreme, but is used as an example of the reasoning behind the ruling.  The same thought process can be used for diseases such as Mad Cow disease, Rabies, Brucella and numerous other diseases where the point source of a disease is critical to know.  

The regulations are phasing in over the next couple of years, so there is time to comply.  The reasoning behind the ruling makes sense and it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. falls victim to a terribly contagious disease as so many other countries have.  When that time comes, I’m confident all farmers are going to appreciate the headaches they are going through now, to put the special identification in the ears.

To Dock or Not to Dock....

At a herd check this week, I was asked to remove a tail that was severely infected. By the looks of it, this heifer must have had the tail stepped on by another heifer in the pen, or got it stuck in something causing injury, which led to a nasty infection.  Removing the tail is a pretty simple procedure so I thought I would use this case as a platform to discuss a bit more of a controversial topic; tail docking.

The spinal cord as it tapers down to the tail. 4 is the site where an epidural is given.

So let’s start with the heifer from herd check. The heifer was sedated and given an epidural so she had no feeling in her tail. The tail actually is made up of the caudal vertebrae, and cows have anywhere from 18-20 of these vertebrae in the tail.  The spinal cord does not actually go down into the tail, but rather stops at, or just before the sacrum, or the “tail head.” There are nerves that do come off the end of the spinal cord and continue down the length of the tail, as well as a vein and artery that run down the center of the tail.

Once the epidural had taken effect, I had to locate the space between two vertebrae, far enough up the tail to be away from the site of injury and infection. The tail was clipped and scrubbed. I then made a “V” shaped incision on the skin of the tail, both top side and bottom side, so that I had a “flap” left to cover the nub when I was done. I then again found my intervertebral space and cut through that space with the scalpel.  As I mentioned earlier there is a vein and artery that run on the underside of the tail. When I was at the point of incising through these two vessels, I had to use a clamp to stop the bleeding. Because the vein and artery are tiny enough, and access to them is limited based on the surgery site and position, I left the clamp on them while I started suturing the skin closed.  The flaps of skin closed nicely and the vein and artery had stopped bleeding by the time I removed the clamp. The sutures dissolve, so she does not have to have me mess with her again. She was put on a course of antibiotics to cover any of the infection that may have ascended further up the tail than I was aware of.  

The tail injury.  Removed at point where hand is currently.

Making the incision.

Cutting between the vertebrae.

The tail after the injured portion has been removed, prior to suturing closed.

Suturing closed.

The final product.

So, was what I did inhumane??? Well, no, I don’t think so in this case. She had a severe injury, the flies were making a meal of the wound, and it was a painful injury. She may have a shorter tail now, but she is much better off than she would have been had I not removed it.

What about farms that dock tails as a routine procedure?  In lambs and kids (goat kids, not humans) tails are docked to prevent fly strike. In piglets, tails are docked to prevent tail chewing and cannibalism. Why do we dock tails in cows? Same as in lambs, kids and piglets, it’s a management decision. 

There is one train of thought that docked tails keep cows cleaner when they are housed in a freestall OR tie stall barn.  It is thought that cows that have tails, lay those tails in the alleyway or in the gutter, get them covered in manure and urine, and as they are swatting flies, cover themselves in that manure and urine, starting a vicious circle of fly annoyance and uncleanliness. It is also believed that cows with tails make their udder dirty therefore risking unclean teats, milk, and mastitis. You may also hear of farmers complaining of being hit in the face with the tails as they are milking cows. So, these farmers dock the tails.

The other school of thought is that the tails serve a purpose (fly control, social signals, etc.) and that they should “keep what the good Lord gave them” as an old farmer I know, likes to say. Well, these farmers don’t dock tails. 

What does science say? Well several studies have been done and have shown that there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE whether a cow has a tail or does not have a tail, on her overall cleanliness.  Cows are dirty if their environment is dirty. Cows are clean when their environment is clean. Easy as that. If a cow is an "alley layer" as we call those that refuse to use the stalls, it's not going to matter if she has a tail or not, she will be filthy. However, the majority of cows prefer to be clean and dry and will make an effort to find a place to rest that is clean and dry. Again, a clean environment = clean cows.

Wisconsin Tail Docking Study 

University of British Columbia Tail Docking Study 

As a veterinarian, my stance is this: if you have adequate fly control for animals, then I see no issue in docking tails. I have been hit in the face with a dirty tail, and it isn't pleasant. My mom almost lost her sight in one eye after getting swatted in the face with a dirty tail. I can see both sides of the story, but have caveats with each. Again, it's my stance, not that of all veterinarians, but that's the luxury of this being my blog.... :-)

When tail docking is done as young calves (<1-2wks old), it has been shown that there is no increase in cortisol levels (stress hormone) of calves that are docked.  If tail docking isn’t done until they are older, then I do feel it is appropriate to give them pain control prior to tail docking.
 Behavioral and Physiological Effects of Tail Docking
AVMA Stance on Tail Docking 

If you are not going to provide good fly control, (fans, fly spray, dust bags) then leave the tails alone. If cows are bothered by flies and have no fly control, you are actually decreasing daily production by 10-30%. Think of how annoyed you are when you have flies bugging you.  Cows are usually dealing with many more flies and are therefore not eating, not resting and not making milk. Provide adequate fly control or leave the tails alone. 

She's Crazy!!!

“I think I have a cow with Rabies.” A phone call you DON’T want to get on a beautiful Sunday morning.  This past weekend, I unfortunately did get this call.  Cow #2980 had been found down in the manure alley in the morning. When asked to get up, the owner described how she had no control of her legs, her bladder, was “walking crazy ,” and appeared aggressive.  Her ears were forward and her eyes even “looked crazy”. When the owner tried to get her to the special needs pen, the cow would turn around at her, like cows often do when they are about to charge.

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE IN THIS POST, PLEASE READ THIS--- When dealing with a neurologic animal of ANY KIND, DO NOT TOUCH THE ANIMAL, MAKE ANY ATTEMPT AT CATCHING THE ANIMAL OR GO NEAR THE ANIMAL. CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN!!!! Always, always, always remember that a neurologic animal has the possibility of having rabies and it just takes a little saliva or nasal secretion, loaded with the virus, to infect a human. Veterinarians have been vaccinated against rabies and are some of the very few qualified individuals, other than public health individuals to handle an animal with Rabies. If you absolutely MUST touch a neurologic animal that you suspect might be rabid, WEAR GLOVES, and make sure you do not have ANY exposed open wounds or sores. 

Back to #2980. When I arrived on the farm, all the cows were laying down in the pen. Trying to decipher which cow it was, I made a kissing noise to get the cows up. #2980 JUMPED to her feet and took off at a very fast walk around the pen, while the other cows took their time getting to their feet.  #2980 was very dirty, from falling down in the alley and seemed like she was super excitable. 

I’ve talked about cow flight zones in a previous post. Each cow has a different flight zone; meaning you can get variable distances to and from a cow before she will move and try to get away.  Younger heifers usually have a bigger flight zone than older cows. #2980 seemed to have a bigger flight zone than just about any young heifer. It was difficult to get within 15 feet of her before she would take off, unsteadily, away from me.  We managed to get her in a headlock, so that I could examine her.  Keeping safety in mind, with a very neurologic 1500 pound animal, I decided it was best to lock other cows in next to her and keep her somewhat steady while I approached her. 

To restrain her from kicking me as I approached, we carefully raised her tail straight in the air.  This is a common restraint used with cattle which temporarily “paralyzes” their back feet so they are unable to kick.  Normally, this does not hurt a cow, as it lessens the sensation in the back end. Upon raising 2980’s tail, she let out a terrible bellow, like we were severely hurting her.  Her temperature was 103.9F degrees (normal body temperature for a cow is 101-102.5F) and her heart, lungs and stomach all sounded normal. She tested negative for ketosis. As I was standing next to her examining her, her entire body was quivering and when I would touch her, she would excessively twitch at the spot I was touching.

Her head was in the headlock and she seemed interested in food. She was eating normally and not dropping food out of either side of her mouth. When examining her eyes, her third eyelids were both up, which is abnormal and you could see the whites of her eyes otherwise. Notice the eyes of the cow behind #2980 in the picture; her eyes are normal, whereas you can see the 3^rd eyelid of #2980.  I took some videos of her, but unfortunately because she is mostly black; it is hard to see the quivering.  If you watch the posted video, you can see her stagger a little when she is walking and turning around, and she seems to have an exaggerated gait.  Of course when I was videoing her, she was more “normal” than she was when the camera wasn’t rolling…. 

When we see neurologic cases in the Northeast, we ALWAYS keep Rabies on our list of possibilities. Unlike other parts of the country, raccoons, bats, foxes and coyotes will carry rabies.  This particular farm seems to have an excessive amount of raccoons around, having trapped and killed 10, most of which have been found in the milking parlor! Because rabies can be spread via infected saliva, through a bite wound, I was also looking for bite wounds on the cow, and found none.  There are a few other diseases, such as lead poisoning, meningitis, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and listeria that can cause similar neurologic signs in a cow.  Lead poisoning was unlikely, based on the environment on the farm, and the lack of an obvious source of lead, and BSE was lower on my list because we don't feed ruminant proteins back to ruminants anymore. 

Listeria was the other most likely possibility in this cow.  This is a soil born bacteria that often gets into the silage fed to cows.  The bacteria make their way to the brainstem of cows and causes severe nerve damage. It is commonly known as “circling disease” as infected cows tend to turn in circles, have a droopy face and can have their tongue sticking out one side. They can have difficulty eating food, swallowing, and depression. Because it affects multiple major nerves, they can walk unsteadily and fall down. Not all Listeria cows act or appear the same. Depending on when in the course of the disease the animal is noted to be abnormal, they may exhibit less severe or various neurologic signs. With very high doses of Penicillin, Listeria cows can recover and go on to be productive animals. #2980 did not seem to show the more typical signs associated with Listeria and the neurologic signs she was displaying were severe enough, that Listeria seemed less likely, but I didn’t want to completely disregard it as a possibility.

After discussion with the owner, we decided that we would treat her for Listeria and give her 24 hours.  After donning 2 pairs of gloves on both my hands, we tied her head and she was given a very large dose of Penicillin, and medicine to help with the fever and the inflammation, that may be associated with nerve damage. 

24 hours later, well more like 30 hours, I went back to the farm and again the cow was lying down in the pen. When I entered the pen, her ears went forward and she looked like she wanted to run away, but she struggled getting to her feet. Once she was up, she stood with all 4 feet stretched out in a "sawhorse" stance. Then she went about her craziness and was rapidly walking around the pen, staying very far away from me. When we were able to get her in the head lock, she started eating and was able to grab the food normally, but seemed to have to stick her neck out straight to swallow. Her fever had responded to the medicine, but everything else on her physical exam was the same as the day before. She even bellowed again when I raised her tail in the air.

Because this is a special cow to the owner, she wanted to give it yet another 24 hours, to see if she improved or declined, with another round of treatment. I agreed, and went back again Tuesday afternoon. Her status had not changed. She still had trouble getting up and when she was up, was very spastic. Based on the lack of change in her status and the continued concern for Rabies, I recommended euthanizing her. I sedated her, euthanized her and then needed to remove her brain to be sent to the state lab to test for Rabies. When I removed the head from the rest of the body, I noticed that there was a bit more spinal fluid that poured out of the spinal column than normal. I then removed a portion of the skull to get to the brain, and noticed that the brain was extremely dry. Normally there is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around the brain, that keeps the brain moist, but the brain of #2980 was more dry than normal. Once the brain was removed, I split the cerebral hemispheres and noticed that the ventricles inside the brain seemed more dilated than normal. Rabies was moving lower on my list of possibilities, but I still didn't have a good idea of what this could be.

Just to be sure, the brain was sent to the state lab for Rabies testing and came back negative. The owner declined sending it on for further testing, so I don't have a definitive answer on the cause of the neurologic signs. However, based on her physical exam signs, I feel like whatever the cause, the prognosis was poor and we made the right decision by euthanizing her.

This was a very interesting and challenging case. I am very relieved that she is Rabies negative, but I will always wonder what the true cause of the neurologic signs were. 

SPF 50 Update!!!

Remember the poor heifer out on pasture that ate a weed and lost all her white hair???? Well, I was at her farm again today and she's growing her hair back! She was happy and munching away on feed when I went to see her. Below is a picture from today. She did not lose ALL the white hair, but a large majority of it. If you look closely at the picture, you can see some of the hair growing back in. Notice all the black hair is still there!

Notice the patches of hair growing back in!!!

Stay tuned, another interesting post on Wednesday/Thursday!!!!

Preemie Problems

"Friskie"

Meet “Friskie” (so named by our receptionist). She was born 3 weeks early with some noticeable deficits. The biggest concern we have when calves are born early is lung development. One of the last things to develop in a fetus is the “surfactant.” Surfactant is a substance made up of fats and proteins that allow the lungs to inflate and deflate without collapsing.  Because this is one of the last things to develop, we often use a steroid when we induce animals to help with production of this surfactant, so the calf is able to breathe upon rupture of the umbilicus. The steroid is also used to start the labor process.

“Friskie” seemed to have had adequate surfactant production when she was born and was able to breathe normally. However, she was born with a noticeable abnormality- a cloudy eye. She was quite small, and had weak tendons. The weak tendons were not severe enough that she couldn’t stand, but when she did stand, her pasterns (ankles) were touching the ground. After a few weeks, her tendons strengthened and she began walking more normally. Her eye on the other hand, began to get worse.

When we see calves that are born with cloudy eyes, we often want to test them for Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD).  This is a disease that affects almost every body system of an animal, causing oral lesions, pneumonia, diarrhea, poor growth and weight gain, reproductive failure, and abortion to name a few. If the mom has been infected with the disease while the fetus is 40-125 days in gestation, they may become persistently infected with the disease and shed exponential amounts of the virus to other cows on the farm. The cloudy eyes are one of the congenital lesions associated with in-utero infection.  “Friskie” was tested and was found to be BVD negative.

  

Knowing that she is BVD negative, we proceeded with the diagnosis of a congenital cataract. There are many things that can cause a congenital cataract. Unfortunately, without any other clinical signs in the cow or the calf, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause. “Friskie” was completely blind in the eye. She was eating and growing well, but the eye continued to get cloudier and even started to bulge. After watching her for a couple weeks, we decided it was best to completely remove the eye to prevent further pain, damage or rupture of the eye.

Because she was small, I opted to use gas anesthesia on her and completely sedate her. Once she was under anesthesia, I gave her some pain medicine in the vein, clipped and scrubbed the area around the eye and blocked around the eye with lidocaine. I then sutured her eyelids closed, and proceeded to cut all the surrounding muscles, ligaments and attachments of the eye. It comes out in one piece. Pressure is applied to stop the bleeding in the eye socket and then the remaining tissue surrounding the eye socket is sutured closed.  Caution, of course, must be taken when working with cows with only one eye as they have drastically limited vision, but they adapt very well to their surroundings and use their other senses (hearing and smell) to make up for their loss of vision.

Blocking around the eye with lidocaine

Cutting around the eyelids that are sutured closed

Removing the eye in one piece

The empty eye socket

Suturing the eye socket closed

The eye socket sutured closed

The removed eye

Angular deformity in Carpal Joint

Not only did “Friskie” have trouble with her eye, but when the owner dropped her off at the clinic, he mentioned that her right front leg still had an angular deformity to it. It was not broken, but the joint still had some laxity to it, that would cause the carpal joint to angle outward when she was bearing weight. After discussion with the owner, we decided to put a light cast on the leg to see if, as she grows, it would gain strength and correct with the support. I’ll remove the cast in two weeks to see if any progress has been made. If not, we may need to apply another splint for another 2 weeks or so, and see if it will correct.

Applying the Cast

Cast applied

I had a 4^th year veterinary student riding with me today, so of course he dissected the removed eye to see how thick the lens of the affected eye was. It was about 4x thicker than it should be and affected the entire lens of the eye. I think “Friskie” will feel much better in a few days with the eye removed.

Dissecting the eye

She was woken up from anesthesia and within 30 minutes was standing in her stall looking for a bottle of milk.  She went home on pain medication and antibiotics and will be rechecked within a week.

Happy Dairy Month!!!

June is Dairy Month and since it was a quiet week around the office, I thought I would write about some fun dairy facts this week.  How much of this did you already know???

There are 6 breeds of cows that are considered “Dairy Cows;” Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Brown Swiss and Milking Shorthorn.

o   Holsteins are the most popular cow in the United States. This breed originated in the Netherlands, where the Dutch bred black cattle from the Batavians with the white cattle of the Friesians, forming the known Holstein-Friesian breed. The first Holstein cow made US landfall in 1852 in Massachusetts.

o   Jerseys are the second most common dairy breed and originated from the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. Jerseys are known for their small, compact size, grazing ability, and the high butterfat content of their milk. They are the smallest breed and can produce up to 13 times their body weight in milk!

The six dairy breeds

o   Ayrshires originated from the County of Ayr in Scotland. They are red and white in color with the red being a bit darker than that of the Guernsey cow. The first import of Ayrshires was believed to be in 1822 in the state of Connecticut.

o   Guernseys are another breed of dairy cattle that is thought to have originated on the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel.  There is actually little known evidence to know how these cattle even made it to the Isle of Guernsey in the first place. It is suspected that there was multiple other “breeds” of cattle that were crossbred until the Guernsey breed established itself as a breed. These are the lightest red colored breed. In the earliest times, they were known for the rich golden color of the milk.  

o   Brown Swiss originated in Switzerland. The first US Brown Swiss was purchased in 1869 by a man in Belmont, MA.  These cattle are known for the excellent structure of their feet and legs and their overall sound body frame.  Also thought to have a dual purpose for meat, the Brown Swiss was officially declared a “dairy” breed in 1906.  

o   The Milking Shorthorn is considered a dual purpose cow- known for its meat and milk producing capabilities.  Shorthorns originated in Northeastern England and were first imported into the US in 1783. They are a versatile breed that is becoming more popular in the US. It has the darkest red coloring of all the breeds. 

-   A cow’s spots are like fingerprints, no two are the same. 

-   Cows only have one stomach but with 4 compartments; reticulum, rumen, abomasum, omasum. A cow’s rumen (the 2^nd compartment of the stomach) is as big as a 50 gallon drum!

·         Cows will drink up to 35 gallons of water a day depending on the outside temperature and how much milk she is making.  And she will consume that much in only 30 minutes a day!

-  Cows prefer to spend 12-14 hours a day lying down resting, at which time they only spend about 30 minutes truly sleeping. 

-  Cows will eat 9-14 meals a day and during those meals will eat up to 100 pounds of food!

-    Cows make up to 13 gallons of spit a day!

·         If a cow has twins; one female and one male, there is only about a 10% chance that the female will actually have the appropriate reproductive organs and hormones to have a baby herself one day. 

·         Cows have 3 eyelids; one on the top, one on the bottom and one in the corner by the nose.  Only the top and bottom eyelid have eyelashes. 

·         Cows have very poor depth perception. This is why when asking a cow to cross a gutter, they stop, lower their head, and focus on the true depth of the “Grand Canyon” they are about to jump over.

Flight zone of cattle.

·         Even though cows are one of the biggest domesticated species, they have the third smallest red blood cells! Cow red blood cells are smaller than dogs, pigs, cats and horses. They are only bigger than sheep and goats red blood cells. 

·         Because cows have eyes on the sides of their head, they are able to see about 345 degrees around their body. There is only about a 15 degree area, directly behind them, that is considered their “blind spot.”

·         Cows can hear lower volume sounds and higher frequencies better than humans, but are unable to identify the exact source of the noise as easily. 

Cows are such fascinating animals with such amazing abilities. I am so privileged to work with these amazing creatures every day! 

Remember, June is dairy month and July is Ice Cream Month, so having a bowl of your favorite ice cream every day is completely justified!!!!