Keeping cows and cattle disease free is more of a daunting task than what it appears to be at first glance. It must be remembered that no animal can be kept disease free--any animal is apt to get sick at anytime, however there are things that can be done to minimize the chance of your animals getting sick or coming in contact with a disease that will cost you in more ways than one.
Steps
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Obtain and/or maintain health records. This is crucial for knowing the disease history of your animals and what vaccinations or medications they have received upon first purchase. Keep these handy for your entire herd and keep records for each individual animal, if applicable.
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Vaccinate regularly. Certain vaccinations exist in your area for the most prevalent diseases. The most common may be Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR), Clostridial diseases (blackleg, red-water disease), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV, including shipping fever and pneumonia), Leptospirosis, Brucellosis and others. A few diseases in your area may not have vaccinations available, so be aware of what those diseases are and what can be done to prevent your animals from coming into contact with them.
- Vaccinations come in either killed or modified live form. Whichever you choose to use depends on your animals, especially with the reproductive stage of your cows and age of your calves.
- Time vaccinations according to how close to calving your cows are and the time of year they are going off or coming on to pasture.
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Quarantine new animals. New animals must be quarantined or kept separate from your existing herd for at least a week or as long as your veterinarian recommends as a means to reduce risk of disease spread and to enable testing of new animals for communicable and contagious diseases that may affect your herd.Advertisement
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Tips
- Always read the label with any vaccinations. Your veterinarian will also be able to give you tips on when, where and how to vaccinate your animals regularly.Thanks
- Ask your veterinarian for the diseases that are most prevalent in your area and what you should be vaccinating for. What may be common in your area may not be so in another.Thanks
- Minimize stress. Pay close attention to signs that the animals are stressed, whether from overcrowding, environmental conditions, or other factors. Stressed animals are more likely to get sick.Thanks
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Warnings
- Never assume any of your animals or your herd is going to stay disease free for as long as you are going to be raising them. There will always be a chance of one or more of your animals coming down with an illness.Thanks
- If you are keeping a closed herd (no animals coming in, just going out), don't assume that not vaccinating is going to keep them disease-free. If you do, a disease may hit at an unsuspected time where most of your herd will get ill or have to be euthanized.Thanks
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