Risk factors identified for respiratory disease

Dec 02, 2022

Calf health is a major focus for beef cow-calf producers and their veterinarians for good reason.

A recent paper in the journal, Translational Animal Science, highlights some of the findings from the western Canadian cow-calf surveillance network focusing on calf health issues. Dr. Cheryl Waldner and colleagues from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Calgary School of Veterinary Medicine and Big Sky Health Analytics in Vermilion, Alta., were the authors of the paper. The study used data from 89 western Canadian cow-calf herds to estimate the frequency of disease treatment in pre-weaned calves.

As we’ve seen in other studies, bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves has become the predominant reason for young calves to receive antibiotic treatments. Slightly more than half of the herds reported that they had treated at least one calf for BRD prior to two months of age.

Click here to see more...

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.