Blister Bug Poisoning

Sad to say this past weekend I had a horse die. We are not sure what happened but we went through a spell a few months ago where blister bugs were very very thick.

[1]

If a blister bug were to get into hay or feed and be eaten by an animal it could be a silent assassin [2]. There are a few ways to find out what happened but to spend that kind of money on a deceased horse isn’t worth the trouble or the expense.

[3]

When the animal eats the insect it can cause very intense ulcers in the stomach and intestines and will cause the animal not to eat; not eating will cause a rapid weight lose so if the animal were to recover from the insect  full recovery would be years down the road. If the animal is weighing less than it should other illnesses will set in and make the road to recovery even more vigorous. So the owner is pretty much in a no win situation. A few signs we had in this case was rapid weight loss, loss of appetite, and a combination of handing head on inactiveness.

A few tips [4] when feeding your animals; check your feeds you provide and check the hay you put out. A lot of times you will get a cut off hay during the thick movement off blister bugs, and when the hay is baled up, usually the bug will be swept up a baled. I think this was how my horse ingested the bug.  Also when you are feeding in any sort of trough, be sure to check for the bug. It is very easy to dump the feed and go on about your business, but if you animal gets a blister bug [5] you will wish you had paid attention.

 [1] Candee, Mary. "Close up bug shot." Photo. N.A. October 26, 2010. Retrieved form: http://brp-journal.blogspot.com/2009/06/more-adventures-with-texas-snowbell.html

[2]http://microvet.arizona.edu/AzVDL/infoAlerts/blisterBeetle.html

[3]

[4]http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef102.asp

[5]http://www.petmd.com/horse/conditions/digestive/c_hr_blister_beetle_poisoning

 [6]
N.A. “Danger symbol”Photo. Feb 15, 2006. October 26, 2010. Retrieved:

 http://www.sxc.hu/photo/468735

Is it True? You can decide.

Some people say that animals can sense [1] whether a storm is coming, or a climate change is in the works. I personally think that animals can tell, I think this because when we are getting ready for a winter storm we always have to search the hills of our pasture to find our cattle. Usually I will find our head in the southern most part of our land in low spots with tall hills and many shrubs. I know if I were an animal and I could sense a bad storm blowing in, I would try to find cover from the northern wind!

   [2]

“Plenty of studies have shown that some animals can sense major changes in the weather. Worms, for instance, are known to flee rising groundwater. Birds are known to be sensitive to air pressure changes, and often hunker down before a big storm. In Florida, researchers studying tagged sharks say they flee to deeper water just before a big hurricane arrives. They also may be sensing the air and water pressure changes caused by the big storm.” (Can animals predict disaster?) Studies have shown that animals can predict the weather. Stranger behavior in your animals gives away that there could be some sort of weather disturbance [3] coming in.

[4]

In addition, I have noticed even though the winter months are not here yet, animals start growing a thicker coat. This is an obvious sign that some sort of cooling in the temperature is in the near future. I have noticed already that many of our horses’ coats have been thickening every week and now in this week’s forecast[5] there is going to be a strong cold front moving in to the area  a cooling things down quite a bit! So from my horses’ coat, I have concluded that yes, animals can predict the weather! So pay attention to your animals they are smarter than you think.

[6]

[1]http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/can-animals-predict-disaster/tall-tales-or-true/131/

[2] Cybastean. “Cattle and looming storm.” June 16, 2007. October 19, 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybastean/561411522/

[3]http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=339644

 [4] Auto News. “weather map.” March 13, 2007. October 19, 2010 retrieved from http://www.blowupmyride.com/?page_id=4

[5]http://www.weather.gov/

[6] Mitchell, E. “Worlds ugliest dogs”. 2008. October 19, 2010. Retrieved from: http://blog.seattlepi.com/filmhound/month.asp?blogmonth=6/1/200

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind

Wind it is an Ac in the summer and a nightmare in the winter! The wind has always been a major issue in the central U.S. The wind can have a major influence on the way winter crops and cattle produce. If the wind is blowing hard like it normally does,  and you have just planted your wheat, the top soil will blow off along  with the seed you paid for; Not a good thing! In addition, if you have a winter storm blow in and the wind is howling you can lose cattle in a white out or they could freeze; not a good thing either.

[1]

Sheltering cattle through the winter can be a very tough and tiresome job. Cowboys rarely get sleep in this time because usually the operation is calving out first time heifers. First time heifers are cattle that have not been calved out and 90% of the time, cannot have the calf by themselves. Therefore, the hands have to do a check every hour depending on how close the heifers are. The wind can be a major problem to a newborn calf. The calf just being born will have after birth left, which will freeze and cause pneumonia and can very easily kill the calf.

[2]

When the wind is up and the rainfall is down many wheat pasture crops a blown out and the rancher is out of ground for the winter. The solution to this problem is either sell your heard or find more pasture that isn’t gone and try to lease the country, but most of the time if you lose your pasture you probably won’t have the funds to lease more wheat ground. You probably did not think wind could do so much costly damage for a rancher. So next time the wind is up think of the hard workers trying to keep their lively hood running and give them a few prayers. This is what every rancher prays fore!

[3]

[1]Leiker, Dave. “ Black cattle.”Photo. Kansasphotos.com5Febuary 2009. October 11, 2010. Retrieved fromhttp://kansasphotos.com/wp/2009/02/page/46/

[2]Amateur Photo. “Newborn calf.” Amateurphotoart.com October 13, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.amateurphotoart.com/pics.asp?pCat=farm&crntPage=2&oldPageNbr=1&maxPageNbr=8

[3]Zadelew. “white cattle heard on wheat pasture.” April 29, 2006. October 13, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/59526103@N00/137649071/

 

Good Stuff!

Have you ever wondered what kinds of minerals you should have out for the season you’re in, the age of your cattle heard, or for the drought/ wet period. There are many different types of minerals you can put out so many I won’t mention them all, but I will mention the minerals that we keep out on our operation. During the summer we usually keep out high magnesium loose mineral. This mineral helps protect from nitrate poisoning. Nitrate poisoning is cause from the animal consuming too much nitrogen from the soil. We had a bad case of nitrate poisoning go through our herd this summer. We lost six head of cattle in two days. Not Good. We lost an estimated $7200. That was a big boo boo for us! At first we didn’t know exactly what was happening, we got with our local vet we use, he had us draw fluid from behind the retina. The reason for us drawing fluid from that location was because if the animal has died of nitrogen poisoning the only trace of the sickness will be found in the fluid. It came back positive for nitrate poisoning [1], so we put out high magnesium mineral quick fast and in a hurry! 

     

[2]

There are many ways you can provide cattle with mineral. Feeds you buy, mineral blocks, loose mineral, and the grass you have them on. For our operation we use loose mineral, salt blocks and 20% protein cake.

[3]

We like to make sure the nutrition is there when the animal needs it. This brings me back to the point that animals rely on us to survive, and if we fall short on the job then the profit will not be what it could be.  Be sure to pay attention to farm sources out there to find what is best for you and the animal you’re feeding. We stay on top of drover’s journal and Texas monthly to get what we need. Also pay attention to the weather [4] it plays a big part in your animals’ lives!

Stockade Brands[6-1-2008] High magnesium mineral. Stockade Brands. Retrieved from:http://www.stockadebrands.com/products.cfm?productID=47&cat=9           

Pet and animal Hardware store [2009] Mineral block. Hardware store. Retrieved from

http://farm-and-pet.hardwarestore.com/110-614-dairy-and-beef-supplements.aspx

Eiker, Kerri. [1-2-10] winter journals. Goose creek farm. Retrieved from

http://goose-creek-farm.com/2010/01/winter-journals/

AccuWeather. (n.d.). Forecast. Retrieved from

http://www.accuweather.com/us/-999/city-weather-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0