Stock Health
Dr Shey Rogers from Nullaki Veterinary Services recently presented to the Wilson Inlet Growers Group (WIGG) on stock health. Coordinated by the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee, WIGG meets once every couple of month exploring different elements of sustainable agriculture.
Many people don’t know that Denmark’s rainfall nearly led to the ruin of our early dairy industry. Come to be known as the Denmark Wasting Disease in the 1930’s, thousands of years of high rainfall had leached some of our essential trace elements from our soils. Cobalt, Selenium and Copper in particular had to be replaced through a variety of means to make grazing in our coastal corridor a profitable venture. New Zealander’s solved the issue by feeding their stock finely ground iron (limonite). It was later found that it was fine traces of Cobalt in the Iron which was resolving the issue and not the Iron itself. While blood testing your stock is a valuable tool in determining if your animals are taking up essential nutrients, an observant farmer can usually pick up these deficiencies earlier with careful observation. Signs of a Cobalt deficiency are emaciation, poor appetite, anaemia and decreased milk production. Injections last 3 months so you must have them in 4 times a year. Pasture application may also be helpful however Shey prefers rumen bullets.
Signs of a Copper deficiencies are often unthriftness, diarrhoea and poor weight gain. This is often observed following the end of summer rains when the rapidly growing plant contains less Copper. Copper deficiencies can also be brought on by having an excess of other trace elements such as molybdenum. Proactive farmers will periodically carry out tissue testing of the pastures in Springtime to ensure their grass contains adequate trace elements. Trace elements in your pasture are best determined from tissue testing rather than soil testing.
Scouring is common this time of year caused by bacteria, viruses or the environment or a combination of the three. At first, they don’t feel well so the stop eating. Because they stop eating, they become hypoglycaemic meaning now they are not only not hungry, but they are unlikely to have the energy to drink even if they were able. The body operates on an equilibrium, when it has diarrhea, the equation is pushed to the right and unless you correct with electrolytes the diarrhea will continue and then they become dehydrated. From here the prognosis is poor.
Shey mentioned that one of first places to start to improve their ruminant’s health is in the stock yard. A properly located, functioning, shaded and drained yard goes a long way to easing tension amongst farmers and stock. While many farmers have learned to tolerate a dysfunctional yard this can often lead to increased anxiety and accidents amongst farmers and stock alike. Shey said that if a farmer is concerned about the health of their stock to contact their local vet.
WIGG is supported in part by funding as part of the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.
Many people don’t know that Denmark’s rainfall nearly led to the ruin of our early dairy industry. Come to be known as the Denmark Wasting Disease in the 1930’s, thousands of years of high rainfall had leached some of our essential trace elements from our soils. Cobalt, Selenium and Copper in particular had to be replaced through a variety of means to make grazing in our coastal corridor a profitable venture. New Zealander’s solved the issue by feeding their stock finely ground iron (limonite). It was later found that it was fine traces of Cobalt in the Iron which was resolving the issue and not the Iron itself. While blood testing your stock is a valuable tool in determining if your animals are taking up essential nutrients, an observant farmer can usually pick up these deficiencies earlier with careful observation. Signs of a Cobalt deficiency are emaciation, poor appetite, anaemia and decreased milk production. Injections last 3 months so you must have them in 4 times a year. Pasture application may also be helpful however Shey prefers rumen bullets.
Signs of a Copper deficiencies are often unthriftness, diarrhoea and poor weight gain. This is often observed following the end of summer rains when the rapidly growing plant contains less Copper. Copper deficiencies can also be brought on by having an excess of other trace elements such as molybdenum. Proactive farmers will periodically carry out tissue testing of the pastures in Springtime to ensure their grass contains adequate trace elements. Trace elements in your pasture are best determined from tissue testing rather than soil testing.
Scouring is common this time of year caused by bacteria, viruses or the environment or a combination of the three. At first, they don’t feel well so the stop eating. Because they stop eating, they become hypoglycaemic meaning now they are not only not hungry, but they are unlikely to have the energy to drink even if they were able. The body operates on an equilibrium, when it has diarrhea, the equation is pushed to the right and unless you correct with electrolytes the diarrhea will continue and then they become dehydrated. From here the prognosis is poor.
Shey mentioned that one of first places to start to improve their ruminant’s health is in the stock yard. A properly located, functioning, shaded and drained yard goes a long way to easing tension amongst farmers and stock. While many farmers have learned to tolerate a dysfunctional yard this can often lead to increased anxiety and accidents amongst farmers and stock alike. Shey said that if a farmer is concerned about the health of their stock to contact their local vet.
WIGG is supported in part by funding as part of the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.