Snow mold

[Ruken]

Well we've been blessed with a good season so far. Just finished the first cycle and looks like we're at 80% calved. We too have had a lot of snow mold this year and my poor wife has had a tough time. Calves are ok though. My best guess for the weak calves is the selenium thing. Is there a blood test that can be taken to know for sure?

[littledoggie]

Sorry for the delay in responding to some of the questions and comments.
We start our calving season after the middle of April. The weather has been cooler then normal, but not cold. The snow was slow to go, but when it finally started to go it went fast. There has been no really bad weather like snowstorms or high winds, which we know can cause problems.
We cull for bad bags - not an issue.
As for selenium, consistent offerings of quality minerals is the norm on our farm. These calves are not weak. Our protocol is to give a shot of MU-SE to calves that fail to nurse in a timely fashion, or are weak. We also get some colostrum into the calf ASAP if they are not getting on the teat.
We fail to find a reason for this problem. But what we have noticed is a really high amount of snow mold, which is usually gone by the time we calve.
Grassfarmer, I don't disagree with a lot of what you say, except for the comments about minerals. It has been our experience that the cow's requirements for minerals prior to calving is hugely important. When there has been bad weather (rain/snow/high winds) that prevented us from keeping up with the minerals, there were always problems almost immediately afterwards with newborns. Once the mineral offerings were resumed as normal, the problems disappeared. But that isn't the case this year. The snow mold is what is different. And the reason for this post - to see if anyone else has noticed a relation to it.

[Ruken]

littledoggie, we've had lots of snow mold this year as well without problems to the calves vigor, ask your vet if a blood test will reveal anything, If so, do 10 weak calves and 10 calves that were strong and compare.

[kato]

Isn't it amazing how a thread can get off track?

Wouldn't snow mould be more likely to cause respiratory problems? Apparently that's what it does to people. Just a guess.

[jensend]

if selenium deficiency is the problem would a shot to a newborn do any good? we always figured we had to get it into the cow a while before birth to make it effective.

[Ruken]

jensend, a shot of selenium would do the trick in the case of se deficiency, although it would have to absorb into the animal quite quickly to get it to suck on time, which likely is not the immediate answer. If you are prepared to fiddle with the calf for a day or so, that might then be the solution. Is there an intervenous product that would hasten the absorbtion?

[SADIE]

littledoggie---
back to your original question---snow mold effect in cattle. I try to keep up to the literature on the bovine animal and haven't seen or heard anything in the veterinary field.

Mold--like the name relates to "fungus" and the only "fungal" issues that come to mind immediately is "mycotic abortions" and then there is the "ringworm".

Just by reading your first thread you appear to be a very good miticulous herd manager of your cattle herd. I asked what I would have asked any producer presenting a problem to practitioner----1) are you covered for the vaccination IBR, PI3 BVD.---you are and you are using one of the top two products as far as efficacy (IMHO).

Kato brought out the concept of Vit E & SE----I didn't want to introduce another "needle" . The key function with the needle compared to the feeding in the ration is to get the right Vit E SEl balance into the dam so that it reached the newborn calf "Intra-uterine" so the calf is born "non-deficent in Vit E & SE.

GF--Your solution Putnbulzoutlater treatment. My herd is involved in two community pastures. This was discussed at the last biannual meeting and the democratic vote was to maintain a June 1 turn-out date to those patrons.

Sometimes one has to work with the parameters they have in each of their operations.

Some producers that have gone to much later calving dates in this area are sure scrambling to purchase replacement females now that are that month or so older to replace their females.

Manpower comes into play also with later calving when mixed with seeding time in mixed operations. Chalice mentioned the "boo" through checking the calving cow-herd.

My 20 years in practice those calvings and related work with calves that are in late May and June ---when there is a wreck--you really run into a wreck.

All of us agrivillers are finding a balance that works for each of our own unique situations.

[littledoggie]

FYI - upon further investigation, here is what we found out and had not initially considered. We live in the Peace Country where we have had 4 years of drought. When there is drought, Vitamin A is leached from pastures and consequently from hay, and apparently greenfeed is especially affected. A deficiency in Vitamin A can lead to dumb calves. The minerals that we use contain 600,000 IU/kg (and 30mg/kg of selenium which the Peace Country is deficient in). It was a hard winter, very little sun and a lot of snow. Keeping minerals in front of the cows was a bit of a challenge - obviously we could use better mineral feeders that keep out the wind and snow/rain. The cows are constantly destroying the mineral feeders that we have had, so we have gone back to using a box on the ground or a bunk feeder for delivery. The vet recommended a shot of Vit A/D to the newborns, but the response will be slow. We are keeping mineral in front of the cows at all times and should see a response in the newborns if this is indeed the problem.

[grassfarmer]

Littledoggie why would Vit A get leached from pastures during a drought? that doesn't make any sense to me. Leaching implies washed out which is less likely to happen in a drought and as grass production falls due to lack of moisture the mineral, vitamin and nutrient content of grass tends to increase as you are producing less volume off the same nutrient base. Vitamin A may be your problem but I don't see the link to drought.

[greybeard]

As I understand it there is no Vit A in the ground or even in the plant. Green plants contain more beta carotene that is converted by the animal to Vit A. The old Dehy industry was largely based on that as there was some reason the Japanese had to use natural products to make the egg yolks yellow.
They had to harvest quickly or the carotene levels dropped quickly as the swath bleached.
Green grass solves all your problems but you can buy bags of AD&E from feed suppliers. I mix it with the Hi SE salt that I use. Just figure how many cow days per bag and adjust.
Try get 120mg selenium salt and use it instead of blue salt if you are selenium deficient. Beats trying to needle all those calves. Too many injection site abscesses around here. Quit all that when I quit the great white bulls. Got to old and slow for that.

[SADIE]

little doggie--your case (post) presentation enhanced a good review of "weak Calf syndrome" that can happen in a cow herd.

As calving season winds down (for those of us that do not calve in May and June)It was a usefull check to review what might want to be done for next calving season.

Before we leave this post one has to also consider the "scour vaccine" useage in the cow-herd also. Yep it is another management "needle"---Crutch that is out there. Over the years the acute scour ---"calves born with it" weak and don't even show scour conditions. Just review that also with your vet little doggie.

Grey beard--great presentation on the mineral supplementation that you use. Just like you commented I too don't use the "white bull" any longer.

[littledoggie]

"Leach" was the wrong word. The point was that there may be a deficiency in Vitamin A in the feed and the pasture due to drought, however that happens. We've been pouring the minerals to the cows and the problem seems to have corrected itself.