Plugged teats

[littledoggie]

grassfarmer, I don't understand how you can equate using less mineral to lower calf losses. We participated in the Western Canada Beef Productivity study and it is was determined through calf post-mortems that Vit E deficiency was the culprit for "weak calf syndrome". Vit E deficiency was the most important finding from this area. We tend to feed longer in the north, and Vit E disappears from stored feed as time goes on. I would sure like to hear from the vets that comment on this forum if Vit E deficiency is also related to plugged teats.

[grassfarmer]

All I was saying was that I don't buy into the high
priced minerals being necessary. More often than not
minerals are not the weakest link despite what sellers
of minerals will tell you. I suppose we had "weak calf"
syndrome once about 20 years ago due to acute
Copper shortage but I don't find the mineral
challenges in western Canada to be significant.

We assist around 2% of cows a year for calving
difficulty/suckling issues combined. Very rarely do we
treat a calf for scours. Last year we treated a total of
1 calf with antibiotic from birth to weaning stage - it
had a knee joint infection, likely as a result of being
stood on.

At risk of waking up Monsanto Man I'll share my
theory on our mineral situation which isn't
scientifically proven. Because of the way we graze and
the type of cattle that are adapted to our system our
cows are probably accessing way more minerals than
the average cow that gets everything hauled to her.
My cows relish eating thistles, willow shoots and
numerous other "untraditional" species and through
that they are accessing minerals from a deeper zone.
This is a natural solution that comes about when your
cows are more balanced with their environment. You
can't keep cows hungry and force them to eat what
others consider weeds but if you keep cows in really
good forage conditions they will diversify their diet
and move their health to a higher level. Not sure how
sound science would explain that?

[littledoggie]

grassfarmer, I appreciate your comments although we are not in an environment that allows us to do what you do. We have way too many deer/elk in the area which has forced us to roll up our feed and put it in a protective compound. That leaves us with mineral supplementation.

We do not have scours. We do not vaccinate for scours. It's the management that makes this a non-issue for us.

The bottom line is we must all manage our herds in relation to the environment that we live in (soil type, weather conditions, type of operation - for example we have a "closed herd" aside from bulls, land base, etc.)

I still am curious though as to what causes plugged teats.

[wilagro]

GOOGLE "plugged teats in cows" and many answers will appear just like MAGIC.

[greybeard]

You can vitamin mix in 10 kg bags. 1000 cow days bag for less than $40.
Couple of bags will boost your cows thu caving.

[littledoggie]

Thanks for the info - a computer illiterate such as myself would never have thought to "google" it!