Unit 3 - Feedlot Animal Health Protocols

Question 1

What is the role of the veterinarian on the feedyard?

Answer 1

Population medicine and consultation

Question 2

What is the focus of population medicine?

Answer 2

What is best for the herd - less emphasis on individual response to treatment

Question 3

What do veterinarians consult with feedyards about?

Answer 3

Teaching and training
BQA and animal welfare
Data analysis

Question 4

What are the main 3 causes of illness in the feedyard?

Answer 4

Bovine respiratory disease
Lameness
Metabolic

Question 5

What are some of the other causes of illness in the feedyard?

Answer 5

Other respiratory issues - diphtheria and honkers
Abscesses
Ear infections
Prolapses
Calvers
Bullers or Riders
Brainers

Question 6

What bovine respiratory diseases commonly affect the feedyard?

Answer 6

BRD, Pneumonia, and respys

Question 7

Bovine respiratory disease makes up ____% of the pulls and ____% of all deads.

Answer 7

80%; 50%

Question 8

What can cause lameness in a feedyard?

Answer 8

Foot rot, hairy heel warts, arthritis, injury, and toe lesions

Question 9

What can cause metabolic disease in the feedyard?

Answer 9

Bloat, acidosis, coccidiosis, and acute interstitial pneumonia

Question 10

What does DART stand for?

Answer 10

D - Depression
A - Anorexia
R - Respiratory character
T - Temperature

What to observe for when evaluating calves

Question 11

What is a PTI?

Answer 11

Post-treatment Interval - how many days after treatment are we going to give the animal to recover before we treat them again

Question 12

What is the purpose of IDing an animal after treatment?

Answer 12

To show that they have been treated and to show when they are eligible to be treated again

Question 13

Bovine respiratory disease will peak with high risk cows around when?

Answer 13

Days 10-15

Question 14

When should most BRD pulls come?

Answer 14

Before 60 days on feed

Question 15

Bovine respiratory disease is a manifestation of multiple problems. What are they?

Answer 15

Issue with cattle source
Vaccine failure
Antibiotic failure
Feed/water intake issues
Weather

Question 16

T/F: A cow can be treated with the same antibiotic that it was treated with metaphylactically when it arrived on the feedyard.

Answer 16

False - it won’t work

Question 17

How many times should you treat a calf with antibiotics before you move it to the pen?

Answer 17

Treat for 3x and if it does not respond it is time

Question 18

What ancillary therapy can be given to combat bovine respiratory disease?

Answer 18

Flunixin Meglumine
Vitamin C
Viral vaccine
Others - dexamethasone, lasix, and oral fluids

Question 19

T/F: Antibiotics don’t cure calves.

Answer 19

True - antibiotics keep calves alive long enough for the immune system to work

Question 20

Treatment failure of bovine respiratory disease is usually not failure of the drug but a failure of what?

Answer 20

Management or immunity

Question 21

T/F: All lameness is due to footrot in one way or another.

Answer 21

False - tis not

Question 22

What typically causes arthritis in feedlot cattle?

Answer 22

Mycoplasma bovis

Question 23

What is the go to treatment for footrot?

Answer 23

Tetracycline

Question 24

What conditions are associated with atypical interstitial pneumonia?

Answer 24

Long days on feed and other metabolic disorders (predispose)

Question 25

What does acidosis occur in conjunction with?

Answer 25

BRD

Question 26

After you see white caps in the yard, what will you see a few days after?

Answer 26

Respiratory pulls

Question 27

What factors make a chronic a chronic?

Answer 27

Number of treatments Severity of disease Condition of the animal

Question 28

T/F: Chronics are a huge welfare issue

Answer 28

True

Question 29

Why is the chronic pen so important?

Answer 29

Calves are not going to compete in a pen full of happy calves so you need to separate them - they need a place with a lot of room to recover

Question 30

What are potential destinations for chronics?

Answer 30

Euthanasia Chronic pen Realizer buyer Restart

Question 31

What is the purpose of tracking animal health?

Answer 31

To answer the question 'Is what we are doing working?'

Question 32

How is pull rate calculated?

Answer 32

(# of calves pulled) / (# of calves received)

Question 33

How is chronic rate calculated?

Answer 33

(# of chronic calves) / (# of calves received)

Question 34

How is death loss calculated?

Answer 34

(# of dead calves) / (# of calves received)

Question 35

How is disease pull rate calculated?

Answer 35

(# of calves pulled for disease) / (# of calves received)

Question 36

How is disease chronic rate calculated?

Answer 36

(# of chronic calves from disease ) / (# of calves received)

Question 37

How is disease death loss calculated?

Answer 37

(# of calves died from disease) / (# of calves received)

Question 38

How is case fatality rate calculated?

Answer 38

(# of calves died after treatment) / (Total # of calves treated)

Question 39

How is 1st Tx success calculated?

Answer 39

((# Calves only treated once) - (# Calves died after treatment)) / Total # Calves Treated

Question 40

What is the benchmark for dead:pulls?

Answer 40

10-15%

Question 41

What is the benchmark for chronics:deads?

Answer 41

1:1 or 1:2

Question 42

What is the benchmark for first treatment success?

Answer 42

70-80% | high risk on the 70% edge

Question 43

If your percentage is too low from the first treatment success benchmark, what should your next step be?

Answer 43

New treatment

Question 44

If your percentage is too high from the first treatment success benchmark, what should is likely happening?

Answer 44

Over treating

Question 45

What is the benchmark for case fatality rate?

Answer 45

5-10% 5% - low risk better be lower High risk you should be nervous if its higher than 10%

Question 46

What are the most important calves to necropsy?

Answer 46

Pen deads, deads within 7 days of arrival, and if you are unsure of the diagnosis

Question 47

Why are necropsies important for respiratory disease deaths?

Answer 47

Not all respiratory disease is created equal - duration, orientation, % of lung affected, cause/etiology