April Newsletter
PLEASE WELCOME NEW STAFF
Next time you come into the clinic, you may see a new face at the front desk and another new face working with the animals. We are happy to introduce to you two new team members at Lancaster Vet Clinic.
Debbie Smith from Cassville is our new full time front desk person. She has a friendly face and a smile that comes to you right through the phone. Debbie loves cats.
Megan Stewart is our new full time certified veterinary technician. A certified vet tech is an animal nurse/lab tech who has completed a two year college program and passed a licensing exam. Megan lives in Boscobel with her bearded dragon (ask for a picture!).
Please welcome our new members and be patient while they get more comfortable with the computer, phone system, and where things are in the building.
Cassie Lowe will no longer be working front desk full time, but she will still be grooming and filling in. Please continue to call the clinic for grooming appointments with her. She does a great job. We wish Tabby Grundahl, CVT, all the best at her full time job at Menard’s. We appreciate her years of service here at the clinic.
POLYFLEX ON BACKORDER
Polyflex, Boehringer Ingelheim’s injectable ampicillin product, has been in short supply for a while, but now is on backorder. We were able to get some of the generic injectable ampicillin, but now that is on backorder, too.
Please call if you have questions about which antibiotic to use in which situation with your cattle. We have options!
GOAT MEETING IN MAY
The next meeting of the goat group will be at the clinic at noon on Thursday, May 17. Sally will be discussing the “Big Three””Johne’s, Caseous Lymphadenitis, and Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis, plus answering whatever questions producers have.
This goat group has been a great time for producers to share information and solutions as well as ask questions. If you have never come before, YOU ARE WELCOME! We have a friendly group of goat people who range from just having started milking to milking for over 12 years.
Sally is working on getting a tour of the Saputo plant arranged for that day, too. She will let you know. Be sure to come regardless for lunch and lots of useful information!
LOTS OF SCOURS IN BEEF CALVES
The crazy cold and snow and wind that we had in April was really hard on the newborn beef calves. We hope that the sunshine and drier ground now will help get the sick ones going and keep the new ones healthy.
The most important factor in preventing beef calf scours is making sure that the calves get up and nurse right away to get colostrum within the first 6 hours of birth. If you have a weak calf, you can milk out the cow and tube feed the calf colostrum or use one of the bags of dried colostrum replacer. Once 12 hours pass, the calf’s ability to absorb antibodies is nearly gone.
Treating beef calf scours can be a challenge. Some of the calves this spring have been weak enough to need IV fluids at the clinic. If they are still standing, you can tube feed electrolytes while leaving the calf on the cow to continue nursing. The electrolytes that we sell have good gut bugs in them, so you are helping restore normal digestion. Some calves need antibiotic treatment, but most of the baby calf scours are either viral or crypto which do not respond to antibiotics.
Please call if you are struggling to keep your calves healthy. We can take fecal samples to test or post one that has died to know what diseases you are fighting and what you need to do.
BED PACKS BUILT UP
Now is the time to get those bed packs cleaned out and get some fresh air to your calves! Did you know that a 150# calf produces 2 gallons of urine per day? And where does that go? Into the bed pack, even if your pens are well sloped and draining.
We have been seeing a lot of sick calves this spring from being penned up still on ammonia bed packs thanks to the crazy weather. Those calves’ noses are down sucking in the worst air when they are sleeping. The ammonia and hydrogen sulfate burns their respiratory tract and allows viruses and bacteria to stick and cause pneumonia.
DO FECAL TEST FIRST
We have been pleased with the Egg McMaster fecal test for eggs per gram that we have been doing on large animal fecals in addition to the float and direct tests. Please bring in a sample to do this test BEFORE you deworm your small ruminants or horses. That way we will know if they even need deworming and which product(s) you should use.
The most important thing to remember is that we are not necessarily trying to have parasite free animals, but animals that are healthy and not being set back by a heavy parasite load.
TICKS ARE TERRIBLE THIS SPRING
We have been hearing lots of complaints and seeing LOTS of ticks on animals at the clinic. People are also finding ticks on themselves after being out in the woods for only a short time.
The Seresto flea and tick collars for dogs and cats work great to kill and repel both fleas and ticks. These collars contain compounds that are released slowly over 8 months. We also have the oral Bravecto product that kills both fleas and ticks if you don’t want to have a collar on your pet.
We have a pour-on product that works to repel and kill ticks on horses. We have been seeing a lot of ticks on horses this spring. Horses can get diseases from ticks, such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Ticks that suck blood from your horse will also bite you, so wear protective clothing and check yourself after being in the woods.
SAVE THE DATE!
Our annual Client Appreciation Party will be on Friday July 27 from 3-7 pm. We will have food and fun and door prizes and lots of things for kids to do. We will have food and activities in a tent on the south lawn, so everything will be easy to find. We may even have some special visitors from the Humane Society! Bring the whole family!