NEXT MILKING GOAT MEETING

Do you have questions about your milking goats? Have you come up with a solution to a problem in your herd? Would you like to meet some of the other people in the area who are milking goats? Then come to our Fall Milking Goat Meeting. Everyone is welcome, whether you have been to some or none of the meetings we have had over the last two years.

The meeting will be held at the clinic on Thursday September 12th from noon to 2 pm. We will be meeting in the back of the clinic building in the garage. Lunch will be served at noon and the program will start at 12:30, but don’t worry about coming late. You are welcome to come anytime.

Sally will talk about the RAMP (Risk Assessment and Management Plan) for Johne’s disease in goats. She will also have information on the FARM program and talk about animal testing questions that came up at the fair this year.

These meetings have been a great opportunity for you to can ask questions and discuss solutions amongst producers. We realize that every operation is different and we are all working to get better. Please come with your challenges, successes, frustrations and solutions. Ideas that you have might help someone else.

Please invite your friends and neighbors who might be interested. RSVP by Monday September 9 so we can get a head count for lunch.
 

BLOOMINGTON SALE BARN RECOMMENDATIONS

We have not gotten notice of new changes in the vaccination recommendations for weaned beef calves at Bloomington Sale Barn:

• Bovishield Gold 5 (5 way viral)
• Ultrabac 7 (7 way blackleg)
• One Shot (pasteurella)
• Somnus (hemophilus)

The calves should be vaccinated at least 30 days before the sale date. Anything vaccinated 7-21 days before the sale date may not respond to the vaccines due to moving stress and will not bring as high a bid. We can give you a verification of vaccination if you get the products from us.

The sale barn advises against implanting calves. Unless you are finishing the calves yourself, you will not get the return on the implants. Buyers would rather implant their calves on arrival.

Calves should be dewormed before the sale with a pour-on or injectable product.

Please ask if you have questions about how to get the best price for your calves when you take them to Bloomington or any other sale barn.
 

HEAT AND HUMIDITY CHALLENGES

Making dry hay has been about impossible this summer and now the flooding, humidity and heat are causing health issues for cattle. If you have been seeing lots of pinkeye, mastitis and pneumonia in your animals, you are not alone.

The real key to preventing these problems is keeping things clean and dry and barns well ventilated. Even bringing in hot, humid air from outside helps because ammonia levels are lower, bacteria counts are less and air is moving to help evaporative cooling. You cannot have too much air moving when it comes to animals. Keep these additional factors in mind when dealing with pinkeye:

• Clip tall grass in the pasture to prevent eye irritation.
• Treat at the first sign of watery eyes. Don’t wait till they’re red.
• If possible, keep affected animals out of the sun for about a week.
• Fly prevention blocks and pinkeye mineral can help.
• Pinkeye will continue to be a problem through the fall and winter even though the flies are gone if your cattle have Moraxella bovoculi

Good nutrition with adequate trace minerals is necessary to keep your cattle’s immune systems strong and able to respond to vaccines and fight off infection. Vaccinations can help prevent pinkeye and mastitis and pneumonia, but they have to be given to healthy cattle before the problems show up. You can give the Multi-Min vitamin supplement when vaccinating calves to give them an immune system boost and better response to the vaccines.

Please talk to Sally about pinkeye treatment options. We have been seeing resistance to tetracycline in some cases.
 

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FAIR PARTICIPANTS

The weather was nice for the fair this year along with the few required raindrops and everything looked great. Thanks to all the livestock entries that remembered to bring their animal ID and health paperwork. It made things easier at check-in. Sally was happy to buy a goat ata the livestock auction. Jill and Kristin’s kids did great on their projects. We appreciate all the work that goes into making the fair successful.
 

FECAL INFORMATION HELPFUL

Sally and Andrea have been working with a variety of animals with diarrhea recently”goats, cattle, horses, sheep. These cases can be frustrating because the animals are losing weight and not doing well, but you don’t know why.

The best sample to start with to figure out a diagnosis is a fresh stool sample. We run the tests at the clinic to look for coccidia, protozoa and worm eggs. Depending on what we find on those tests, we may need to send the sample in to the diagnostic lab to test for viruses and bacteria.

Once we have a diagnosis, we can make an effective treatment plan. It does not do any good to spend money on dewormers, for example, when your goat or horse has giardia or to treat with Corid unless you know the animal has coccidia. Often, they have more than one parasite that each needs a different medication.
 

CAT CASTRATION CLINIC COMING UP

This year’s annual Cat Castration Clinic will be held from 7-noon on Saturday October 12, the Saturday after the Harvest Fest parade. Last year, we did nearly 400 cats! The reception/waiting area will be in the garage. We have a great crew lined up to make things run as efficiently as possible.

On October 12^th, we will anesthetize and castrate for free any male cat brought to the clinic. We will not be doing female cats nor male dogs. Vaccinations and deworming will be available at regular prices. We will not be doing any declawing procedures during the free cat clinic.

Please take advantage of this opportunity to have your male cats castrated. They will be much better pets. You will also be helping to cut down on the feral cat population which is responsible for spreading diseases like feline leukemia and ear mites and for killing song birds.

Please call if you have any questions. Cats are taken care of on a first-come, first-served basis. Cat must be in a carrier or box. Plan on waiting till your cat is done to take it home right away. Everyone is welcome, so tell all your friends and neighbors to come, too.
 

LA300 STILL BACKORDERED

We do not expect to have LA300 off backorder any time soon. We do have LA200 back on the shelf now instead. Remember that you need to use more LA200”5 to 7 ml per 100 lbs bodyweight”compared to the LA300 at 3-5 ml/100# BW. Also the LA200 needs to be repeated in 72 hours. Draxxin is a good alternative to avoid the repeat dosing.