Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd Newsletter Fall 2006 Second Issue November 8 th, 2006

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1 Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd Newsletter Fall 2006 Second Issue November 8 th, 2006 Red s Corner By: Red (of course) One of the nicest surprises of my retirement has been becoming the lead cow for the dry cow/pregnant heifer herd! My status is symbolized by the cow bell around my neck and as Dave drives by on his skid loader, my bell reminds him to fill the green feeder with grain. I ring it in anticipation of us going over to the lactating herd lot to finish off their leftover hay. We get to eat from both the red and green feeders! Oh! I almost forgot about the new hay wagon in the pasture. Now we have hay wagons in both the pasture and the dirt lot adjacent to the turkey barn. This allows me to get plenty of hay by lying next to each hay wagon and preventing all the other cows and heifers from eating on my side. This also lets me to get plenty of rest while I am eating as you all know I need my beauty rest as I am now 8 years old. Lastly, I enjoy the benefit of eating small, frequent meals so I can digest well and ruminate continuously. On a different note, I also appreciate everyone's concern for me this summer when I had an injured knee and I was laying down a lot on my side with the right knee up. There were a number of people that thought I was close to death and I am grateful for the concern, all the 911 calls to Dr. Bill, and the attempt to move me into the milking herd barn that failed. Fortunately, Dr. Bill knew the easiest way to move me is with food. I got right up and followed that red bucket of grain to the barn. I was even lucky enough to get a full tub of grain and protein once I got to the box stall. Dr. Bill then gave me some special aspirin-otodolac-20 tablets daily and by the third day I felt like a heifer. I have been sound on that leg ever since. Well that is all for now and by the way, any time any of you come out to see the dry cows and heifers please wait a little longer by the fence. It takes me a while to come over compared to my heifer friends but I still want to get the sweet spot behind my poll scratched.

2 Support for Dr. Allenstein Benefits the Teaching Herd His friends and colleagues are rallying to honor Dr. Leland Allenstein, a longtime Wisconsin veterinary practitioner who has devoted a lifetime of caring and teaching to the dairy industry. The goal is to endow the School of Veterinary Medicine s dairy teaching herd in his name. With a $1 million endowment, the herd will be funded in perpetuity, guaranteeing that future generations of veterinarians will continue to have the opportunity to experience first-hand what it s like to work up-close and personal with a dairy herd. It s a fitting honor for a veterinarian who loved teaching and sharing knowledge. In addition to running a dairy practice in Whitewater, Wisconsin, Dr. Allenstein wrote for Hoard s Dairyman, was chief veterinarian for World Dairy Expo, taught students at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, and served on the American Association of Bovine Practitioners board. To donate, contact the School s Office for Advancement at 608/ Clinician s Corner By: Keith Poulsen Resident, Large Animal Internal Medicine Grace, a six year old Holstein entering her 5 th lactation, presented to the VMTH a few weeks ago with a 12 hour history of dystocia. Our theriogenologist and famed tennis and hockey player, Dr. Harry Momont, examined Grace the previous evening and diagnosed her with a uterine torsion. Known as the tamest heifer in Charmany history, Grace underwent standing surgery for correction of the torsion and removal of the calf via cesarean section. Surgery was uneventful, and to everyone s surprise, a live heifer calf (Gizmo) was delivered. Grace has since returned to the milking herd and according to Dr. Bill Goodger is as cantankerous as ever. [Just in case... cantankerous is an adjective that describes a noun to be disagreeable to deal with, contentious, or peevish. I had to look it up and I don t know what peevish means.] Uterine torsions are a common complication of This isn t Gizmo but she sure is cute pregnancy in the cow in comparison with other domestic animals, writes Dr. Momont in his article Bovine reproductive emergencies published in the November 2005 edition of the Veterinary Clinics of North America, Emergency Medicine and Critical Care of Cattle. Torsions are usually diagnosed at term when examining the cow for dystocia but can rarely occur in mid-gestation when the cow may present with colic like

3 symptoms. Diagnosis is made via rectal palpation of the broad ligament, uterus, cervix and vagina. Most torsions are post cervical and 60% are counterclockwise in rotation due to the tendency for bovine pregnancies to be in the right horn. This also holds true for small ruminants and camelids, but the torsion in camelids tends to be clockwise due to the left horn being gravid in about 90% of camelid pregnancies. Regardless of species, all uterine torsions are considered high risk and immediate correction will increase the likelihood of fetal survival and improve prognosis for future fertility. Correction of uterine torsion can be done manually with devices such as a really strong arm or a de-torsion rod in cows presenting with an open cervix. Cows presenting with a closed cervix can be corrected via cow surfing with a plank and rolling the cow (hopefully down hill) in the direction of the torsion or via surgical correction. Grace was taken to surgery due to her closed cervix and the fact that most Madisonians would object to rolling a 1650 lb cow down Mineral Point Road whilst a lucky chosen student hangs 10. Dynamic Duo of the Month By: Allie Wistrand Mazepa This month s featured pair is Andrea Demmon and her favorite cow, Turner. Andrea grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin and is currently a second year veterinary student. She attended the University of WI-Madison as an undergraduate and double majored in zoology and biological aspects of conservation. Andrea joined the milking crew in September and so far her favorite aspect of the job is working with the dry cows. Although Andrea enjoys milking cows, her real focus is on wildlife and exotic medicine. As an undergraduate, she researched desert tortoises, frogs and amphibians. In her free time, Andrea enjoys playing tennis, reading, knitting and camping. Turner is this month s leading lady, which is no surprise to those familiar with her sweet and gentle personality. She was born on February 6, 2004 and lives just a few stalls down from her mom, Tina. Turner started her first lactation on June 15, 2006 after giving birth to her first daughter, Tequila. She has been inseminated twice since June. Although not topping the production charts, Turner is one of the higher producing heifers at 85 pounds. She also holds a special place in the herd because she is the only red and white heifer. This distinction has lead to some minor arguments among the young ladies out in the yard, because Turner keeps bragging about displaying the most Badger school pride.

4 Abby s Serratia Mastitis By: Melissa Maurer-Ford On August 22, 2006 Abby was diagnosed, after a positive CMT (California Mastitis Test) followed by a milk culture, with Serratia mastitis in her right rear quarter. Serratia mastitis can be caused by several different Serratia bacteria including S. liquefaciens, S. marcesens, and S. rubidaea. Serratia marcesens is the species that caused Abby s mastitis. S. marcesens is a gram negative bacterium in the Enterobacteriaceae family. It is found ubiquitous in nature and has been linked to teat end damage and poor hygiene. As a human pathogen, this bacterium is involved in nosocomial infections in hospitals, especially of wounds and in the urinary tract. As a mastitis pathogen, this bacterium usually causes subclinical mastitis that is characterized by increased somatic cell counts. Clinical mastitis does show up in about half of all affected cows. These cows usually present with mild mastitis characterized by flakes and discolored milk. Rarely are these cows systemically ill and the infections are usually chronic. Transmission of the infection is rarely contagious, but infected cows should be milked last or separately. Isolates of Serratia are resistant to most antibiotics and antibiotic treatments usually result in poor cure rates. When Abby s milk was cultured it was also sent in for susceptibility testing. There were a few useful antibiotics and many that would have no effect on the bacteria. Gentamicin was one that would be useful. Abby was treated with Gentozen solution, an antibiotic normally used in horses for the treatment of metritis. Gentozen is a mix of gentamicin; an aminoglycoside, and sulfate salts. It is active against most gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria isolated from domestic animals including Enterobacter species. She received 6 treatments of 2cc (200 mg) of Gentozen mixed with 60 cc of saline during the morning and the evening milking. On September 11, 2006 when the treatments were finished, Abby s milk was again cultured and found to be clear of bacteria. The one drawback to using Gentamicin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic in dairy cattle is that the cow is then not salable for 2 years. The good news is that Abby will be with us for years to come.

5 Contest to win some extra holiday moola!! $50 cash Here is the scoop! All you have to do is send in the name of the cow who is currently the highest producer based on the last DHIA (Dairy Herd Improvement Association) test AND her pounds of milk. (You can guess based on past super cows or look it up!!!) Send me the answer by November 29 th and you are in the drawing for a fabulous $50!! GOOD LUCK!!!

6 Bovine TB By: Christy Cibigtroth Bovine tuberculosis, caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium bovis, is historically the most common infectious disease of cattle. This is a chronic disease in cattle, often with no clinical signs from affected animals. However, this is a zoonotic disease, inducing tuberculosis in humans. Due to eradication programs in the United States, 45 states have been accredited-free since Unfortunately, this disease is making a comeback within the country in recent years. Testing is expensive and infected cattle are costly to producers, as animals testing positive are sent to slaughter and their carcasses condemned. Restrictions on international sales and entire herd quarantines may also be imposed. Second year students, led by Dr. R.D Schultz, visited the Lee Allenstein Teaching Herd in October for an exercise in testing for M. bovis. Although Wisconsin is an M. bovis-free state, surveillance of this highly infectious agent is a critical diagnostic for veterinarians in the field. To test for TB in suspected herds, a Caudal Fold Test (CFT) is performed. 0.1 mls of M. bovis is injected in the fold of skin under the tail of cattle. If the tested animal is positive, a lump will appear at the site of injection within 72 hours. Dr. Shultz demonstrates how to perform a Caudal Fold test.

7 A Comparative Cervial Test (CCT) should follow a positive CFT. With a CCT, both M. bovis and M. avium are injected into a shaved patch of skin on the side of the neck. Lump formation is then measured with calipers. A positive TB test results when the lump from M. bovis is larger than the lump from M. avium. Cattle may be exposed to M. avium and test positive on a CFT, so the CCT is critical to distinguish true positive reactions of M. bovis infected animals Simulation of Comparative Cervical Test Students in the Herd Veterinary students 16 students in herd health this semester 24 students are working in the herd Undergraduate Special Projects Ovsynch program manager: Danielle James Vaccination program manager: Elsa Ludwig Body Condition Scoring: Danielle Skabroud Locomotion Scoring: Eli Yoder

8 November Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Oct rd Year Diagnostics Lab nd Year Immunology 2 3 rd Year Diagnostics Lab 3 3 Rotation- Follow up to breed cows 10-11:30am Annual RARC Inspection- 8am- 12pm LAIM Visit Rotation- Follow up to breed cows 10-11:30am DHIA Test- AM 3 rd Year Diagnostics Lab Entire herd hoof trimming with Burgi- all day 16 3 rd Year Diagnostics Lab 3 17 Rotation- Follow up to breed cows 10-11:30am LAIM Visit Rotation- Follow up to breed cows 10-11:30am Dec th year theriogenology rotation with either Dr. Momont or Dr. Bosu (10am-12pm) 2. Large Animal Internal Medicine visits the herd every second week to examine sick cows, perform services, and take samples to the laboratory (2-4pm) 3. Veterinary diagnostics and therapeutic laboratories ( ) Lab (1-5pm) 2006

9 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Interested in gaining experience working with dairy cows? Then boy do we have the opportunity for you! You can join the milking crew at the Charmany Teaching Facility and work the AM or PM milking shifts. Weekday shifts are from 5:00 am to 7:00 am and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Weekend shifts are from 5:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Interested students should contact Dr. Bill Goodger at (608) One further note on employment is that we can save 50% in student salary expenses (about $20,000 per year) if students apply for work study (about 90% of veterinary students are probably eligible). These added funds would not only allow more students access to the herd, but would also provide support for clinics, projects, and clinical upgrades to our facility which would enhance the experience for all students. Below is information about work study from the campus work study office in financial aid. ** The Work-Study Program does not determine where you work. It is up to you to determine where you d like to work and what type of work you d be interested in. The Federal Work- Study Program (FWSP) employee s will be glad to discuss with you what your interests are and what employment options are available to you but you will need to contact the employers directly to inquire about job availabilities. Having accepted Work-Study will benefit you primarily in two ways: first, since employers only pay 50 cents of every dollar earned by a student, work-study students are highly sought after employees and second, any work-study monies earned are not counted and considered as earned income when you apply for next year s financial aid. Normally a student s earnings are considered as earned income and your next year s financial aid award is reduced by that amount. If you decide to work on campus, ANY job at the UW automatically qualifies as a work-study position. You should always let a UW-employer know that you have accepted a work-study award, because again, it makes you an even more desirable hire to them. Having said this, some UW employers require that you have work-study. These listing can be found under the UWWR section. If you need to contact someone at the UW-SVM Teaching Herd Barn, call (608) Please direct correspondence regarding the Charmany Teaching Herd or the newsletter to: William J. Goodger, DVM, PhD Cell: (608) wgoodger@facstaff.wisc.edu Thanks to the Newsletter Production Team: Toby Pinn Allie Wistrand Mazepa Melissa Maurer-Ford Christine Sibigtroth Kerry Hagen Manske Dr. Goodger