C.R.E.A.M Moos-Letter

Transcription

1 A P R I L The C.R.E.A.M Moos-Letter How Herd Health Changed My Life By Paige Trusock When entering CREAM, my objective in this class and with the cows, was to better my understanding of larger species of animals. My whole life has been dedicated to small animals, and the medicine of small animals. I joined CREAM to open my eyes to larger animals, and hopefully the medicine of larger animals. When Herd Health, a subcommittee dedicated to the health of our herd, began I was excited to join to learn as much as I possibly could. We started off the committee slow, by only dedicating once every two weeks to working with our herd s veterinarian and learning what goes on in a herd check. After shadowing several herd checks and learning what we as a group could do for our herd, the subcommittee flourished. This subcommittee consists of 15+ members, which seems like a lot, but if it wasn t for all of our members I do not think I could actively participate as much as I do. We began to explore the idea of performing physical exams to learn the normal vital signs of a cow. Each week members of our group perform exams on all 30 cows in our herd. As we became more comfortable with working with our cows, our farm manager, Jon Whitehouse, gave us a new task to become more involved with the herd. He asked us as a subcommittee to take on the evaluation and treatment of udder rot within our herd. This new assignment truly pushed our group s boundaries. We were no longer exploring our herd s health for fun, but we now had a large responsibility on our shoulders. This tested our ability to communicate and our ability to commit. Could we as a group tackle this large task of taking care of this issue in our animals? In conjunction with this, we were given a third new task: to evaluate our cows teats. This helped us understand how we could better treat and care for our cows to help prevent them from getting bad teats. As we started to explore different ways to determine our herd s health, it truly opened my eyes up as to what goes on at a farm each and every day. I understand now why we do certain chores, and certain midday and night checks. There is a purpose behind every decision made at the barn and a lot of it revolves around the herd s wellbeing. Taking on these extra Herd Health responsibilities on top of our normal class time and chores seemed like a lot and required a lot more time at the barn. However, being at the barn an extra hour or two a week helped me make a lot of connections and also gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more about the barn. I became closer with our vet Dr. Elder, and I was able to observe rumen cannulation surgeries and help treat cows that were sick. I have been able to see more than I would have ever thought all thanks to the commitment this subcommittee requires. If it weren t for this subcommittee, I don t think I would have ever taken the time to learn this much about cow health until entering vet school, and I also don t think I would have ever tried to explore the idea of large animal medicine. 1

2 THE LOREM IPSUMS April 24th C.R.E.A.M Open House! 12 pm 4 pm. Rain or Shine! Save the Date! May 1st C.R.E.A.M Banquet, celebrate all that we have been able to do this year! May 21 st Say goodbye to our Senior C.R.E.A.Mers at UNH s Graduation! SPRING 2016 The What, When, and Why of Teat Scoring By Becca Hiltz The Herd Health Subcommittee does teat scoring on a monthly basis to keep an eye on the general teat health of the entire herd. Teats get ranked on a scale of 1-4 (see picture 1), with 1 being a healthy teat that shows no signs of damage after milking, and 4 being an unhealthy teat that shows rings of stress or keratin build-up after milking. Teat scoring does not give a score for each individual cow. Instead, it gives a herd average of the number of 1 s, 2 s, 3 s, and 4 s. Teat scoring is a beneficial management tool used to diagnose the condition of the teats of a dairy cow that reflects the effectiveness of the milking machine and milking procedure. Normally, after milking, a keratin plug will form in the streak canal of the teat (see picture 2). The keratin traps pathogens, preventing them from travelling up the teat and causing an infection. At the next milking, these pathogens will be naturally removed with the outer layer of keratin by fore stripping. Sometimes, the vacuum or pulsation of the milking machine can cause keratinization, or hyperkeratosis, of the teat end or can lead to a prolapse of the sphincter muscles that keep the streak canal firmly closed. This will give the teat end a flowered appearance and make the udder more susceptible to infection, or mastitis. Mastitis can lead to a cow making less milk or poor quality milk, and if untreated can be very painful. Cows with 3 s Picture #2 and 4 s for teat scores are more likely to get mastitis. Extra care should be taken to properly care for their teats before and after milking, and to keep their stalls clean. Providing feed as soon as possible after milking will also encourage cows to remain standing while eating, allowing the teat orifice the time it needs to close. Although teat scoring gives us an overall herd average to indicate problems with the milking machine or milking procedure, it also allows us to pinpoint trouble cows. In our herd, Bruschi (657) and Willow (749) consistently have teat scores in the 3 s and 4 s, so we always try to keep their stalls squeaky clean! Sometimes, teat damage is unavoidable, as keratinization is common in older cows. Pooh Bear (404) has been milking for about seven years of her long and happy life. That many years exposed to the vacuum of the milking machine, as well as many new people learning proper milking procedure, means that her teats will have some wear to them, but for her age she looks really great! 2 Picture #1

3 High/ Low Diet Subcommittee THE LOREM IPSUMS Over the course of most of the year, our CREAM class implemented a separation of our lactating herd into high and low diets. Instead of feeding one diet to our cows that has a lot of expensive ingredients, we split our string into two production groups. In charge of this subcommittee was Austin Paradee, Paige Trusock, and myself. The first thing our subcommittee did each week was meet with Jon Whitehouse on Tuesday afternoons before the 3pm CREAM shift. Using the production sheet (those of you who have been in finance or production finance committees have used these), we are able to see how much milk each cow is averaging per day during the course of that week. The high diet is balanced for 90lb milk/day and the low diet is balanced for 70lb milk/day, so when a cow has dropped below an average of 70lbs milk/day it was time to move her from the high to the low diet. The high diet involves expensive ingredients such as bloodmeal and rumen protected fat, so it is uneconomical to feed this to cows who will not effectively utilize it. For those students who have had Pete Erickson in class, we are familiar with his very favorite picture: the lactation curve. For those of us who have not had him, it looks like this: Accessed By Richie Shepardson SPRING 2016 Cows reach their peak on the lactation curve at about days after calving, so the cows days in milk was another tool that we used to predict when we should move her from the high to low diet. We tried to avoid moving cows before they reached peak milk to avoid metabolic disorders such as ketosis. Once we decided which cows to move, we would help out whoever was tying that afternoon due to stubborn cows that did not want to shuffle spots. Some cows were much more persistent than others. We also worked with Jon to strategically move cows to make sure spaces would be available for fresh cows entering the CREAM string, as well as planning for cows that were drying off. Financially this was an extremely successful endeavor, reducing the overall cost per cow by 19% and increasing the income over feed cost (IOFC) 20%. These are really impressive numbers, and on a commercial herd it would have made a world of difference. Sadly, since our cows are collectively in points in their lactation where they cannot enter low diet, there will only be a high diet for the rest of the year. We will now be known as the calf health subcommittee! What s the Word with the Herd! By Morgan Lazar * Chipotle (660) was knocked down to 2 nd place as Henrietta (719) bounced up to highest producer in the herd. * Eeyore (725) calved and it s a GIRL! We welcomed Owl to the herd at the end of February and she is carrying on the Pooh Bear family name! * Our sweet heifer Thistle (811) calved into the herd with a bull calf! * Moksha (809), one of our beloved heifers, has joined the milking cows after calving a beautiful baby heifer! We can welcome Shiva to the CREAM family! * Alliemae (766) calved a big bull in the beginning of March and has been warmly welcomed back to the CREAM string! * Over spring break Honey (758) calved in and had a heifer! She has been named Winnie, keeping with the family name lineage as well! * Tigger (761) has been welcomed back into the lactating herd late in March after calving a handsome not so little bull at 119 pounds! 3

4 Herd Health Sneak Peak Heritable THE LOREM Genetic IPSUMS Diseases in Dairy Cows By Morgan Lazar By and Erin Alison SPRING Shangraw Jeffery 2016 Just like people, cows can be affected by rare disorders or defects caused by mutations in their DNA. Mutations occur constantly, but most have no effect; some are even beneficial, allowing species to evolve and creating the little differences that make us unique. Problems only arise when a mutation affecting a vital function is missed by the body s multiple repair systems. The most easily avoided are heritable mutations passed from parent to offspring. These affect the germ cells (eggs and sperm) that can eventually become offspring. Unlike in cancers, where just one original cell is mutated, a mutation in a germ cell will cause every cell in the future offspring to have that mutation. These inherited mutations become a little more complicated when you consider the contribution of both parents and the difference between dominant and recessive alleles. First, a brief overview of genetics. Every cell has two copies of every gene. This is the result of fertilization, where one copy from the egg is combined with a second copy from the sperm. There are also two basic types of alleles (genes that affect a certain trait): dominant (D) and recessive (d). Thus, there are three possible combinations: DD, Dd, and dd. They are named this way because if an animal has both a dominant and a recessive allele (Dd) for one trait, the dominant one will overcome the recessive and be expressed. Because of this, we often call the Dd individual a carrier that can pass on the recessive allele but looks normal. The easiest example is the red coat color in Holsteins. Red is a recessive trait, meaning the offspring must be dd to be red. Roo was a black cow, but she was a carrier of the red color (Dd), thanks to her red dam Pooh Bear. Her calf, Kanga, is a red heifer (dd) because she received one recessive allele from her red sire and the other from Roo. If Roo had been bred to another carrier, as in the following figure, the chances of Kanga being red (affected) would have been only 25%; Kanga would most likely have become another blackcarrier like her dam. The same concept applies to heritable recessive genetic disorders, only the consequences are much worse for affected calves. There are five commonly tested genetic diseases Holstein breeders check sires for: mulefoot, bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency (BLAD), deficiency of uridine monophosphate synthase (DUMPS), complex vertebral malformation (CVM), and brachyspina. Mulefoot causes the fusion of the claw in one or more hooves; BLAD seriously impairs the immune system; DUMPS causes all affected fetuses to abort; and CVM and brachyspina primarily affect the spine. As these are all heritable recessive diseases, both normal and carrier cows will show no signs of the disease, while affected cows will. All are lethal by 1 year of age, with the exception of mulefoot, which is rarely survived to adulthood. No one wants calves to die, so dairy farmers have implemented programs and utilized genetic tests to both reduce the number of carriers and prevent known carriers from being mated to each other. Before genetic testing, farmers had to rely on pedigrees and the results of matings to determine if a disease was genetic in nature. If one familial line commonly produced diseased calves, farmers could try to determine which animals were carriers and which ancestor had the original mutation. Often, these diseases were (and still are) the result of inbreeding. Related animals, especially parents and offspring, share genes. If related animals are bred to one another, there is a higher probability that those shared genes can be passed on to the offspring. One method farmers could use to determine if a cow was a carrier was to mate her with a known carrier if the calf was affected, the cow had the mutated gene. However, this method was not foolproof, as the probability of the calf inheriting both recessive alleles was still only 25%, leaving farmers to risk mating possible carriers and hope for a healthy calf. The development of genetic testing reduced the guesswork by telling farmers exactly what genes were present. Today, most sires have their DNA tested for several disorders and additional tests continue to be developed for other, more complex diseases. Here at our barn, our strong concentration on improving genetics has extended to reducing genetic disorders. No calves have been born with any of the aforementioned diseases in the barn s recent history. If any of our cows are still carriers, we have little cause for concern, as all of our sires have tested free (DD) of these common disorders. With enough time and attention to breeding, we should have continued success breeding healthy calves for a long time to come. 4

5 UNH Little Royal By Courtney Gould After months of preparation, the day finally came. On April 2nd about 40 students competed and showed against one another at the Skoglund Livestock Arena in the Little Royal. Many of the students who participated in the event did it for a class they were taking. However, C.R.E.A.M. had six people who wanted to show as well. Little Royal is judged based on fitting and showmanship, which is how well the animal and the handler work together and how well the animal is groomed. There were a variety of show experience levels, from advanced handlers who have shown for 10 plus years to novices who are showing for the first time. All six C.R.E.A.M. participants worked extremely hard and their hard work did pay off! The participants with their heifers and their placings were: Hannah Mansfield with Blossom 1st Novice Paige Trusock with Sriracha 2nd Novice Moriah Leary with Yue 3rd Novice Rebecca Geddis with Aubrie 3rd Intermediate Morgan Lazar with Wheezy 4th Intermediate Shelby Biasini with Maisy 1st Advance and Overall Champion Congratulations to all who showed and participated! 5

6 Hairy Heel Wart (Digital Dermatitis) By Samantha Bahlert Hairy heal wart is a highly contagious infection that affects the skin on the bulb of a cow s heel but can also be found between a cow s claw. Uniquely, nearly all infections only affect the rear feet. Hairy heel wart can affect any age group or breed of bovine and has a severe negative impact on an animal s health and productivity. The disease was first reported in New York during the 1980 s. It now currently affects 70% of U.S. dairy herds and is the leading cause of lameness. The disease received its name because the infection can cause papillary like growths to appear on affected areas of the cows foot. However, hairy heel wart is caused by a bacterium instead of a virus, so no warts are actually formed during this infection. The exact bacterium that causes the infection has not yet been identified, but it is suspected to be within the genus Treponema. A species within this genus, Treponema pallidum, causes syphilis in humans. Hairy heel warts can be easily spread when an affected animal comes in contact with boots, equipment, or even a puddle of water. Cases are seen more often during the fall and winter when barn conditions are wet and cold. Herds with poor hygiene and cleaning practices are more susceptible to infections along with young, immunocompromised animals. The problem with hairy heel wart, and what makes treatment so expensive, is that unless it is cleared from the barn as a whole, including equipment and facilities, animals will continue to be affected. Common treatment includes the use of a wide range antibiotic and wrapping of the affected hoof. Antibiotics, such as oxytetracycline or tetracycline, can be applied topically or added to a footbath. Other footbaths containing copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, or formalin can also be used to manage the spread of hairy heel wart. The key with this disease is prevention. Barns should strive to keep facilities dry and clean since bacteria thrive in wet conditions. Any new animals entering a farm should be cleared of the disease before arrival or treated and quarantined before entering in with the rest of the herd. Cross contamination should be avoided by cleaning equipment, such as hoof trimming tools, if they come in contact with an affected cow. Overall, keeping up good biosecurity and cleanliness practices year round on the farm will keep hairy heel wart infections at bay. Dystocia 6 Charlotte s (767) healed interdigital dermatitis! By Courtney Gould Dystocia, more commonly known as difficult calving, is a problem that most dairy producers encounter in their herds. The most common cause of dystocia is a small, first calf heifer giving birth to a larger calf. There are a few ways to help minimize dystocia: breeding, sire selection, and nutrition. Breeding We want to make sure that our heifers are getting bred around months of age. This age is ideal so they calve in when they have reached about 80-85% mature body weight, which is around months of age. Sire Selection In our breeding committee, we choose the bulls to breed to our heifers and cows. When choosing a bull, we look at many different physical traits, as well as calving ease, which we aim to keep under 8%. Nutrition Our pre-fresh cows get a pre-fresh grain that has energy mix, protein, and anionic salt. All the workers at the Fairchild Dairy Center and the members of C.R.E.A.M. are always around so we can keep an eye on our cows who are close to calving. We try our best to prevent any calving difficulties by following these guidelines.

7 Silage at the UNH Fairchild Dairy Barn By Austin Stahl The University of New Hampshire produces most of its own corn and hay silage, which are the two largest components of the diet for our dairy cows and heifers. Silage is forage material that has fermented under anaerobic conditions. Silage takes a minimum of 21 days to ferment and be able to be fed to cattle. Fermentation occurs throughout multiple stages (Figure 1). Oxygen and ph will drop over time with the increase of lactic acid bacteria that convert simple carbohydrates into lactic acid. Cows can then utilize this lactic acid for metabolic processes and energy. If the silage is too wet when being placed into the silo, bacteria will grow and ruin the silage. On the other hand, if the silage is too dry, the significant amount of oxygen present will result in mold developing in the silage. Silage must undergo fermentation at perfect conditions to be considered optimal. The quality of silage is evaluated by multiple criteria including dry matter content, crude protein (CP), neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) and acid-detergent fiber (ADF). NDF accounts for the total fiber content in the silage and the greater that value is, the faster the cow will become full and stop consuming feed. We look for a lower NDF value, as we want cows to continually consume feed. ADF values are inversely related to digestibility, so forages with low ADF concentrations are higher in energy. The quality of silage at UNH is very good; we have high CP rates at around 8% with the expected amount between 6-10%. Typical NDF values are between 36-50% and ADF values are 18-26% with a lower values of each being more sought after. The NDF and ADF values of UNH silage are 33% and 20%, respectively. Silage quality is important because it is reflected in growth, fattening, and lactation. With a decrease in silage quality, milk production will be heavily impacted. It is very important to send out silage for analysis to ensure your herd is receiving the proper amount of nutrients and a balanced diet. And the dog said to the cow this is udderly ridiculous! 7

8 5 Reasons Why C.R.E.A.M is the Worst Decision of Your Life: A Satire By Ashley Destremps 1. Beautiful sunrises: If you re fortunate enough to have early morning shifts, there is nothing like coming out of the barn and all of a sudden the dark sky has turned into a cotton candy sunrise. It is unexplainable and we have all snapped a picture at one time or another because we are in such awe at how amazing it is. I mean c mon, if you didn t have C.R.E.A.M the odds of you experiencing a 5am sunrise is pretty slim. 2. Friendships: We all started this class as friends with a few people, or for some, not knowing anyone. However, that quickly changes, because this class helps you form friendships with people you wouldn t normally have the opportunity to meet. We work together in class for 4 hours a week, and on top of that we all spend time on shifts, research, sub-committees, and other events we do outside of class together. We have all become really great friends, and have made friends that we will continue to have relationships with after C.R.E.A.M. ends. We learned to work as a team, and we get the job done while still having fun! 3. Calves: On those mornings that are just so rough to wake up on, or if you ve had a long day, there is nothing sweeter than walking into the calf room to tend to the babies. Yeah, don t get me wrong, they can be super annoying when you are trying to clean their stalls, but they look at you in that innocent way and melt your heart. Walking in with a newborn surprise there is even better!! They are truly a stress reliever for anyone having a bad day! 4. Knowledge: This class has a different structure than most, in which the students plan everything, including guest speakers and events, while managing a herd of cows. Although we are not required to write notes or take exams, we learn so much and absorb much more because it is so hands-on. We learn all of the daily chores on a dairy farm such as milking, feeding, treatments, and cleaning, as well as aspects like breeding, production, and expenses. On top of that, we each give a mini lecture related to cows that is very informative to the students. Guest speakers teach us a variety of things like how different farms can be while still having the same outcome, where the feed comes from, the many different jobs in the dairy industry, and keeping good health on a dairy farm. The knowledge we learn in this class sticks with us and teaches us about ourselves and what to expect in the future depending on what path we choose. 5. What you learn about yourself: We all joined C.R.E.A.M. for various reasons, such as a requirement for our major, an interest in owning our own farm, to look good on vet school applications, or simply just for the love of cows. With the year ending I think it is safe to say we all will be leaving with something different from the class. This class helps to put you on a more specific path in your life if you haven t already decided. If you wanted to be a farmer you may have already changed your mind about that. If you didn t want to be a farmer, you might be on board 100% and already dreaming about what kind of parlor you want. Others gained knowledge that will help them in the real world when they continue on with professional school. We all had to work as a team all year, but some learned that they don t like working as a team, or that it is exactly how they like working. There are so many of us, which means there are many different opinions that we all listened to and worked with. In the end, we all learn something about ourselves that we didn t know before, and if a college class can do that, I think that s pretty cool! 8