Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column – Crow, It’s What’s for Dinner
By Dr. Steve McDonald
Some days it seems you get “low end” visits in droves. One day last week they seemed to be unloading busloads of them just around the corner, passing out sick animals or issuing lists of questions to them and driving them with electric stock prods to the clinic.
“Doc, I bought this orphan calf at the sale barn two weeks ago, and it hasn’t nursed since, has a nasty cough, and real bad scours. Is there any thing I can give it that’s cheaper than penicillin?” was a typical question.
A man brought in a three-pound puppy with parvo symptoms. He had picked it up at a flea market, and when questioned about vaccinations and other pertinent history, all I got was a blank stare and a long story about his wife. She was wheelchair bound and dearly loved the puppy. It seemed to give her a reason to live. She would surely pine away if the puppy expired. To read more pick up a copy of the August 2016 issue.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Tony Dean
There are a handful of grasses on North Texas grazing lands ranchers need to know, not because they are highly desirable, but rather because they are not of much value. I call them “decom” plants, which is am acronym for “Don’t Ever Count On Me.” Silver bluestem is a “decom” grass.
Silver bluestem is a perennial which grows in all areas of Texas. It can survive in almost all soil types, and in full sun conditions or in semi shade. It grows up to three feet tall and is easily recognized with the presence of the white fuzzy seed head. Also, one of the identifying characteristics of Silver bluestem is a bend in the stems at each node, causing the plants to take on a rounded shape as they mature.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Rayford Pullen
Fall is here which means winter is closing in on us and before we officially get into winter, we need to make sure our factories are either producing or will be producing in a few months.
We have been pregnancy testing our cows this fall and if they are not bred or nursing a calf, we are bidding them adios. With annual costs somewhere between $900.00 and $1,000.00 per cow, those cows not producing a live weaned calf are costing us quite a bit.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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