Farm & Ranch
The Dr. McDonald Column – Throwing your weight around
By Steve McDonald, DVM
My son was a career Army soldier and was stationed in Germany where he met and married a German girl. One summer we visited them in Germany, meeting the young lady’s family and getting the lay of the land. I won’t bore you with the details, safe to say that the German people are extremely polite, and we had a very good time.
While there, we went to many places frequented by tourists, and I must say that just about all the obese folks I saw were Americans. It’s the sort of observation that a person makes and then forgets about until something reinforces the initial observation.
Yesterday a new client brought in a few heifers to be brucellosis-vaccinated and a couple of others to be pregnancy tested. The cattle were grossly overweight, as were the owners. We have all observed that overweight people tend to have overweight pets, but in this case the problem extended to the livestock.
As is often the case, the cattle, gentle though they were from a lifetime of easy living on the largesse of their owners, had arrived at the clinic in a trailer that was somewhat undersized to accommodate their considerable cumulative bulk.
To read more pick up a copy of the December 2017 NTFR issue.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
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 Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
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 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.
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