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 Barry Whitworth, DVM
Having backyard poultry is a popular agriculture enterprise. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 0.8 percent of all households in the United States have chickens. People keep chickens for a variety of reasons with table eggs being one of the more common reasons.
Unfortunately, some of these poultry producers are not aware of the hazards that come with keeping poultry because many times they carry pathogens but appear healthy.
Chickens are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. According to a recent survey in Pennsylvania, a majority of backyard poultry producers were aware of the dangers of avian influenza. However, this study also revealed that far fewer producers were aware of the risk of possible exposure to Salmonella and Campylobacter.
The lack of knowledge about the hazards of raising poultry likely contributes to the continued issues of Salmonella outbreaks associated with backyard poultry. In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,072 illnesses of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry, and 272 of those patients required hospitalization. Oklahoma reported 43 individuals with the disease.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tressa Lawrence
Babies are tucked away in every nook and cranny. Many ranchers across Wyoming have baby animals popping up all over this time of year.
By Lindsey Monk
Another load of grain in to keep feeding the calves until the green grass can really start popping.
-
Country Lifestyles1 year agoScott & Stacey Schumacher: A Growth Mindset
-
Equine7 months agoThe Will to Win
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoStyle Your Profile – What your style cowboy hat says about you and new trends in 2017
-
Country Lifestyles4 years agoAmber Crawford, Breakaway Roper
-
HOME7 years agoGrazing North Texas – Wilman Lovegrass
-
Country Lifestyles7 years agoDecember 2016 Profile, Rusty Riddle – The Riddle Way
-
Country Lifestyles8 years agoJune 2016 Profile – The man behind the mic: Bob Tallman
-
Outdoor9 years agoButtercup or Primrose?