Cattle Management and Care (Veterinary Aspects)

'Cow Being Restrained'

This was held at Sue Fildes' Dittisham Farm, Nr Dartmouth. The attendees, from as far away as Bristol, were all new to cattle owning, and had either just purchased or were about to purchase their first animals. Most were to have just 2 or 3 head of a rare breed of cattle on their smallholding. Run by vet Peter Robson from Kingsbridge, after coffee and biscuits we went outside whilst the weather was good.

In this practical part of the course Peter impressed upon us the importance of a good cattle crush; this could be a problem for some people as the crush could cost more than their cattle! However, whether you have one cow or 24, you will need to restrain your animal at some point, so some form of crush is imperative.

Different types of crush were discussed; there are pros and cons to each type and most people have a preference. Sharing a crush could be an answer, as crushes can be fitted with a 3 point linkage for moving with a tractor.

We ran 6 cows from the barn through the cattle race and got one cow to enter the crush. We then had to put a halter on her, followed by a demonstration of how a nose-clip (or 'bulldog clip') can be put into the nostrils for added control. The halter was then tied to a side bar of the crush to immobilise the head in order, for example, for a replacement ear tag to be inserted (and they frequently are required!).

This herd of 24 Red Ruby cattle included cows in all stages of pregnancy with a new-born calf and another about to calve, so the signs of imminent calving were easy for all to see. We were shown how to inject subcutaneously (eg an ivermectin) and into the muscle (intramuscular - antibiotics). One cow was PD'd, (Pregnancy Diagnosed: examined internally for a foetus). The vet got his whole arm in; he got me quite worried waiting for his verdict but yes, she was pregnant, but it was being carried 'quite forward', he said! Roping up for safe foot trimming was discussed, as cattle do occasionally get lame and need attention to their feet even if routine foot trimming is not required.

'Coffee and Paperwork'

After the practical we retired to the house for the discussion on topics listed in a hand-out from the vet.

Topics were:

Handling and Restraint
Foot Care
Worming
Vaccination
Injection techniques
Drug Storage and Record Keeping
Common diseases
Disease Prevention
Topical Subjects - TB and Blue Tongue

Everyone seemed to enjoy the course and especially appreciated the chance to speak to like-minded smallholders keen to have their own animals on a small scale.