By DR. W. DEE WHITER, D.VJL

By DR. W. DEE WHITER, D.VJL

Extemkm Veterinary SpccUliat

With calf weaning and cattle working on most producers’ agenda during the next month or two, some reminders about cow health management tips are in order.

Every cow in Virginia should probably be put down a chute this fall to have a number of procedures performed. The most commonly performed procedure is the performance of pregnancy diagnosis. This is a highly recommended procedure as it will allow producers to select cows that have failed to become pregnant and cull them prior to providing large amounts of expensive stored feeds when no return on investment will result.

If early winter calving is practiced, vaccination for scours using the E. coli products might be performed at the same time, however, if calving will not occur until later in the spring, vaccination should occur within two to three months of the calving season.

If pour-ons or spot-ons for use in grub and lice control are to be used, these should be applied at the same time and this dictates working the cows before the first of November since this is the cut off date for the use of these products.

Eyes should be examined on all cows as they pass down the chute, particularly those cows with no pigment (pink skin) around the eyes. This is true since cancer eye is a very common disease in cows over about five years of age.

If small growths are detected at this time they can be successfully treated by your veterinarian and will save culling a perfectly good cow at a very reduced rate when the cancer becomes larger and can be readily recognized as cows go through sales.

Look carefully for even small bumps at the place where the white meets the clear part of the eye, on the edge of the lid or on the flesh part in the center of the eye (the third eyelid).

Mastitis is also a consideration in cows during the fall. Two broad categories of mastitis should be recog