Heat stress (?) claims a victim

[IluvAltaBeef]

Yep, came back home, went out to check the cattle, and found a two-week old carcass lying in the middle of the pasture. Third loss this year.

Aparently the animal of that carcass dropped dead to too much heat stress, or some other condition due to being exposed to too much heat, and with the heat and being baked in the sun, the meat and insides in the animal started some sort of decomposition-fermentation process, the corpse started to bloat (no, not from just the stomach, but from the butt to the head) due to build up of gases, and when something punctured the hide, be it a bird or coyote, the dead animal would've deflated like a balloon, or exploded, like an un-stabbed potato in the microwave.

Anyway, that's my theory when I seen the suddenly-suspiciously-thin corpse with dried, wrinkled hide.

Sorry for the gory details, but things like that happen. At least we didn't have to spend $500 of medicine on him.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Were they vaccinated for Blackleg? Any chance of Anthrax?

 

[azcowpuncher]

Anthrax ?? I dont think anyone has had a case of that in a long time have they ??? Dont be startin no rumors like that or we will all be in trouble .

 

[Judith]

Yikkes we were thinkin the same thing BMR :shock:

 

[kolanuraven]

Did/will you take samples to a vet ' just to be sure'?

Any time I find any of my critter just laying dead for no reason...I assume I've got a problem, a BIG one until I find out otherwise.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Anthrax ?? I dont think anyone has had a case of that in a long time have they ??? Dont be startin no rumors like that or we will all be in trouble .

Lots of Anthrax in Saskatchewan last year and a bit this year. I don't think a year goes by with out somewhere having a case or two.
It's in the soil from the Buffalo days can pop up if conditions are right. lots of flooding last year in Sask. and the erosion brought it to the surface.

 

[azcowpuncher]

Wow thats crazy stuff , i didnt know that . I know they had bad problems with it years ago before my time .

 

[QUESTION]

The death could be from many other reasons. ie) antrax, ME,black leg,bloat and on and on. As far as the emaciation the muscles loss water and going flat it is part of the decomp process after rigor is done. What really concerns me is that as written you last checked these animals 2 weeks ago. Is that correct? I check my cattle everyother day if i can at least 3 times a week and my custom grazing i check every other day as well. Maybe i am a bit paranoid but i look at it this way i am responsible for the health and welfare of the animals i am in charge of of them and i can't just go without seeing them for a week, i make the time even when i am busy i get up at sunrise and check when it is too dewwy to do anything else. the old saying comes to mind - take care of your cows and they will take care of you.

 

[IluvAltaBeef]

Well, I know that it wouldn't be anthrax b/c there'd be more than one gone down like that within a few days and he dropped in the middle of a grassy pasture and the whole herd's been in an area that hasn't been subject to any erosion or things like that that could bring up the anthrax bacterium. And it's definately not bloat because there's no plants around or in the pasture that could cause bloat.

Dad was the one that had seen it a couple days after it had died, but he didn't pay much attention to it, thought of it as heat stress because it was VERY hot that week that that steer dropped dead on us. And me, I haven't seen it at all, only this weekend. That was the first time I seen that carcass. (Been at school in the city, that's why)

I have not a single clue whether these animals are vaccinated against blackleg, ME, etc but since these animals are only around here once a year, and we only raise stockers, that's a risk we have to take. BTW, we couldn't tell you who the producers are who raised these steers as babies before being shipped off.

If another one drops dead on us and gets blown up like a balloon like the previous one did, THEN we start wondering if we got anthrax hangin' around somewheres. :shock:

 

[Texan]

Anthrax ?? I dont think anyone has had a case of that in a long time have they ??? Dont be startin no rumors like that or we will all be in trouble .

Lots of Anthrax in Saskatchewan last year and a bit this year. I don't think a year goes by with out somewhere having a case or two.
It's in the soil from the Buffalo days can pop up if conditions are right. lots of flooding last year in Sask. and the erosion brought it to the surface.

We usually have a few cases every year in south or southwest Texas. Might be more than usual this year...

http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/AGPR/Jul1807a.htm

 

[Denny]

There has been Anthrax in MN,ND and SD in the last few years just takes the right conditions to bring it out.

 

[Northern Rancher]

Probably just a pasture pneumonia-sometimes they go pretty fast.

 

[sic 'em reds]

I just read in the Livestock Reporter that there was a case of anthrax in ND just recently.