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Ticks?!

B

Big Swede

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Jan 21, 2008
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South Dakota
I was at a producer meeting a couple weeks ago and someone brought up the topic of cattle deaths due to ticks. I thought he was crazy because I had never heard of ticks in the winter time and besides that how could they kill cattle. Then the disease anaplasmosis was brought up and the rumor was that the cattle were getting ticks from deer and passing on that disease and I must admit I don't even know what anaplasmosis is, heard of it but don't know what it is.

Anyway the story was that some guys were having significant death loss, up to 50 head of cows so it definately got my attention. So I did some research and found out that the tick that is infesting these cattle is not the wood tick we are used to around here. Some call it a moose tick and some call it a winter deer tick but anyway these ticks pass from deer to cattle and can get so thick that the cattle get anemic, rub their coats raw and the state vets think that the cattle are dieing from exposure. I don't think they have found any disease issues just that the poor cows are in such poor shape that they can't survive.

Have any of you heard of this? I would think if a guy treats his cattle for worms and lice in the fall this wouldn't ever be an issue. Don't know much more about it but thought some of you may have heard of this before.
 
We had that disease in Wyoming, but never in W. Montana or here in SE Montana. It makes herford cows turn yellow around the eyes and under the tail. It is easy to detect in Hereford cattle. Not so easy in Black Angus.

When we moved to W. Montana from Wyoming, our cattle had anaplas;
but the vet cleared them to transport anyway (so much for a health inspection). When we got them in W. Montana they started dying.
We got the vet there out to diagnos the problem. He'd never heard of, or treated anaplas. We told him what we thought it was; he went home and read his vet books, called us back and said that is exactly what they had.
He was going to quarantine our cow herd, but when he contacted the state, they informed him that the tick vector wasn't right in that area and that it wasn't contagious. So, we sprayed them for parasites and never had another problem. We lived there for 18 years and never had anaplas again. So, it depends on your locality if anaplas is a problem or not.

The cows really get on the fight when you try to treat them. We had no corrals at that time, but Mr. FH had a really good horse. He would rope the cow by the heels, tie off to the saddle horn, the horse would hold the cow and he would doctor her. We saved a bunch by doing that. The vet had to IV a couple, but they too, lived. It's not a fun disease to treat.
Especially when you don't have good facilities. :shock:

I found this on the internet:
Anaplasmosis is a vector-borne, infectious blood disease in cattle caused by the rickesttsial parasites Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale. It occurs primarily in warm tropical and subtropical areas. The disease is not contagious but is transmitted most commonly by ticks. It can also be transmitted via contaminated needles, dehorning equipment, castrating knives, tattoo instruments, biting flies and mosquitoes. The intracellular parasite destroys red blood cells. It causes anemia, fever, weight loss, breathlessness, uncoordinated movements, abortion and death. Diagnosis is based on clinical signs and the examination of blood under microscope for evidence of the parasite.

Affected cattle either die or begin a recovery within 4 days after the first signs of the disease. The mortality rate increases with the age of the animal. Unless infected cattle are detected during the early stages of the disease they should not be treated. If an animal with advanced anaplasmosis is forced to move or becomes excited, it may die from lack of oxygen, also antibiotic treatments do little or nothing to affect the outcome of the disease when given during advanced stages of the disease. Treatment consists of the administration of tetracycline. A vaccine is available that helps to reduce the severity of the infection. If you have any cattle with this disease it is very important to control ticks and follow strict sanitation procedures during vaccinations and other procedures to stop the spread of the disease to healthy animals. Animals that recover from anaplasmosis are carriers and can spread the disease.

Chlortetracycline also known as CTC can reduce the risk of anaplasmosis. Chlortetracycline (CTC) consumed at the rate of 0.5 mg / lb. body weight daily during fly and tick season will help to prevent anaplasmosis. A consistent intake of the correct amount of mineral is crucial to a anaplasmosis prevention program. CTC is available in medicated feed, free choice salt-mineral mixes or medicated blocks. Be sure the product is labeled
 
Yesterday we put some yearlings thru the chute and put on ivomec I thought i saw a couple of ticks under a hfrs tail but they were gone when she came in the chute. We did another 300 calves today and the bred hfrs. I thought i might beat the spring fence rub by doing them now. I thought it was early for ticks up here but we have had lots of deer around the cattle.
 
We don't have a problem with ticks here yet, I suppose they could as the moose can get enough to kill occasionnally.
The ranch we leased at Dog Creek years back had lots of wood ticks in the spring, most people sprayed for them and kept cattle out of the worst pastures until warmer weather.
 
Every time the grass looks greener at someone Else's place a reality check icon pops up. Our cows spend a little less than half the year out in grain county. Few trees, few wild animals, few issues. I have never seen a tick at our farm. They have never been a problem that I know of at our ranch. I don't like spiders and snakes. :shock:
 
We've got lots of moose up here that get loaded with ticks but I've never heard of cows getting them from them. I saw a cow and a yearling calf yesterday she had a few ticks but not real bad-I've seen the poor buggers just grey with them-that's got to be a tough way to die-I think if I was a moose I'd be looking for a pack of wolves when I got like that.
 
I had a horse that would get ticks terrible bad every winter, they would be just thick around his tail and down along his hips, under his mane, would treat them and they'd go away till the next winter. He would be the only horse to get them out of ten head.
 
Northern Rancher said:
We've got lots of moose up here that get loaded with ticks but I've never heard of cows getting them from them. I saw a cow and a yearling calf yesterday she had a few ticks but not real bad-I've seen the poor buggers just grey with them-that's got to be a tough way to die-I think if I was a moose I'd be looking for a pack of wolves when I got like that.
Click to expand...

Neighbours of ours tend to get ticks every spring on their horses and cattle, but not bad. If you have your animals out on the willow flats they can pick them up, at least in these parts anyway. Those moose will leave them hanging on the willows til the next customer comes along I guess.
 
A few years ago there were some terrible tick problems with horses north of us. They had so many ticks they'd go down. If they weren't treated they died. They responded to Ivomec. If they were really bad, and down, they had the ticks pulled off as well, just to give them a start.

I would think a treatment of pour on at pasture turnout would help a lot for cows. For horses, I'm not sure if using Ivomec wormer would do the same thing. I use it anyway, and don't see ticks, but haven't thought about whether this is just a coincidence. Anyone else have any experience with that?
 

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