Portable Chute
Cardinal Veterinary Services PLLC has a portable chute that can be brought to your farm to help with proper restraint of your cattle.
Vaccination Strategies
Cows and Bulls
Recommend annual vaccination for the most common respiratory and reproductive pathogens –
- BVD
- IBR
- BRSV
- PI3
- Vibrio
- Leptospirosis*
*Ideal timing is approximately 1-2 months prior to breeding.
Additional vaccinations to consider:
- Pinkeye (can be given at same time as respiratory vaccine)
- Clostridium if have had issues with Black leg (needs to be given separately from respiratory/reproductive vaccination)
- Scour Vaccination to increase immunity for calves via mother’s milk against Rotavirus, Coronavirus, C1, Perf Type C, E, Coli (needs to be given separately from respiratory/reproductive vaccination)
Calves
Recommend vaccination against the most common respiratory and clostridial pathogens
- BVD
- IBR
- BRSV
- PI3
- Clostridial 7 way (this does not include tetanus)
When planning for calf vaccinations consider the benefits of a preconditioning program. A good local exam is outlined by SEMO Livestock at the following web address: http://www.semolivestocksales.com/page4.html. Preconditioning calves is often a great way to increase your income at the time of sale.
Ideal timing is to give first dose of vaccine between 3-6 months of age and then booster at time of weaning.
Additional vaccinations to consider:
- Pinkeye (can be given at same time as respiratory vaccine)
- Tetanus – advised especially if banding to castrate bull calves; recommended to get two doses prior to placement of band. Can be given as a combination with other common Clostridial organisms.
Please contact us to create a protocol specific to your herd’s needs.
Parasite Control
Cattle can be affected by a variety of external and internal parasites. The most common are external parasites of cattle are horn flies, face flies, lice and grubs. A variety of topical sprays, pour-on and ear tags help with external parasite prevention and treatment. The most internal parasites of cattle are roundworms, tapeworms, flukes and coccidia. These can be treated via injectable dewormers, pour-on type dewormers, feed additives. Traditionally, cattle are dewormed once per year during annual vaccination. This strategy may not be the best in terms of managing existing parasite populations. Ideally cattle should be treated when they are showing signs of parasitism. Other methods of management for internal parasites include providing good quality forage via pasture or hay with supplements as needed, rotation of pastures, prevention of overcrowding on pastures, prevention of overgrazing pastures.
Please contact us at 618-357-0983 to help set up a plan for parasite control.
Acute Illness and Injury Management
Cardinal Veterinary Services PLLC is available to help diagnose and treat acute illnesses and address minor injuries. Dr. Cressey is able to examine and collect appropriate samples for testing for the most common viral and bacterial causes respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases illnesses your cattle may face. She will create a treatment plan for management of clinical signs until a proper diagnosis can be made. Once a diagnosis is made, she will adjust treatment as needed to get the most effective outcome for your cattle.
Dr. Cressey is capable of managing the following common issues of cattle (not an all-inclusive list):
- Management of bloat and/or being off feed
- Management of milk fever or grass tetany
- Management of rectal prolapses
- Management of hardware disease
- Management of pinkeye
- Management of acute lameness and foot rot
- Management of small wounds that might need closure or bandaging
If there is additional need, please call to go over details of the situation to determine if Dr. Cressey has the appropriate tools to help
Reproductive Services
Ultrasound
Cardinal Veterinary Services PLLC has a ReproScan Flexx ultrasound machine with two different probes – linear rectal probe and convex transabdominal probe – than can be used to positively diagnose pregnancy in cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. Ultrasound allows for more accurate diagnosis of pregnancy with less stress on the animal and veterinarian.
For cattle, Dr. Cressey will in most cases utilize the ReproArm that allows her to diagnose pregnancy without having to place her arm inside the cow. This is a safer and more efficient method of pregnancy diagnosis. Using ultrasound technology, Dr. C can check for the 4 signs of pregnancy with visual confirmation via the ultrasound screen. These are fluid in the uterus, amnion, placentome presence and seeing the fetus itself. In the cow, there is possibility to age the fetus based on a variety of measurements – crown to rump length, trunk diameter, fetal eye diameter, and placentome diameter. It is also a treat to see the fetus’ heartbeat on the screen or watch the calf move around in utero. Dr. Cressey, hopes to gain the skill to be able to provide fetal sexing as well in the future. If you’re in need of a herd pregnancy check please call and get on the schedule. Best ultrasound results are when cows are bred more than 45 days prior and have good manure quality. On the day of your herd pregnancy check please DO NOT withhold food or water as this will worsen the ultrasound image quality.
For the pig, sheep, and goat patients, Dr. C will use the transabdominal probe.
In the future, this technology may be available for diagnosis of equine pregnancies.
Breeding Soundness Examinations ***NOW AVAILABLE***
Cardinal Veterinary Services PLLC has all the necessary tools to perform full breeding soundness examinations (BSE) on bulls. This is not just a semen check to see if your bull is producing semen.
A breeding soundness exam is
- A full physical examination from the animal’s nose to tail. If the bull isn’t in peak condition his ability to breed cows will be reduced and he won’t make quality semen.
- The collection of a semen sample via electroejaculation will be following by a microscopic examination of the specimen for motility, abnormalities and a live/dead semen analysis
- Scrotal circumference measurement. If the scrotal circumference is inadequate the bull may not produce enough semen to do the job he’s meant to be doing in your herd. If the measurement is too small this may also mean that the bull hasn’t reached puberty and is ready to be used for breeding. Lastly, bulls with larger scrotal size have heifers (daughters) that reach maturity more quickly, i.e. can begin producing calve sooner.
Breeding soundness exams should be performed annually on all bulls prior to being turned out into the fields.
Dr. Cressey would be willing to perform BSEs on rams, bucks and boars if there is the desire. She just needs to know in advance to order appropriate supplies.
Nutrition and Certificates of Veterinary Inspection
Dr. Cressey has interest in cattle nutrition and working with the producer to find the best diets for their herd. She has taken and will continue to participate in continuing education courses on the topic. Dr. C can help collect samples for diet analysis and work with yourself and/or a nutritionist to help create diets that will meet your herd’s dietary needs. Often when working with a nutritionist, the diets that are created save money and keep your herd healthier.
When needing to provide antibiotics via the feed it requires a document called a Veterinary Feed Directive or VFD. Dr. Cressey can help you with this. A VFD requires a valid Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship or VCPR. This means Dr. C needs a good working knowledge of what is happening on your farm. She will need to visit your farm a minimum of once every 6 months to have a valid VCPR. Dr. Cressey works with a company called Global Vet Link (GVL) to provide these digitally.
Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI), also known as Health Papers, are required for any cattle traveling across state lines but sometimes within the state as well. Be sure to check the travel or show requirements before loading your cattle. Timing for CVI varies state to state and show to show so check the guidelines and schedule appropriately. Some states require import permit numbers that must be obtained prior to travel. Testing for a variety of diseases may be another requirement of the state of entry. Dr. Cressey will be providing electronic CVIs via the GVL platform. This means we will send the CVI via email rather than a traditional paper carbon copy.