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Hauling Cattle

By Steve Boyles
 
Handle/transport all cattle in such a fashion to minimize stress, injury, and bruising. Use vehicles to transport cattle that provide for the safety of personnel and cattle during loading, transporting, and unloading. Follow these guidelines when transporting your own livestock:
  • Perform a structural check of trailer/truck and tires prior to loading livestock.
  • Inspect trailer/truck for cleanliness (biosecurity) as well as broken gates that may injure/bruise cattle. • Check weather and route to ensure a safe and uneventful trip.
  • Verify withdrawal on any animals being sold.
  • Verify that all animals are fit to ship.
  • Back up squarely and evenly to the loading chute.
  • Load using Low Stress Handling Practices.
  • Pull away from the chute slowly and drive to allow cattle a chance to gain their balance in transit.
  • Minimize time in transit by limiting stops and using prior preparation to ensure an organized event.
 

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Episode 82: Keep Your BVD Down

Video: Episode 82: Keep Your BVD Down

Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) is a serious disease that can lead to abortion, infertility, immune suppression, and calf losses. If the virus crosses the placenta in the first four months of gestation, calves may be born persistently infected and shed high levels of the virus throughout their lives—posing a major risk to unvaccinated cattle. In this episode, we explore why it’s critical to keep BVD out of your herd and how different vaccination protocols can help protect your cattle.