Bovine Physical Exam Restraint

Produce

Certified by the USDA to have been grown in soil where no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides have been applied for at least 3 years

Meat

Animals are raised accommodating natural behaviors, fed 100% organic feed and forage, and never receives hormones or antibiotics

Withdrawal Time(s)

The period following the last treatment with the drug during which the animal may not be offered for slaughter and during which products from this animal such as milk and eggs may not be offered for sale

Extralabel Use

Uses that are contrary to label directions would include ignoring labeled withdrawal times or milk disregard times, using the product in a species not indicated on the label, using drugs to treat a condition not indicated on the label, administering the drug at a different dosage than stated on the label, or otherwise failing to follow label directions for use and administration of the drug

When is extralabel use allowed?

• Only by DVM’s and after a VCPR

• When the health of an animal is immediately threatened, and suffering or death would result from failure to treat

• Otherwise, extra label use of drugs in animals intended for food is illegal.

• FARAD

FARAD

Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank

Calf

young bovine of either sex

Heifer

young female bovine who has never given birth

Cow

intact female bovine that has given birth

Bull

intact male bovine

Steer

male bovine castrated after maturity

Open

non-pregnant female bovine

Feedlot

where cattle are finished or fed prior to slaughter

Calving Interval

period of time between calving

Dry Period

last 60 days of gestation when the dairy cow is not milking

Freshening

giving birth to dairy animals

Milking Parlor

facilities where cows get milked

Ruminate

process where food material is regurgitated from the rumen and rechewed

Silage

The process by which green/immature plants are harvested, chopped into fine particles, stored and allowed to ferment for the purpose of feeding the fermented vegetation to livestock.

Temperature

100^oF to 102.5^oF

Pulse Rate

40-80/min

Respiration Rate

10-30/min

Ruminal Contractions

1-3/min

Adult Weight

varies by breed

Hooks

tuber coxae (hip bones)

Tubes

tuber ischii (seat bones)

Dewlap

extra flap of skin under neck

Brisket

chest muscles

Holstein

• Most widely used for milk production

• Black/white and red/white

• Excellent milk production

• Mature cow weighs 1500 lbs and stands 58” at the shoulders

• Normal productive life is 6 yrs

Jersey

• Produces more lbs of milk per lb of body weight than any other breed

• Average weight of 900 lbs

• Jersey bulls least docile temperament of the dairy breeds and weigh 1200-1800 lbs

• Milk is higher in butterfat and other components than other breed dairy breeds

Guernsey

• Produces milk with high-butterfat, high-protein and a high concentration of beta-carotene

• High quality milk is produced using while consuming 20-30% less feed than the larger breeds

• They also have a shorter calving interval and the first-calf heifers are younger than the larger breeds

Ayrshire

• Strong, rugged cattle that adapt to all management systems

• Medium-sized cattle that should weigh over 1200 lbs at maturity

• Color is red/white only and purebred cattle only produce red/white offspring

• A moderate butterfat breed

Brown Swiss

• One of the oldest in existence and native to Switzerland.

• This breed is heavier-boned than other dairy breeds and produces milk with average butterfat content.

• Vary in color from light brown to dark brown or sometimes gray.

Hereford

• High yield of beef with efficient production

• Red body with a white face and the white extends under the animal

• Faster daily gain and less cost in feed while converting that feed to muscle rather than fat

• One of the main breeds used for beef production in the US-crossbreeding

Polled

Hornless

Polled Hereford

• Derived from the original Hereford breed

• Has the same qualities and characteristics as the original Hereford breed, just no horns

Angus

• Solid black

• A hardy breed that does well in cold weather and poor grazing conditions

• Naturally polled

• One of the largest cattle breed registries in the world

Charolais

• Larger framed, heavier cattle

• They have the ability to walk, graze aggressively in warm weather, withstand reasonable cold, and raise heavy calves

• Mature bulls weigh from 2000 to over 2500 lbs

• Mature cows weigh 1250 to over 2000 lbs

• Are white or creamy white in color

Brahman

• Hump over shoulders/back

• Upward and back curving horns

• Large, pendulous ears

• Excessive skin on the neck and dewlap

• Intermediate in size compared to other beef breeds

• Bulls range from 1600-2000 lbs and cows 1000-1400 lbs

• Great heat tolerance, resist insects, good mothers, and produce good milk even in conditions which would adversely affect other breeds

• Sacred cow of India

Brangus

• 3/8 Brahman, 5/8 Angus

• Have the tolerance to heat and humidity, disease resistance, and good maternal instincts of the Brahman in combination with the good carcass quality, fertility, and milking ability of the Angus

• Naturally polled and all black

Belted Galloway

• Larger, milk heavier, and grow more rapidly than many of the British breeds. 

• The distinctive white belt usually covers most of the body from the shoulders to the hooks

Texas Long Horn

• Hardy, aggressive, and adaptable, well suited ranges of the southwestern United States. 

• High fertility

• Easy calving

• Disease and parasite resistance

• Hardiness

• Longevity

• Ability to utilize the browse and coarse forage material on marginal rangelands

Dairy Industry

• Intensive rearing/housing systems

• Calves are removed from the dam within 24 hrs of birth & is bottle fed

• Given hay or silage for roughage along with grain supplements

• Assisted reproduction (AI)

Beef Industry

• Open/pasture rearing but becomes intensive when steers go to feedlot for finishing

• Calves are allowed to run with dam until weaning at ~ 6 months old

• Grazes the pasture for its roughage until moving to feedlot

• Bull runs with the cows

Ear Tags

• Can be any color

• Can be in one or both ears

Tattoos

• Applied to the inside of the ear, usually between the middle ribs of cartilage, and is a means of permanent identification

• Most breed associations require it in order to register an animal

• Each animal must have a unique number, usually a letter first and then followed by up to 4 numbers

• Some registries, like the Jersey registry, require that the calves have one prior to leaving their individual housing, or hutches, for group housing so many calves are tattooed as young as 1-2 weeks old

Branding

• Hot is sometimes still performed but is becoming more obsolete as it ruins the hide of the cow which could be used for leather 

• A newer way to hot is to use the electric one

• Freeze is becoming more popular

• Use either dry ice and denatured alcohol, or liquid nitrogen

• The irons are placed in a cooler with the alcohol or nitrogen, the area on the animal is shaved of hair, cleaned with alcohol, and it is held on for 45 sec to 1 minute

• Also causes a loss in value of the hide but not as much as hot