Animal Health

Introduction

Why do we care if our animals are health
- Performance
- Production
- Reproductive capabilities
- Economics
How are we impacted when our animals get sick
Energy goes to:
- Fighting off disease/illness
- Fighting infection
- Staying alive
Resulting in Economic losses
What are some costs associated with improper health
- Veterinary care
- Vaccines/medication
- Reduce the production of animal
- Mortality
- Federal and state disease control programs
- Product condemned at a processing plant
Health is affected by much more than just diseases
- Stress
  - It may compromise the immune system
- Nutrition
  - Deficiency, excess, toxicity, inadequate/malnutrition
- Temperature
  - Energy expended via thermoregulation
- Cleanliness
  - Unsanitary conditions can lead to poor health
- Many more factors
Each species has a different way of expressing its health

Signs of Good Health

Contentment
- Standing, eating, swishing tale
Alertness
Shiny Coat
- Shows they are getting proper nutrients
- Sebum is what coats the hair to make it shiny
Good appetite
Normal productivity
Normal feces and urine
Pink membranes- eyes and gums
- It should be light pink
Normal socialization
Normal TPR’s
- Temperature Pulse and Respiration

Abnormal Health Indicators

Infections will cause the body temp to go up
- Fever is the number 1 sign of infections
Toxemia or shock causes the body temp to go down
Signs of poor health
- Off feed
- Slow moving
- Strange posture
- Diarrhea
- Elevated TPR’s
- Staggered movement

Vitals

Variation - causes
- Age
  - Younger animals will have higher temp than older animals
- Activity levels
  - Range animals will have a higher temp than a confinement animal
- Temperature - Climate
- Stress
- Infection
- Illness
TPR’s
Temperature
Pulse
- Palpated in areas where arteries are just under the skin and over a bone
  - Palpate the ventral side of tail or facial arteries in cows
  - Facial, ocular, and digital arteries in horses
  - The inner thigh of sheep
  - Pigs - hard to get an accurate rate by palpitation
Respiratory rate
- ↑ with body temp

Health Status Test

Skin Pinch
- Checks for dehydration
- Pinch a portion of the skin (neck
- Should go back flat within 1-2 seconds
Mucus Membranes (Gums)
- Color=Pales pink color
- Capillary refill time
  - Press your finger and remove it, the original color should come back within 1-2 seconds

Herd Health Programs

Livestock producers should have a health plan they follow based on:
- Type of operation
- Life cycles or calendar of animals
Develop a feed, vaccination, and de-worming schedule
Routine vaccinations help keep animals in good health
Goal:
- To keep animals in normal health
- Prevent disease
- Maintain high production
All rely on detailed records!!

Vocabulary

Anthelmintic- prevention & control of worms/internal parasites
- “De-Wormer”
Antibiotics- compounds that inhibit the life of a bacteria
- Heavy use of antibiotics will lead to antibiotic-resistant organisms
Disease- a condition that affects the normal function of a body part of an organism
- Manifested by specific symptoms
- Deviation noted by physiological, anatomical, or chemical changes
- Impairment to normal function
- Non-adaptability to environment
- General definition- Not at Ease
Infection - growth of a parasitic organism within the body
- Fever is the #1 sign of an internal infection
- Some infections can be treated with antibiotics- which ones??
- Bacteria infections can be treated with antibiotics
Infectious diseases are caused by specific agents called pathogens such as:
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Protozoa
- Internal parasites
  - worms
- External parasites
  - Tics, lice, leeches
How do pathogens get into animals?
- Respiratory tract
- Digestive tract
- Genital tract
- Wounds
- Mucous membranes
- Insect bites
Virus - microorganism that relies on host cells to replicate within the host
- Can cause infection and/or disease
- It can be spread from animal to animal
- Not curable- has to run its course
- Vaccines can help prevent them
Non-infectious diseases- Non-communicable
- Cause by:
  - Genetic abnormalities
  - Nutritional
  - Metabolic conditions
  - Poisoning
Zoonosis - diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans
- Bovine tuberculosis (TB)
- Brucellosis
- Salmonellosis
- Swine Flue
- Trichinosis
- Rabies

Toxins

Harmful chemicals produced by the animal
Toxemia- Illness initiated by toxins
2 categories
- Antigenic
  - Produced by bacteria and other microorganism
- Metabolic
  - Produced by animal body cells
  - I.e. ketosis (dieting)

Poison

Harmful chemicals produced by something other than the animal
Feed additives - Nitrates
- Fed to ruminants, increase “protein” levels
- Too many nitrates for the microbes to convert to proteins
Anthelmintics can be poisonous at high doses
Selenium (SE)
- All species are susceptible
- More common in forage-eating animals
- Malformed hooves, horns, and hair in cattle
Other Poisons:
- Rodenticides- Rat poison
- Insecticides
- Herbicides
- Wood preservatives

Parasite

Parasites need a host to live
Some common internal parasites
- Roundworms
  - Adults produce eggs that pass out in the feces
  - Larvae is ingested by the host animal
  - Cause irritation and damage to nutrient absorption areas of the intestine
- Tapeworms
  - Head and neck imbed in the intestinal lining
  - Segments grow out of the neck - chainlike
    - Each segment produces 1,000’s eggs
  - Eggs pass out in the feces
  - Reaches several feet in length
  - Head and neck can stay embedded

Injections

What uses do we have for injections in animal husbandry?
- Medications
  - Used to treat illnesses and disease
- Painkillers
- Vaccinations
  - Prevent illness; prevent viruses

Vaccines

Specific products to stimulate antibody production from the immune system
Stimulates the immune system to recognize it as foreign, destroy it, and remember it
Provides protection against a disease
Several different types:
- Killed
  - Inactivated organisms
- Live (attenuated)
  - Organisms live but are chemically modified to make them incapable of causing severe disease
  - Virulent properties disabled
- Toxoid
  - Made from inactivated toxic compounds that cause illness
  - Humans- Tetanus vaccines
  - The least likely to actually cause the disease

Injections - Types

Intramuscular “IM”
- A 16 gauge is the largest needle used for Intramuscular
- Usually, a 20-22 gauge 1 ½ inch needle is used
Subcutaneous - “SQ”
- Punch and Hold
- Needles no longer than ¾”
Intravenous - “IV”
- Mostly in the jugular vein
- Cattle- tail
- Jugual artery
- Best bet - let a trained professional handle this
Prepping the syringe
- Use new, sterile needles or completely cleaned and sterilized ones
- Soap or disinfectants can kill a Modified Live Virus vaccine
Adequate restraint of the animal
- Little to no movement
- Needle movement causes more damage to the tissue
- Lost product - not all gets injected where it should
Discard bent needles
- If you try to straighten it, the needle gets weaker and can break off inside the animal

Cattle

IM and SQ
- In front of the shoulders
- No more than 10ml per site
- 1ml is 1cc

Swine

IM
- In front of the shoulders
SQ
- Any area where the skin fits loosely
  - Neck, chest wall, armpit, or flank
Swine don’t take IV vaccines well or often

Sheep

IM
- Neck
- Never exceed 5cc injection site
SQ
- Loose skin where neck and shoulder join
IV
- Corrugated artery

Equine

IM
- Neck
- Rump
- Chest area between front legs