Bovine Restraint and Clinical Procedures Notes

Dairy cattle are handled at least $2 \times$ a day, making them easier to restrain than beef cattle.
Bulls of dairy breeds are exceptionally dangerous; never turn your back on a bull.
Cattle kicking pattern: forward, then sideways, then back.
Beef cattle are less handled and resist restraint; they require two-stage handling: driving the group into a pen, then moving into a cattle chute for individual restraint in a squeeze chute.

Collective Flight Zone: Moving inside the zone in the opposite direction of desired movement speeds up the herd; moving outside in the same direction slows them down.
Point of Balance: Located at the animal's shoulder. Stand behind it to move the animal forward; stand in front to make them back up.
Flight Zone: The personal space determined by tameness. Tame animals have no flight zone.
Chute Systems: Curved chutes are more efficient as they utilize the natural behavior of cattle to return to where they came from. Areas should not look like "dead-ends."
Distractions: Cattle may balk at shadows, reflections (puddles or metal), jiggling chains, clanging, high-pitched noises, moving plastic, or objects on the floor.

Squeeze Chute: Equipped with a head gate closing in front of shoulders; unsuitable for calves.
Rope Halter: Placed once the head is in the gate; avoid occluding nostrils or scratching eyes.
Nose Tongs: Apply blunt pressure to the nasal septum; should not be used alone.
Tail Restraint:
- Tail Jack: Lifting the tail base over the back to discourage kicking.
- Tailing: Twisting the tail middle to the side to move the animal forward.
- Tail Ties: Used for procedures, but the rope should not incorporate the vertebra.
Leg Restraint: Milking hobbles placed above the hocks; ropes used to elevate limbs for exams as cattle do not lift legs like horses.

Casting: Using constant firm pressure with ropes to force a cow to lie down. Avoid trapping the udder, prepuce, or scrotum.
Safety: Use Xylazine for sedation and always control the head. Use right lateral recumbency to monitor for rumen bloat.
Calves: Beef calves are more difficult than dairy calves due to protective dams. Moved with arms around chest and rump.
Flanking: Gently guiding the calf to the ground using legs or the flank.

Vital Signs:
- Temp (rectal): $100.4-103.1^{∘}\text{F}$ (avg $101.5^{∘}\text{F}$ ).
- HR: $40-80/\text{min}$ .
- RR: $10-30/\text{min}$ .
- MM/CRT: Pink and moist; $1-2 \text{s}$ .
Auscultation:
- Heart: $4th$ and $5th$ intercostal spaces.
- Lungs: $5th$ and $11th$ ribs.
- Eructation: Low-pitched fluttering at $18/\text{hr}$ .
- Rumen: Left paralumbar fossa; contractions sound like a thunderstorm.
Abdomen Shape: Ideally pear-shaped; apple or papple shapes indicate pathology.
Pain Tests:
- Withers Pinch Test: Normal cattle flex back ventrally when pinched.
- Grunt Test: Pressure in the xyphoid region; pain elicits a grunt or kick.

Venipuncture:
- Jugular: $16$ or $18$ gauge, $1.5"$ needle at a $45^{∘}$ angle.
- Coccygeal (Tail): $19$ or $20$ gauge, $1-1.5"$ needle at $45-90^{∘}$ .
- Milk Vein: Only if others are unavailable; high risk of hematomas. Stand at shoulder or flank and avoid kneeling.
Abdominocentesis: $3-5 \text{cm}$ right of midline using $18-20$ gauge needle.
Rumenocentesis: Caudal to xyphoid, left of ventral midline; $14$ gauge needle.
Urine: Void method (perineal stimulation) or catheterization (be aware of the suburethral diverticulum blind sac in females).
Milk Sampling: California Mastitis Test (CMT) uses a purple reagent in a paddle to check for gel formation.

Oral (PO):
- Balling Gun: Delivered through the interdental space for boluses.
- Drenching: Liquid via dose syringe or $60 \text{cm}^3$ catheter-tip syringe.
- Frick Speculum: Rigid tube for boluses or orogastric tubes.
- Orogastric Tube: Adult diameter $5/8$ to $1"$ . Lube well; avoid aspiration if regurgitation occurs.
Injections:
- SQ: Preferred over IM to preserve carcass value. Sites: cervical region, thorax, axilla, brisket. Max $250 \text{cm}^3$ per site in adults.
- IM: Lateral cervical muscles preferred; limit to $10 \text{cm}^3$ per site. Separate sites by $4"$ .
- IV: Jugular vein preferred; point needle toward the heart. Never use tail vein for irritating drugs (risk of tail necrosis).

Goal: Provide flat weight-bearing surface evenly between digits.
Procedure: Trim outer wall parallel to coronary band; inner wall slightly shorter.
Inspection: Check for interdigital fibroma (known as "corn"), bruising, or lesions.