Chlortetracycline (CTC) is one of the least expensive antibiotics that can be incorporated into feed to treat sick animals. It is broad spectrum and has many different clearance levels that can be employed to accomplish different production goals. It can be used as a growth promotant when fed continuously at 70 mg/head/day. Chlortetracycline can be used to control bacterial pneumonia associated with shipping fever when continuously fed at 350 mg/head/day. It can be used to control Anaplasmosis when continuously fed at 0.5 mg/lb. of bodyweight; or it can be used to treat bacterial enteritis caused by
Escherichia coli and bacterial pneumonia caused by Pasteurella multocida when fed for 5 days at 1 g/cwt. of bodyweight.
There are many different product concentrations (2, 4, 10, 20, 25, 50, 90, and 100 g/lb.). This allows for several different delivery mechanisms. For cattle on pasture, it can be incorporated into range minerals or cubes. For calves in a grow yard, we can incorporate it into a starter/grower balancer supplement, or crumbles can be top-dressed on
top of feed in the bunk. It is not legal to feed with Rumensin® but is legal to feed with Bovatec®. Therefore, CTC and Rumensin® cannot be combined together but Bovatec® and Aureomycin® branded CTC can be mixed together in the same feed.
Range Minerals: Normally 2800 g/ton of CTC is the floor-stocked mineral which provides 350 mg/head/day at a 4 oz. consumption. Many people use it for alleviating fescue toxicosis even though this level is only intended to control bacterial pneumonia caused by
Pasteurella spp. This level of CTC feeding does not control Anaplasmosis.
Anaplasmosis is an infectious disease of cattle that causes destruction of red blood cells. It is transmitted by ticks, flies, mosquitoes, and animal processing equipment such as needles. The disease is caused by a minute parasite,
Anaplasma marginale, found in the red blood cells of infected cattle. Symptoms are anemia (pale skin), a drop in milk production, extreme nervousness or aggressive behavior, rapid weight loss, fevers of 104° to 107° F, abortions, and death. To control Anaplasmosis, a mineral which provides 0.5 mg/lb. of bodyweight/day is needed. To achieve this, a mineral fed at 4 oz. to a 1400 lb. cow needs to contain 5600 g/t of CTC.
Other benefits of CTC include a 19 - 21 lb. greater weaning weight in suckling calves (Corah et al. 1991), improved reproduction and conception rate (2% improvement) due to better control of uterine infections and faster return to estrus (birth 21 days earlier is worth $38 per head), and pinkeye can be minimized when feeding CTC. If CTC is fed for the entire year at 700 mg/head/day it would cost less than $10/head/year ($5/head for a 2800 g/ton mineral). The return would be $36 per calf ($1.80/lb. X 20 lbs.) plus the value of the improvement in reproduction ($14/head), totaling $40 return on a $10 investment.
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The weekend will feature showers, rain and thunderstorms in the Canadian Prairies, the north and east-central Plains, the western Midwest and some of the central Midwest. » More DTN Weather Commentary
Posted at 12:13PM Fri May 24, 2013 CDT
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Grass Tetany -- an ounce of prevention By Dan Loy, IBC interim director, and Mary Drewnoski, animal science postdoctoral research associate
Early spring is the period when cattle are at most risk for grass tetany in Iowa. Grass tetany is actually a magnesium deficiency (hypomagnesemia). The problem occurs at different times of the year worldwide, but the timing seems to have a few things in common. Lush spring grass can grow very fast if the growing conditions and fertility are right. Usually this involves plenty of moisture and fertility. Grass that is susceptible to producing grass tetany often is low in magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sodium (Na), but higher in potassium (K). Grass tetany can occur in legume-grass mixtures when the temperature is below about 60 degrees since much of the growth at that stage will be grass. Grass that is conducive to producing tetany in cattle usually is high in protein, but high enough in water to limit the intake of energy by the cattle.
Susceptible cattle usually are cows nursing calves in peak or near peak lactation. This is when the requirements of cows for both Mg and Ca are the highest. Cows in the early stages of tetany will become nervous, and you may notice muscle twitching. As the condition progresses the cows will lose coordination and go down. Timely treatment with fluids that contain Mg and Ca by your veterinarian is often effective. A blood Mg test can confirm that grass tetany was the cause.
Of course the best course is always prevention. A high magnesium mineral mix that is at least 12-15% Mg is recommended during periods of grass tetany risk. Because it takes some time to build up the stores of Mg, it is best to start the higher level of supplementation two to four weeks prior to pasture turnout. Some sources of Mg can be somewhat unpalatable so it is important to monitor the mineral intake. Some adjustment of the salt content, additions of palatable feeds, or force feeding the mineral through a grain supplement may be needed if free choice consumption is insufficient.
To paraphrase Ben Franklin, “an ounce of prevention (in this case three to four ounces) can be worth more than “the cure."
Phase one of construction of a new Nebraska facility that will manufacture a plastic resin enhancer from dried distillers grains should be completed next month.
Several ethanol companies and renewable-fuel backers, banding together under the Fuels America coalition, wrote a congressional committee this week that the best way to reduce dependence on oil and cut greenhouse-gas emissions is to stay the course on the Renewable Fuels Standard.
Opponents of COOL on Thursday criticized USDA and the new labeling requirements. Those criticisms were loudest from U.S. meatpackers, feeders and Canadians. The new rule would prohibit packers and retailers from co-mingling meat coming from animals born or raised in different countries.
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CFA
The Farmers Cooperative Company and The Cooperative Finance Association (CFA) are making available special financing programs available to you for the 2013 crop year. These special rates are only available for products and services provided by Farmers Cooperative Company. To learn more of the benefits CFA has to offer, click on the link, CFA Website, or click on CFA Flyerfor more details.
