2. A.J. Luft, DVM
ajcowdoc@frontier.com
419-305-5502 cell
1996 Ohio State University DVM degree
Co-owner of Chickasaw Veterinary Center since 2003
Working with the organic industry since 2004 with about 20%
organic clientele
Loosely affiliated with Organic Valley, OEFFA, & Crystal Creek ;
continually developing more contacts NODPA & CFSA
Dealer for Crystal Creek, Dr. Paul‟s, Lancaster Ag & more
Couple of public speaking engagements per year
Small 20 acre farm with 13 dual purpose cattle, a few chickens &
hogs plus gardens & orchard
Lovely wife with son 17 (aspiring country singer) & daughter 12
(aspiring future veterinarian) who I dedicate my life's work too
3. Evaluating Response to Treatment
The only way to evaluate the success of any treatment
is did it work or not? Try anything once if it sounds
logical, nontoxic & not unethical
Very difficult to determine success in AVM due to the
lack of trials and EBM: Why?
If only accept EBM
• Few procedures would be performed
• It de-emphasizes intuition, common sense, experience &
rationale
EBM is based on trials supposedly w/o bias, only one
or maybe two variables & plenty of statistics
• Does not account for touch (healer interaction); „thoughts
are things‟
• Statistics don‟t tell you which animals will respond, and
which ones will not (vitality)
4. Evaluating Response to Treatment
Lack of EBM is NOT proof of ineffectiveness
or unsafe; thousands of people/animals die
every year due to adverse drug reactions from
FDA approved drugs
R & D is important but medicine is an ‘art’
and many factors contribute to diseases and
the success of medical procedures
Knowledge often gets in the way of wisdom
Dextrose, calcium, grain to calves, etc.
9. The Medicine Cabinet: Suppliers
Agri-Dynamics
Penn Dutch Cow Care
Dr. Sarah‟s Essentials
Impro products
Bio-Vet, Inc.
More but no experiences
10. The Medicine Cabinet
1. If organic all medications must be approved
by your certifier.
2. Conventional meds allowed for organics:
a. Injectable Vitamin/Mineral supplements
b. Electrolytes: CMPK, Cal-Nate, hypersaline, LRS, Normosol-L
c. Dextrose
d. Aspirin
e. Topicals: Iodine, alcohol, mineral oil, glycerine
f. Synthetics: Flunixin, xylazine; emergencies
only
poloxalene, epinephrine, oxytocin, ivermectin
(?)
11.
12. The Medicine Cabinet
3. Antibiotics: We are obligated to save a
life by whatever means necessary that
is ethical or put animal out of misery
Criteria for antibiotic use: Fever, severe
depression, dehydration, infections or
surgeries (3 strikes = out)
Excenel, Polyflex, oxytetracycline, etc.
Circling disease, severe pneumonia, severe
footrot, toxic metritis or
mastitis, pinkeye, Clostridial muscle
disease, after any major surgery, etc.
13.
14. The Medicine Cabinet
4. Antioxidant Vitamins & Minerals:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Vital EA&D
Vitamin C
Mu-Se or Bo-Se
MultiMin
All four are Rx medications
e. Oral supplements: NutriVit, Maxcalibur, many other sources
15. The Medicine Cabinet
5. Electrolytes:
a. Parenteral: CMPK, CalNate, Dextrose, Hypertonic
saline, LRS, Normosol-L, etc.
b. Oral (calf): Calf 180, ReplenaLytes, homemade recipes & many more
c. Oral (cow): Homemade recipes
16. Oral Cow Fluid Recipe
General “Off-Feed”
1. 10 +/- gallons of warm/cool water
2. 4-5 lbs. of alfalfa meal or equivalent
3. 8-10 oz. apple cider vinegar or
equivalent
4. 6-8 oz. aloe vera juice
5. 140gms salt (5oz), 25gms KCl (1oz) &
10gms CaCl2 (2 tsp)
6. ½ lb Diamond V Yeast
7. 2 oz. kelp
17. Homemade Parenteral Fluid
Therapy for Calves
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
*Normal eye reflexes but slow suckle reflex or moderate*
to severe (>8%) dehydration SQ or IV recipe
One gallon of distilled water (Sterile water is preferred)
Remove ~12oz from the jug
Add ¼ tsp (1.4gm) of No-Salt (KCl)
Add 1 heaping tb (24gm) of salt
Add 2 heaping tsp (17gm) of bicarb
Add 400ml 50% dextrose
Add 1ml of MultiMin /100 lb of BW (one time)
Add 1-2ml of B-Comp Forte
Mix thoroughly and use immediately!
Donald Sockett, DVM WVDL, UW
18. The Medicine Cabinet
6. Biologicals:
a. Antibody: Bovi-Sera, Calf
Guard, Ecolizer + C, First Defense
b. Commercial vaccines: 5-way &
intranasal upper respiratory virus, 7way clostridial, Lepto, calf scours, etc.
c. Bacterial cell wall extracts:
Immunoboost
d. Hyperimmunized egg yolk technology:
First Arrival, Dairy „R‟ Caps, etc.
19.
20. The Medicine Cabinet
7. Whey products:
a. Hyperimmunized colostrum whey:
Immune modulating substances like
cytokines & lactoferrins that orchestrate
the immune response i.e. Impro & Biocel
CBT
b. Milk whey: Crystal Whey
c. Oral whey capsules: Maxcalibur & Dairy
“R” Caps
21.
22. The Medicine Cabinet
8. Botanicals: Many products available
a. Tinctures: Tri-Support, First Step, Will
John, Garlic, etc.
b. Extracts: Aloe vera, Neem oil, etc.
c. Whole plant: Pul-Mate, Eliminate, Detox
Plus, Comfort, Power, S & G, etc.
d. Combinations: Check, Calf Shield, Calf
Start, Wound Spray, Phyto-Mast, etc.
e. Essential Oils/Liniments: Prism, Oxxyphyte, Poke oil, Wound Savvy, Udder
Savvy, Udder Fancy, Shoo Fly, No-Fly, EctoPhyte, Udder Comfort, etc.
23.
24. The Medicine Cabinet
9. Homeopathy: Requires accurate
symptom picture, compliance, good
restraint & healer interaction
(mind/body or „thoughts are things‟)
Aconite, apis, arnica, belladonna, caulop
hyllum, echinacea, hypericum, nat
mur, nux
vom, phytolacca, pulsatilla, pyrogenium,
rhus, sepia, utrica, etc.
Every farm should have a basic kit
25. The Medicine Cabinet
10. Acupuncture
Requires knowledge & healer interaction
Diagnostics purposes (extension of a
good physical exam) as well as
treatments
May require multiple treatments
Drs. Mark Mattison, Richard J. Holliday
& Hubert Karreman are all certified
bovine acupuncturists
26.
27. Treatment Facilities
1. Inadequate on most smaller farms
Leads to non-compliance & safety issues
Requires good footing
Never enough gates in working order
2. Head stanchions/locks:
a. Homemade, head locks, old
parlors, stationary, tie-stalls, etc.
b. Located in areas for easy access to head
3. Portable chutes: Universal for multiple
uses and can be placed anywhere
needed quickly
33. Mastitis Prevention
Never totally avoidable: All farms have constraints imposed
on them by natural principles and the innate nature of the
cow.
Be proactive:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Knowledge of basic physiological principles of lactation:
1.
2.
Supplement ration during times of stress
Routine equipment maintenance, monitoring & testing
Clean & dry bedding is paramount to success
Routinely P.E. udders
Vaccinate when necessary
Rewarded with premiums
Insure a good „let-down‟ by mimicking suckling:
warm, moist, some massage & pre-strip
Must begin milking in less than 60 seconds to maximize yield
and avoid residue milk
Cull when necessary: Face reality when P.E. & records
strongly suggest another occupation
34.
35. Staphylococcus Mastitis
1. Lives on the surface of the udder
2. Has the ability to invade living tissue and develop
scare tissue
3. Quickly can become resistant to antibiotics: MRSA
4. Avoid any damage or compromise to the physical
barriers of the teat & udder: improper milking
machine function, irritating teat dips, frost
bite, trauma, etc.
5. Culture to verify which type of Staph:
Contagious: age, stage of lactation, chronicity & P.E.
(cull if older, chronic & abcessed)
Environmental: post teat dip evaluation, cleaner
environment, investigate physical damage
36. Streptococcus Mastitis
1. Not generally invasive
2. Live on surface of the udder & in
residual milk
3. Review milking procedures/techniques
4. Avoid stimuli that interferes with
letdown: visitors, stray voltage, abrupt
changes in routine (creatures of
habit), etc.
5. Culture to determine contagious vs.
environmental and adjust management
37. E. coli Mastitis
1. „Manure bacteria‟ unsanitary conditions
2. Excess protein: Increased sources of
nitrates, urea or NPN
3. Coliforms are acid-living bacteria:
Manure & cow comfort
management, avoid slug feeding, avoid
excessive grain feeding and treat high
sulfate water
38. Mastitis Flare-ups
1. Without systemic signs: Fever, depression, hot-hardwatery quarters, or off feed
2. Early recognition & therapy for best results
3. 6-10cc‟s injectable Vitamin EA&D: SC once & caution
4. 6-10cc‟s injectable MultiMin: SC once
5. 30cc‟s whey (Impro) SC followed with oral whey
(Maxcalibur, Hemocel or Dairy “R”) BID for 3 days
6. Strip out quarter as often as possible
7. (Avoid infusions): Anything will act as an irritant and
risk introducing more pathogens
8. E.O./Liniments: Apply externally after each strip-out
9. Avoid managing the symptoms without looking for
cause: No treatment will be really effective until the
cause is removed or at least reduced
39.
40. Common-sense dry cow program
1. Quit abruptly, never linger
2. Administer immune modulator or stimulant:
kelp/aloe, Vital EA&D, TM, etc.
3. After 5-7 days, check milk & milk out
completely
4. If normal, dip teats and leave alone
5. If questionable appearance repeat steps 1-3
until normal secretion
6. In some cases may need to pre-milk cow till
freshening: colostrum quality will not be
compromised & milk fever? (no EBM)
41. Retained Fetal Membranes
Retained if not passed after 6-8 hours
Nutritional disturbances:
Weather, change in forage, change in
DMI, metabolic disturbances, etc.
Dystocia of any kind: twins, large
calves, uterine torsions, etc.
Always give warm water preferably
with electrolytes (with calcium) plus
Pulsatilla immediately after calving
42. Retained Fetal Membranes
If retained:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
50cc‟s of Uterine Care Whey daily until pass
One dose of Mu-Se with caution
Oral calcium
Pulsatilla BID until pass
Drench with aloe vera & give aspirin
After second or third day
1.
2.
3.
Check for fever, ruminations & ketones daily
Gently tug on afterbirth from the outside: if membranes
do not let go start cow on aloe vera & aspirin BID, pack
uterus with I.O. Dine boluses daily as needed
Persistent fever after 24 hours consider systemic
antibiotics and/or Pyogenium 200C (3 strikes = out)
43. Scours Prevention
Foundation of any calf raising program is an excellent dry
cow program: Any investigation of scours begins with the dry
cow environment/diet especially if scours develops within
three days of age
If calf is separated from cow must take on the responsibility
of a consistent, clean product delivered in clean utensils with
the right temp, time & elevation
Clean & separate calving areas:
1.
2.
Pathogens that cause calf diseases are carried by adult cattle
Do not share sick & pre-fresh cows within calving areas
Foundation diet for calves should always be milk, NOT grain
Adequate milk supply prevents lots of issues: 50-100%
increase during cold weather stress
Always provide clean water from day one every day of the year
Dump milk should be dumped: Only to calves older than one
month, sloop pigs or use as fertilizer on fields
44.
45. Scours Treatment
1. Probiotics &/or yogurt (make your own)
2. Electrolytes between regular milk feedings or
delayed by one hour (commercial or homemade)
3. Do NOT take off milk: hypoglycemia
4. Learn to use esophageal feeder
Will save many calves
5. Humates for toxin absorbent & source of carbon
6. Whey products: First Formula
7. Many commercial products: Calf Shield, Calf
Start, Primary Care, Arrival etc.
46. Pneumonia
Very preventable disease but difficult & expensive to
treat
Clean fresh air (outside) without direct drafts in a
clean, dry & comfortable environment
Calf jackets during cold weather
Adequate nutrition for immune system
Vaccination: Inforce 3 & 5-way respiratory MLV
Medical treatments depends on clinical presentation:
1.
2.
Good appetite and thrifty do well on natural methods:
Aspirin, aloe vera, Pul-Mate & homeopathy
Fever, depression, inappetence, open-mouth, rapid &
shallow breathing should be aggressively treated (three
strikes = treatment)
49. Banteng (= endangered wild cattle
species from southeast Asia
1. Bos javanicus also known as Tembadau
2. Domesticated banteng are called Bali
cattle
3. Originate in Java
4. Males are black and females are buff;
white stockings and white rump
5. Average between 1300-1750 lbs
6. Used for work & meat
