Heifers chased by dogs

alps

Got a call at 5pm that dogs had been chasing our weaning heifers on an out farm. Got there just as it was getting dark. Heifers in a corner about 700m from the paddock they were originally in, all wires broken etc....They were absolutely covered sweat and steaming like hell but not panting and once I arrived seemed to settle and followed me to a sheltered paddock.

My question is, has anyone any experience as to the risk of pneumonia, and how fast it could effect one of them.
The night is dry, clear, 11 degrees at the moment, lucky that rain is not forecast.

It will be 7am before I get back to them and unfortunately a family outing tomorrow to be on the road for 8am..
Any advise very welcome..
Dogs no longer a problem....

Brown Podzol

alps wrote: »

Got a call at 5pm that dogs had been chasing our weaning heifers on an out farm. Got there just as it was getting dark. Heifers in a corner about 700m from the paddock they were originally in, all wires broken etc....They were absolutely covered sweat and steaming like hell but not panting and once I arrived seemed to settle and followed me to a sheltered paddock.

My question is, has anyone any experience as to the risk of pneumonia, and how fast it could effect one of them.
The night is dry, clear, 11 degrees at the moment, lucky that rain is not forecast.

It will be 7am before I get back to them and unfortunately a family outing tomorrow to be on the road for 8am..
Any advise very welcome..
Dogs no longer a problem....

I wouldn't worry too much. I have often walked cattle over two miles, mostly uphill, in Spring when leaving them out of the shed and while I was often concerned for them I never had an issue. Glad to hear the dogs are no longer a problem. Had a dog in with my calves Tues evening, he's no longer a problem either.

patsy_mccabe

I'd be far more concerned if it was a wet drizzly night. A cold crispy night would be ideal for them.

Reggie.

alps wrote: »

Dogs no longer a problem....

Proper order

Kovu

As above, it's a grand night. Once they're settled now and not still running they should be ok. If it was wet or foggy I'd be more worried. Just take a close look at their noses in the morning, look for the wee water droplets if you catch them lying.

Bang bang is the only way for instant relief to those sort of issues :pac:

J.O. Farmer

Kovu wrote: »

Bang bang is the only way for instant relief to those sort of issues :pac:

I hope you mean the dogs and not the pneumonia

Kovu

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

I hope you mean the dogs and not the pneumonia

Hahaha, yes, the dogs. Or buck goat as it was in one strange case here. The cows reeeeeally didn't like him. Smelly yoke.

mf240

On a similar note. Dont forget to put your dogs in the shed or let them into the house.

The local underachievers will be letting off fireworks and they could stray off.

frazzledhome

mf240 wrote: »

On a similar note. Dont forget to put your dogs in the shed or let them into the house.

The local underachievers will be letting off fireworks and they could stray off.

Let off a **** load of fireworks here last night. Dog locked up, does this make me an underachiever

_Brian

We had a heifer chased and bitten there in early September. Few bites on the legs and took a few inches of her tail too.

By time I got home from work things were settled and dog long gone, just heifer pissing blood and swishing it everywhere, looked like some bloodbath.

She sold with the rest but definitely lost weight that she never really recovered.

frazzledhome

mf240 wrote: »

On a similar note. Dont forget to put your dogs in the shed or let them into the house.

The local underachievers will be letting off fireworks and they could stray off.

Let off a **** load of fireworks here last night. Dog locked up, does this make me an underachiever

Reggie.

frazzledhome wrote: »

Let off a **** load of fireworks here last night. Dog locked up, does this make me an underachiever

Yep

greysides

Awful bad weather for pneumonia. My suggestion would be to try to leave them to settle for a few days but to watch them a lot more intensively. You don't really want to have to gather them to treat sick animals but it's a risk assessment. If you start to get concerned and they happened to be on meal you could talk to your vet about medicating the feed. This wouldn't require bringing them in and could head off more severe problems.


On a related note, there's a load of Hoose around at the moment. If you really must house cattle in this weather then dose on the way in or ensure they're housed within the residual period for Lungworm of an avermectin wormer. Even small amounts of Hoose will open them up to other causes of pneumonia.

I'd suggest phased housing where it would be practical. House heavier animals first and spread them out over the houses available to thin out the stocking density. Gradually tighten them up to free up housing for the lighter cattle that could stay out longer without damaging fields too much.