Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern Maci Carter had the chance to visit with Dr. David Lalman, an OSU Extension Beef Cattle Specialist. Dr. Lalman and Carter discussed hardware disease with debris from the storm, other storm concerns, electricity battles within cattle production, and how to handle the heat as a producer this summer.
“Hardware disease is related to consuming or swallowing a sharp object,” Lalman said. “You can imagine, if there’s a piece of wire or a nail or something down in the bottom of that reticulum, and a strong muscular contraction comes along, what is going to happen. You can have a cut or even a puncture wound develop pretty rapidly, and obviously, that leads to some potentially serious health issues.”
With debris littering many producers’ fields after the storms this past weekend, Lalman said to watch out for hardware disease in your cattle. If sharp objects are consumed by the cattle, he added, serious health issues can follow.
“The main thing, I think, is for folks to try to remove the foreign material from their pastures or pens,” Lalman said. “If the livestock are being kept in the pen, you know, that’s the most practical thing they can do, if possible.”
Understanding how dangerous this debris is in your pasture is very important. Lalman emphasized removing the debris as quickly and best you can to prevent more damage or health issues.
“The symptoms are, you’re going to notice that that animal is feeling some pain,” Lalman said. “The best thing to do is contact your veterinarian and make sure that they get to evaluate those animals.”
Some of the symptoms that Dr. Lalman described for an animal with hardware disease is slow movement, hunched back, extended head and neck, laying off feed, and losing weight and body condition. Lalman said the best thing to do if you notice this is to contact your trusted veterinarian.
“It’s not just potential of metal or sharp metal or wood objects, but also anything that the animal is tempted to chew on,” Lalman said. “If there’s a tarp, piece of string, or rope, a hand towel or plastic bag out in their pen or pasture all of a sudden that wasn’t there before, they’re going to be tempted to go check it out and maybe chew on it. If they swallow that, quote, foreign material, I mean, that leads to the potential for obstruction of the digestive tract, maybe even compaction.”
Lalman compared cattle to puppies or toddlers, always wanting to put things in their mouths. He said keeping it out of reach as much as possible is the best thing to do.
“The combination of the storms and people losing electricity and the more intense heat that we’re going to see over the next few days would be an important consideration,” Lalman said. “I think of all the show animals that are being prepared now for their shows coming up.”
With show cattle starting to hit the barns pretty hard, Lalman said he can imagine the struggle that some families are facing now if they lost power in the storm. Keeping those cattle cool and maintaining the care regiments that are in place is a battle without electricity.
“In general, the extremely hot weather we’re going to have, you know, people just need to be thinking about how best to care for their animals,” Lalman said.
Show cattle or not, Lalman stressed how hot weather maintenance is important for all cattle. He suggests shade, cool and clear water, and airflow to best combat the heat. With a hot summer ahead, Lalman said these three things will be crucial to prioritize.
