200 dead cows in Wisconsin

Don't laugh. It could be nerve gas or germ warfare agents or who else in our country? All of this sounds way to scary to me.

Most cattle feed has Urea in it. Suppose to be a benefit.

Urea is poison to horses.

Urea will kill cattle if they get too much of it. Usually happens when they lose access to their normal forage and go crazy on the lick tanks.

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Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

We'll be watching for updates on this. Very disturbing, especially since we live next door to a feedlot type of cow dairy and we have dairy goats ourselves...

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yes i also am interested age? where did they come from? did he just buy 200 weaned auction or contract cows or 100 and introduce something to the heard? and 200 of how many?

Can I ask a silly question?

If you are a cattle farmer, do you take out 'insurance' on your cattle?
I mean, if you are hurting for cash, can you poison your cows, in mass, to collect money from an insurance company?

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I am sure of two things: There is a God, and I am not Him.
The movie Rudy

Oh goodness!

These market calves, almost ready for market, were infected with a nasty pasturella. They were ready for market and the deaths started with on then within a week they had lost 200.

This information comes from a direct neighbor who spoke with the son of the owner.

O.O I live near there and hadn't heard about it. Guess I'm not buying red meat from the local butcher anytime soon.

Saw this on a friend's Facebook page. I can't sit still for 16 minutes but I listened to the first 5. Same line of thinking as Farmerjohn...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7c29...ayer_embedded#!

Thank you for your info.

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Cows may not be smarter than People, but some cows are smarter than some people.

Well, before anyone starts to jump to any MORE conclusions.....how about some verified facts, eh?

this just happened, so the only report out is from the sheriff's office in Portage. It's a terse thing. Just states the Humane Society is investigating, 200 cows in a field, working with a vet who has said (to the sheriff) that it's probably caused by the virus previously mentioned.

this is the latest video report (last night's news)

As you watch the short video, you can see they appear to be beef cattle of some sort. This type of cattle is fed once a day in the winter, and not checked like the dairy herd would be. You go out in the snow and cold, drop the hay and/or grain into the chutes...maybe do a count...and go away until the next day.

We've been having cold then warm then severe cold again weather up here. That's a recipe for a quick spread of viruses in humans as well as in animals. Don't know, but that could well have played a part in it.

by the way, They can't know that it's a pasteurella virus until it's verified by lab work, which hasn't been finished yet. Even the VET won't give a definite answer to that question. Vet is maintaining the bovine rhinitis virus thing that was previously mentioned as his main suspect. We'll just have to wait for the lab work.

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"A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” - Ansel Adams
(and a lot of luck - Wisconsin Ann)
Rabbits anyone? RabbitTalk.com

Someone dropped the ball in the care of the cattle.

http://www.anslab.iastate.edu/Class/...asteurella.htm

That many deaths in a weeks time says that the cattle weren't properly cared for.

When I was riding pens in a feedlot we got a bad batch of modified live vaccine and had 5000 head of calves come down with BVR. We didn't lose many, but what a nightmare!

Of course these cattle were looked at closely every day, much more closely than your typical small farm cattle.

__________________
Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

Well, the survivors in the video look like last years calves to me.

__________________
Flaming Xtian
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mahatma Gandhi


Libertarindependent

Since the vet school and the research guys work every day at UW, maybe they'll have the answer quickly

Ann, ever the optimist

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"A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” - Ansel Adams
(and a lot of luck - Wisconsin Ann)
Rabbits anyone? RabbitTalk.com

So they didn't all just die at once?

What's the weather been like in Wisconsin? Really cold weather can lower an animal's resistance and he can die from a bug that wouldn't kill him in easier weather.

Here's what I said in a previous post:
It's been going from sub zero to 40s by the week and then back again.

__________________
"A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” - Ansel Adams
(and a lot of luck - Wisconsin Ann)
Rabbits anyone? RabbitTalk.com

Most farmers only have insurance for natural diasters, like fire, and tornado`s, maybe the shed collapsing from snow. Not from illness, it is just like for us then to expensive. I had a horse insured once for all over coverage of mortality and it cost a bunch. So your answer would be yes he could. But more than likely no. He is probly just out, and with 200 head that is a big,BIG hit. > Marc

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Our Diversified Stock Portfolio: cows and calves, alpacas, horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, cats ... and a couple of dogs...
http://springvalleyfarm.4mg.com

Insurance is for really high priced animals. One of those million dollar bulls would be insured, or a fancy race horse.

I got quotes for insuring my Quarter Horses. The premiums were so high (5 horses total) that I figured I'd have to have one horse die every year before the insurance was worthwhile. Since I never had a horse die, not ever, it didn't seem like much of a good deal.

Same for the medical insurance for dogs. If you've only got one pet and can throw money away, then it might be good for a sense of security. If you've got 4-5 dogs, you'll never ever get your money out of it.

Not to mention, the insurance companies always have some reason why they don't have to pay.