Farms downsize with mini cows

Walking through their lowing herd of several hundred cattle, Ali and Kenny Petersen were like two Gullivers on a Lilliputian roundup.

[andrew j langham]

T B Prevention for farm cattle; World Wide; sensible methods;

T B spores are washed off cattle by rain and are killed by UV in sunshine rays and rain and oxygen!

Mycobacterium T B Note tuberculosis toxins are the main biological cause of the disease; pathology is mainly from cattle to cattle;

T B can start and develop in just one individual male bull or steer or female cow;

WHY ? because if the cow is kept in doors during the winter, no sunshine kills or controls the amount of mycobacterium upon the hide, rain is also very important, because it is ‘slightly acid’ and kills certain bacteria;
T B only flourishes in dark or semi-dark sweaty clammy conditions with
poor air flow Ie, closed or semi-closed buildings;

Cattle get faeces splash upon their hides; when the hides dry other cattle breath in the T B spores and the spores germinate in the moisture of the lung membranes so the disease becomes established in that receptor cow or bull; whereby it enters the blood stream and can even get into the bone structure!
Please understand T B bacteria in its dry spore state can last months or years until it finds its way into an unlucky cows lungs, where it flourishes and starts the T B disease organism infecting the cow or bull; and then losing the herd because of T B medical rules;

CURE: & PREVENTION keep cattle outdoors where possible, so they get sunshine and rain upon them;

If they have to be kept in during the winter they need plenty of natural ventilation and where possible have windows or skylights for allowing sunshine upon the cattle;

A ‘cow wash’ is the way to go! a simple arched overhead pipe acting as luke warm water shower; made available as they go in and out of the milking parlour, or moving from lorry to sheds etc; note; could be made portable;

Note; always wash out water troughs at least twice a year; because this is where diseases are often spread both outdoors in the fields and indoors especially; there best well raised of the ground with perhaps just a small trough for small calves etc; if money will allow;
And always wash out calf milk feeding plastic buckets with hot water, cause that’s how calves get many diseases and fungi infections like ring worm on their noses or muzzles; if in doubt over disease always consult a vet ;