Page 13 - Aug242023

The Midwest Cattleman · August 24, 2023 · P13
What does summer pneumonia look like in calves, and what to do about it?

By Halden Clark, DVM MS, Health Stewardship; Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center, and Aaron Berger, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator

Through the summer, cat- many cows were thinner
tle producers have to stay than usual, even in areas not
vigilant, because things like affected by the historic and
nursing calf pneumonia and devastating winter weather.
pinkeye can take a lot of the Due to the winter stress on
fun out of baseball games cows, it’s likely that a large
and county fairs. Let’s take a percentage of calves received
quick look at summer/nurs- lower quality colostrum
ing-calf pneumonia. than usual this year, which
Beef producers normally makes them more likely to
spot this condition when they get sick, including with sum-
notice a listless calf with mer pneumonia. We’ve heard
droopy ears and a high body about lots of struggles with
temperature (fever). The calf calf health across the state
may or may not cough or have this season, which means it
visible difficulty breathing. will be especially important
Speak with your veterinari- to keep very close tabs on calf Photo by Troy Walz
an if you have questions re- health, and to intervene ear-
garding how to best approach lier rather than later if treat-
vaccinating calves as well as ment is necessary. for future cases. During the A recent survey of veteri-
what you’ll want to use to If the calf dies, a veteri- summer months it is very narians led by AR Woolums
treat summer pneumonia if narian can generally diag- important to get any dead suggested that across the
you identify it in your calves. nose this condition with a calf that will be presented Plains states about one in
Treatment is usually effec- high level of certainty during for a post-mortem exam to five herds will have cases
tive with this condition when a post-mortem exam. Hav- the veterinarian as soon as of summer pneumonia in a
administered early in the ing these calves posted by possible, because the carcass given year. In a related sur-
course of the disease. a veterinarian can also rule will decompose rapidly in hot vey of beef producers by the
Cattle across the region out other possibilities and conditions, which may make same research group, the
endured prolonged weather allow the vet to recommend it impossible for a vet to ac- number of cases of summer
stress this past winter, and the ideal course of action curately diagnose. continued on page 14

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