title: Survey of western Canadian beef producers regarding calf-hood diseases, management practices, and veterinary service usage.
abstract: Cow-calf producers in western Canada were surveyed in June 2010 regarding calf-hood diseases and veterinary service usage; 310 producers responded. Use of veterinary services, particularly herd-health related services, increased with herd size as did neonatal diarrhea and clostridial vaccine usage. Administration of clostridial vaccines to pregnant dams before calving was associated with a reduction in neonatal diarrhea treatments; however, there was no association between neonatal diarrhea vaccine usage and a reduction in diarrhea treatments. Producers with > 220 breeding females were more likely than those with < 85 breeding females to seek veterinary advice regarding treating sick calves, have a veterinarian necropsy dead calves, have a veterinarian pregnancy check their bred females, and evaluate their herd bulls for breeding soundness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4 (Waldner, Jelinski); Box 743, Dalmeny, Saskatchewan S0K 1E0 (McIntyre-Zimmer).
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waldner
authors.forename: Murray D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jelinski
authors.forename: Katelyn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McIntyre-Zimmer
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018634:Veterinarians; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*