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Lessons Learned Feeding Buffalo. John Bowron DVM Prairie Heights Bison . Disease Prevention Is Everything. Wild animals hide their diseases Diseases become very advanced Do antibiotics work in bison? Treatment is disappointing. Components of Disease Prevention. Minimize Stress
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Lessons Learned Feeding Buffalo John Bowron DVM Prairie Heights Bison
Disease Prevention Is Everything • Wild animals hide their diseases • Diseases become very advanced • Do antibiotics work in bison? • Treatment is disappointing
Components of Disease Prevention • Minimize Stress • Adequate space: 300-400 square feet • 65-75 per group • Sort groups by size • Feed bulls & heifers separately • Don’t disturb social order
Larger animals in finishing pen ID & weighed on arrival weighed again in 120 days sorted into new groups by size and gender rations change weigh again in 150 days
Pee wee pen calves under 300 pounds injured calves good feed hopefully not many
We’ve converted all fountains to this style aka “the jug” Extreme cold weather monitor for daily ice removal Hot weather some concerns about adequate access
Controlling Parasites • External parasites • Lice, mites, & ticks rare • Dense hair coat • Internal Parasites • Reduce immunity • Decrease appetite • Geographic area
Summer worming - flushing 6 to 8 weeks after green grass use oats or oat screening pellots fed on the grass in 30 – 40 lb piles
Safeguard dewormer Dose at 2x the cattle dose Deliver the total dose over 3 days Benefits: better health, body condition & conception rates
Components of Disease Prevention • Vaccinations for Bison Cows on Pasture ….. NONE • IBR-PI3-BVD-BRSV (killed) • Leptospirosis • Clostridium disease • Pink Eye • Anthrax
Receiving Protocol Clostridium 7 way Pastuerella Vira-Shield 6 Dectomax inj.
PasteurellaHaemolytica PasteurellaMultocida
Vira-Shield 6 IBR PI3 BRSV BVD 1 & 2
In 3 to 5 weeks vaccines are repeated Safe Guard drenchdewormer
Malignant Catarrhal Fever Ovine Herpes virus Fatal to bison Depression, bloody diarrhea & death in three days Spread by aerosol, water & manure
Winter feeding program Corn stover bales major source of roughage
Potpourri of energy & protein 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, 5 feet high 50 ground hay bales pour 6000 gallons corn syrup 100 ton modified wet distiller grains 100 ton of corn silage
Feeding rate: 25 lbs/head 2 to 3 times per week 50% moisture Include distillers mineral balancer to keep Ca: Phos ratio in balance Be alert to over-conditioning cows
Mineral available year round Pelleted Weather tolerant Highly palatable
Efforts to prevent feed waste Feeder design Processed feeds
Bison are dirty drinkers Conventional water tanks & fountains are sources of Ecoli, salmonella…. etc.