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Livestock and Forages News Articles
Articles published in Arkansas Cattle Business
Animal Science: Today and Tomorrow - March 2007
Saliva May Spread CWD According to Study
According to the results of a study published recently in Science magazine,
deer may spread chronic wasting disease (CWD) through their saliva, which
researchers had suspected for some time but could not prove.
Researchers tested four sets of 6-month-old, hand-raised deer, exposing them
to saliva, feces and urine, and blood or brain from wild or captive deer with
CWD. A fifth set were inoculated with each of those materials from wild deer
without CWD. After 18 months the deer were euthanized, and their brains were
checked for CWD. All the deer exposed to saliva and blood from CWD-infected deer
were infected, while those exposed to urine and feces remained healthy.
Chronic Wasting Disease is a contagious neurological disease affecting mostly
deer and elk. It causes a characteristic spongy degeneration of the brains of
infected animals resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily
functions, and ultimately, death. CWD belongs to a group of diseases known as
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). It has been confirmed in deer
and elk in several states and in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Proving that saliva is able to spread CWD is vitally important because it
brings us one step closer to determining how it is passed in the wild. Is it
spread from just animal to animal? Or is it spread through some sort of
environmental contamination, such as through shared salt licks or through
contacts in pasture areas? These questions will be researched. The ultimate goal
of the research is to develop a diagnostic test for CWD.
Factors Affecting the Selling Price of Feeder Calves
From January 1 to December 31, 2005, data was collected on 52,401 lots
consisting of 105,542 head of cattle, which represented 18.3 percent of the
cattle sold at the reporting auction barns. The data collected included: the
number of cattle sold at a time, gender, breed or breed type, color, polled or
horned, frame (large, medium or small), muscle score (1, 2, 3 or 4), fill
(gaunt, shrink, average, full or tanked), condition (very thin, thin, average,
fleshy or fat), age (calf or yearling), health, weight and price.
Seventy-five percent of the cattle sold were sold one at a time. Some auction
barns sold 100 percent one at a time whereas other barns sold 40 to 50 percent
one at a time. Only 19 percent and 6 percent of the calves were sold in groups
of 2 to 5 and greater than 5, respectively. Other descriptive statistics
included:
- 13% had horns whereas 86% were polled
- 40% were steers, 14% were bulls, and 46% were heifers
- 65% were large framed, 34% medium framed, and less than 1% small framed.
Data from 2000 showed that the percent of polled calves increased from 71
percent to 86 percent in 2005. With 46 percent of the calves sold being heifers,
it is clear Arkansas cow-calf producers did not retain heifers in 2005 to build
back cow herds. With high cattle prices, hot temperatures and low rainfall, most
were lucky to maintain their normal stock rate. It was interesting to note that
the percentage of large (57 percent) and medium (42 percent) framed cattle were
very similar. The cattle industry is moving away from large-framed cattle and
getting frame scores back toward the middle. The percentage of small framed
calves is very low (less than 1 percent).
The USDA muscle score is 1, 2, 3 and 4. Number 1 is thick beefy type
muscling, and number 4 is flat inadequate muscling. The percentage of calves
classified in muscle scores 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 75 percent, 23 percent, 1 percent
and 0.06 percent, respectively.
Black (35 percent) was the most popular color with red (12 percent) being the
second most popular. The other major colors and their percentages are reported
in Table 1.
| Table 1. Percentage of Calf Color. |
| Color |
Percentage |
| Black |
35 |
| Red |
12 |
| Yellow |
10 |
| Black-White Face |
10 |
| Red-White Face |
7 |
| White |
6 |
| Yellow-White Face |
4 |
| Gray |
8 |
| Spotted or Striped |
2 |
| Gray-White Face |
0.8 |
Angus x Brahman (14 percent) was the most popular breed type followed by
Charolais (12 percent), Angus (11 percent), and Limousin (8 percent; See Table
2).
| Table 2. Percentage of Calf Breeds. |
| Breed |
Percentage |
| Angus x Brahman |
14 |
| Charolais |
12 |
| Angus |
11 |
| Limousin |
8 |
| ¼ Brahman |
8 |
| Angus x Hereford |
7 |
| Brangus |
5 |
| Brahman cross |
5 |
| Charolais x Limousin |
5 |
| Angus x Charolais |
3 |
| Charolais x ¼ Brahman |
3 |
| Hereford x Angus x Brahman |
3 |
| Hereford x Limousin |
3 |
| Limousin x ¼ Brahman |
2 |
| Hereford x Charolais |
2 |
| Hereford x ¼ Brahman |
2 |
| Hereford |
2 |
| Simmental |
0.9 |
| Brahman |
0.9 |
| Longhorn |
0.6 |
| Saler |
0.6 |
| Angus x Limousin |
0.5 |
| Hereford x Simmental |
0.4 |
Over 71 percent of the calves weighed 549 pounds or less. The following
summarizes the calf percentages sold by weight groups:
Aging Time
- 66% of the cattle were aged as calves
- 34% were aged as yearlings
Health
Fill
- 49% were average fill while
- 21% were classified as gaunt
- 27% were classified as shrunk
- 2% were full fill
- 0.1% was tanked
Body Condition
- 63% were considered average body condition
- 22% very thin
- 12% thin
- 3% fleshy
- 0.1% fat
The next article will discuss the management factors that affected selling
price and how much selling price is affected. Management factors included items
such as castration, horns, selling in groups, fill, condition, etc.
For additional information, contact your local
county
Extension agent.
By: Dr. Keith Lusby and Dr. Tom Troxel
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