A month old beef calf died suddenly with no history of illness. Fifty cow-calf pairs were kept in a pasture with a tree grove. No significant gross lesions were seen at necropsy. Kidney was analyzed for lead and 86 ppm were found confirming lead poisoning. We see most cases of lead poisoning in calves in the spring.
Calves are curious and seem to seek out lead sources which are often broken batteries.
Blackleg Three of 180 six month old holstein heifers died acutely with swollen necks. Necrotizing myositis was found in the neck and necrotizing myocarditis was observed in the heart. Clostridium chauvoei was identified from heart and skeletal muscle. The heifers had not received a clostridial vaccine upon arrival. Lamb Pneumonia Pasteurella haemolytica and Mycoplasma spp. were isolated from the lungs of these four to six week old lambs.