Poplar Valley Animal Clinic

21/04/2025

Still a few spots for grooming May 9th. Fifty pounds and less.

17/04/2025

A Happy Easter to all. We will be closed on Good Friday, but will be hopping back to work on Monday, April 21st.

05/04/2025

In the throws of my 31st year of calvings, and one can learn something new always. This year I learned that nothing is impossible. As I was getting ready to help a cow with a full breech ( all that was showing was its tail), the cow grunted with a huge grunt and the calf got spit out- about a 70 pound calf-75 pound calf, so not overly small. Mind you , the grunt also sent its uterus leaving as well. So it begs one to think, how many calves are born full breech? This particular rancher had a cow do the same thing earlier in the season- pushing a full breech out and then saw another pair of legs of its sibling. Guess if you wait long enough you’ll see something out of the ordinary.

03/04/2025

Had a busy day yesterday spaying cats. One of these uteruses is not like the other. One has three fetuses and the other has the start of Pyometria- infection of the uterus. This cat was lucky since it was taken out early- if left, the uterus would have become completely full of pus, and the cat would have gotten very sick. Surgeries on Pyometrias are a little more delicate- since they have an increased risk of rupturing- and pus in the abdomen is not what you want. These girls were safely sent home.

28/03/2025

Daylin’s last day. Wishing her all the best in her future!

16/03/2025

It’s not always work at Poplar Valley Animal Clinic- our annual bowling tournament was attended by our AHT student Daylin. Our team always shows their hidden talents.

14/03/2025

Don’t forget to call in to the clinic regarding the producer meeting on March 26!

13/03/2025

Dailyn is a visiting AHT student honing her skills for her upcoming career. In the 4 weeks she will be at the clinic she will master putting IV’s in, intubating patients, giving injections, talking to clients , and learning about large animal cases as well. We hope she gets as much as she can out of this experience.

13/03/2025

Tis the season of things that can go wrong at calving time, and when there are times when cows have to be helped, whether it be from pulling twins, doing a c section, or removing a dead calf from a cow- you can expect a situation where the placenta refuses to leave. If a cow hasn’t released the placenta by 12-24 hours, be prepared that you may look at for the next week to 10 days. Many people want it removed- but in doing so it can be detrimental to the uterus and decrease the chances of the cow rebreeding due to metritis. Things such as oxytocin, estradiol cypionate, Lutalyse, radishes ( yes radishes) have not been found to speed up the course. The best thing you can do is to look at the cow’s face and write down her number- and note it down in case you have to treat her. Oxytetracycline or penicillin along with an anti inflammatory such as Metacam or Banamine can be used to treat if the cow is getting ill from a retained placenta - which actually occurs rarely. If you have more than your share of retained placentas it may point to nutritional issues- such as low Se, Vitamin E or protein. In the moment nothing can be really done, but attention to your mineral program and quality of your feed for the next winter should be part of the plan going forward.

10/03/2025

Anyone who needs special ordered ear tags please call clinic to get order in please!

24/02/2025

A few more spots available for grooming on Friday, February 28.

19/02/2025

Our Oblitteration Tuesdays are going well. Trying our best to help with keeping the cat population down. This will continue on into the kitten season for sure- but doing it early will prevent pregnancies.

06/02/2025

Raising those heifers for the future cow herd does not have to be difficult. Some points to remember is that a heifer being 50-55% of their mature body weight at time of breeding surpasses those heifers that are fat waddling lasses as they are put out to the bull ( ie the lighter girls will actually be gaining on pasture, and basically being flushed and more likely to get pregnant in that first cycle with the bull verses the fat girls who will be losing weight when put out to the bull). Allowing heifers to winter heifers on range versus feeding in a pen can create that cow that will thrive in the winter. Look at those bottom end heifers and pick out those that could not hold their own over the winter grazing season….those type of heifers would make cows that would always need that extra help over the winter. The added benefit is that your feed costs will be decreased as you develop heifers this way. Six weeks prior to bull turn out is the best time to assess your future cow herd- and vaccinating them at this time with a live vaccines should be done to protect the fetus ( vaccinating at day of turnout can be counterproductive- since inflammation of the reproductive system can occur causing an issue with their first cycle). Those heifers calving in the first 30 days are more likely to stay in your herd as older cows- and research has shown those heifers are always going to wean a heavier calf than those heifers that calve in the 2nd or third cycle. To get as many of those heifers pregnant in the first cycle, the most labour efficient way would be putting your heifers with the bulls for 5 days, ( expecting 25% to be cycling and getting pregnant), then on day 5 every heifers would get a shot of prostaglandin ( like Estrumate) - this wouldn’t affect any of those heifers which cycled and got bred, but would cycle the remaining heifers within the next 4 days to get bred. Leave the bull in for a total of 30 days and that will lead to a set of cows which will bring you money over the years by breeding earlier in the season, weaning heavier calves and staying longer in the cow herd.

03/02/2025

Foot and Mouth Disease is a disease which if it ever got into Canada, it would be devastating for our trade. It is a disease of cloven footed animals ( ie pigs, sheep, cattle, goats and any other two tied species). It is a virus, and can be spread by many methods. When it occurred in 1952 in Canada, it was due to pork in the form of sausage which was brought overseas. Currently Germany has an outbreak- and prevention of further spread involves depopulation and limitation of moving animals. The disease causes fever, decreased milk and growth production, abortions, drooling and lameness (4 footed). Blisters would be seen on feet and in their mouth. Bio security of your ranch/farm is important for disease control for this and any type of infectious disease. Limiting visiting people from areas which may have issues is important- whether it’s your Aunty Hilda from Germany who may bring FMD or Joe from down the road who has a scour outbreak in his calves. Bio security is a very important part of keeping disease out.

Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly communicable viral disease of cattle and swine, which also affects sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed ruminants (horses are not affected). Signs of the disease include fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats a...

28/01/2025

Need a new do? Feb 28 is when our groomer will come and make your furry friends beautiful!!

25/01/2025

We are going to try this pheromone and see if it makes a difference!

24/01/2025

We weren’t sure if there were any quills left in the porcupine. Somewhere there is a bald looking porcupine.

17/01/2025

Some calves are making their way into the world- and knowing how much calves are going to bring at the auction mart- we want to try to get as healthy calves as possible. One of the most important building blocks for a healthy calf is the absorption of colostral antibodies in the calf. One way to predict that the calf may benefit from administration of colostrum is if they don’t have a strong suckle reflex after 10 minutes of being born. A strong reflex means the calf would likely consume enough colostrum by 4 hours. If their suckle reflex is poor- you should give that calf some colostrum. Failure of maternal transfer of antibodies can set up the possibility of that calf getting sick in the future and a high chance of succumbing to disease.