Louisiana Deer for Sale

See http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/ for Louisiana deer for sale.  We have does live covered and AI'd to top bucks in the country, shooter bucks, breeder bucks, fawns and semen.  We even have a few does live bred to X-Factor. 

Caution in Mixing Antibiotics

Most of this information is taken verbatim from  http://www.westerncowman.com/february08/antibiotics.html.  I added some additional comments to aid in determining which antibiotics are in which class.

Antibiotics for Beef Cattle By Heather Smith Thomas

Subcutaneous Injections

Originally, SubQ injections were used because a particular product was highly irritating to muscle tissue or designed for slower rate of absorption. Today, however, due to concerns about carcass quality (trying to avoid IM shots, where possible) more injectables—including some antibiotics as well as vaccines—are being approved for subcutaneous use and no longer must be given IM. When you have a choice, according to label directions, it’s best to inject the product under the skin rather than into muscle, for less tissue damage. IM shots are more likely to develop a serious abscess if a needle is dirty. An infection introduced by a SubQ shot is merely beneath the skin and an abscess more readily breaks open to drain.

For a SubQ injection, lift a fold of skin on the neck or shoulder where skin is loosest, and slip the needle in between the skin and muscle. If using a trigger-type syringe, aim it alongside the animal so the needle goes under the skin and not into the muscle. For a small calf, it may be easiest to give a SubQ injection under the loose skin of the shoulder, and if there’s any local reaction it won’t make his neck sore (and hinder his desire to nurse).

Giving injections SubQ rather than IM allows you to use a shorter needle (¾ inch if using a trigger type syringe, or up to 1 inch if using both hands to tent the skin and slip the needle underneath) so it’s less likely to bend or break. In the confined space of some chutes, insert the needle at an angle so you can use a one-handed technique with a syringe gun, rather than both hands to tent the skin. There’s less risk of getting your hands injured (jammed between the animal and the chute) or accidentally hitting yourself with the needle, if you can do it one handed.

Intravenous Injections

Some medications are more effective (acting faster and more readily absorbed) if given IV. Some are very irritating to muscle tissue and must be given IV. It’s not difficult to give IV injections, but they must be done properly. Chances for problems are greater, as is the speed with which a serious problem may develop, so you must know which products can be given IV (follow label directions) and know what you are doing. Large volumes of fluid or medications given too swiftly can put too much load on the heart, and some drugs speed up the heart. Heart rate should be monitored when giving fluids or certain IV medications, and rate of administration adjusted accordingly.

Any large vein will work for an IV injection, including the large veins under the tail, the big milk vein ahead of the udder on a lactating cow, or the jugular vein on either side of the neck (located in the groove above windpipe and esophagus). A large needle (at least 16 gauge and 2 inches long or longer) works best for adult animals.

For IV injections, needles and any other equipment (syringe or tubing) must be sterile. The animal must be well restrained so it can’t move around during the procedure. If using the jugular vein, find it and press down on it with your fingers or fist to build up pressure (between your hand and the animal’s head) so the vein stands up and is easier to inject. Still pressing on the vein, insert the needle into it at a point between your hand and the animal’s head, then move the needle a little forward (inside the vein) parallel with the neck. If blood flows freely from the needle, this shows it’s in the vein and you can then attach your syringe (or tubing, if giving fluid).

The most common problem is pushing the needle too far, clear through the vein and out the other side. Sometimes the animal moves and the needle slips out of the vein. Don’t just assume it’s in the vein just because you see some blood. Blood will flow rapidly and steadily from the needle if it’s actually in the vein. Make sure the needle stays in the vein when you give the injection or administer the fluid. Injecting some products into tissues around the vein can cause severe irritation and stress (and sometimes death, depending on the drug). If the needle slips out of the vein while giving fluid the tissues around the vein will start to swell. If the needle slips out of the vein, take it out and start over. If giving fluid, which means the needle must be in the vein awhile, it’s best to use an IV catheter, which is longer than a needle and more flexible, and stays in the vein better.

Needles

Always use a sharp, sterile needle. Use of disposable needles ensures the needle will be clean and sharp, but avoid those with plastic hubs because they are more likely to break. Use proper diameter for the job; too large and it allows leakage, too small and it may break or slow the procedure and more pressure is needed to inject the material through it (never try to put a thick product through a small needle). If it’s too long it may bend or break. Too short and it may not deliver the product into proper location.

Needles should not be reused unless they’ve been boiled between uses. Exceptions are when a large number of cattle are being vaccinated at once. In this instance, care must be taken to make sure the needle stays clean and sharp during multiple uses. Injections should never be put into dirty hide (covered with mud or manure). Make sure the area to be injected is clean and dry. Thrusting a needle through wet or dirty skin will take contamination with it, creating risk for an abscess at the injection site. It’s always better to vaccinate cattle when they are dry, rather than wet from rain or snow. Even if you are using the same needle multiple times on several animals, always use a clean sterile needle for refilling your syringe; never insert a used or dirty needle into the bottle or you may contaminate the contents.

If a needle gets dull or dirty after being used on several animals, exchange it for a new one. Needles are designed to cut into the skin, not puncture it. After you’ve used a needle on 10 or more animals, it starts to dull and develop a burr on the tip. Once it’s dull, you need more force to put it through the skin, producing more tissue damage. Instead of cutting through the skin, a dull needle punctures it and folds a small piece of skin under, possibly carrying dirt or bacteria with it. If a needle starts to get dull or gets a blunt tip from being bumped on the chute, discard it for a new one, even if you’ve only used it on one animal.

Always discard a needle if it becomes bent. Bending weakens it and it may break. You don’t want it to break off in the animal. Make sure the needle is still attached to the syringe when you finish the injection. On the rare occasion one breaks off in an animal, it may be sticking out and you can grab it. Otherwise, mark the site so your vet can surgically retrieve it—and do it as soon as possible. A needle shaft can migrate several inches within an hour, working deeper into the muscle or traveling laterally under the skin. When working cattle, have a container by the chute for disposal of used needles.

Some of the gun-type syringes have flexible ends to minimize the risk for bent or broken needles. If you use a trigger type syringe, make sure it’s easy to use and well lubricated for quick ease of motion, especially if you have small hands. The easier and faster you can give an injection, especially if the animal has any room to move around, the less likely you’ll end up with bent or broken needles. Make sure you have good access to the injection site and your hand or syringe/needle won’t be jammed into the bars or front of the chute if the animal lunges forward or backward. Many of the new squeeze chutes have access doors at the neck area or a neck extension that holds the head and neck still while you are trying to give an injection.

A Local Veterinarian’s Perspective

Certain illnesses and disease conditions in cattle are caused by bacteria, and stockmen generally treat these with antibiotics. Some types of antibiotics kill bacteria and others inhibit their growth. Use of the proper antibiotic can help the sick animal fight the infection. The important thing is knowing when an antibiotic would be helpful (or not) and which drugs might work best for certain conditions. This is why it is crucial to work with your veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Jeff Hoffman, DVM, raises cattle and has a veterinary practice near Salmon, Idaho, a ranching area where his clients are mainly cow-calf producers. Choice of an antibiotic when an animal is ill should always be a case by case situation; there are no hard and fast rules for what works best. “We basically use antibiotics in beef animals for 3 purposes—prophylaxis (preventative medicine), metaphylaxis (a combination of treatment and prevention, as when a group of stressed calves arrive at a feedlot after a long transport, and all of them are mass treated upon arrival), and therapeutic—actual treatment of an illness. So you need to have a plan about what you are doing,” he says.

“Most over the counter drugs (penicillin, tetracyclines and some of the sulfas) list on the label what they can be used for so you need enough knowledge to know what you are treating. All the newer drugs require a prescription to obtain, so you must be working with your veterinarian anyway, on diagnosis and treatment. This is the whole idea behind prescription drugs. An adequate label (to cover everything it might be used for, or stipulations regarding proper use) can’t be written,” he explains. In order to use a prescription drug there also has to be a valid doctor/client/patient relationship. The veterinarian must diagnose and prescribe, before he/she will put a drug into the client’s hands to treat the animal. Otherwise, these drugs are not legal for stockmen to use.

“The 2 main classes of antibiotics are bacteriocidal (that kill pathogens) and bacteriostatic (that inhibit their growth). Bacteriodical products include penicillin, the cephalosporins, aminoglycocides, peptides, and trimethoprim. Bacteriostatics include the tetracyclines, chloramphenicol (which cannot be used in food animals), the macrolides, sulfonamides and tylosin,” says Hoffman. Drugs from these 2 classes generally should not be used at the same time. Some products can be used effectively together, such as two bacteriostatic products (like tetracycline and long-acting sulfa boluses, for treating pneumonia or foot rot), because they are synergistic and work better together.

·         Bacteriocidal class antibiotics (spelling can also be bactericidal)

o   Penicillin

o   Cephalosporins (Naxcel, Excenel, Excede)

o   Aminoglycocides

o   Peptides

o   Tremethoprim

o   Another class of antibiotics is the fluoroquinolones, which includes Baytril (enrofloxacin) and A180 (danafloxacin) which are generally considered bactericidal

·         Bacteriostatics

o   tetracyclines

o   chloramphenicol (which cannot be used in food animals)

o   macrolides (Draxxin, Micotil, Erythromycin)

o   sulfonamides

o   tylosin

o    Phenicol class drugs (Nuflor)  it is generally bacteriostatic but can be bacteriocidal at higher doses

“But if you mix a cidal and a static, they tend to cancel each other out. If the bacteria are growing very slowly or not at all (due to use of a bacteriostatic drug), the bacteriocidal drug won’t work to kill them,” he explains. Thus you have to know what you are doing, or follow your veterinarians advice on which drugs to use.

Another factor to be aware of whenever you use antibiotic products is residues and observing proper withdrawal time before the treated animal is sold or butchered. Different products have different withdrawal times, and the time frame is also contingent upon dose. If you overdose the animal, withdrawal time would be longer than stated on the label. It is illegal to sell an animal before an adequate withdrawal time has elapsed, and any carcass containing drug residues will be condemned.

“In our region, cow calf operations are fairly isolated and not having a lot of cattle coming in from other regions. For the most part I rarely use antibiotics, and when I do I generally stick with the cheaper traditional over-the-counter products. They work just as well as the newer, more expensive products,” says Hoffman. There hasn’t been as much problem yet with resistant strains of bacteria, and the older products still work. It’s not like a feedlot, with cattle intermingling from several sources.

“If antibiotics haven’t been abused on a ranch and there are no resistance issues, the older products work fine. In most cases, depending on the situation, pneumonia can be adequately treated with LA-200 and sulfa, and this is what I’ll use for the first line of attack. If I have a herd-wide outbreak where I know the cattle are stressed and I know they have other problems going on, I have at times gone through and treated everything with Micotil, to head it off. But usually on an individual case by case basis I don’t jump for the big guns,” he explains. And in the majority of cases, he knows the herd health and knows the cattle have been vaccinated, covering all the viral diseases.

First of all, when dealing with any disease condition, you need to figure out whether you are dealing with bacteria or a virus, and if the herd health management is good, and you know that a viral outbreak is less likely. The herd husbandry makes a big difference in the health of the animals. If stress levels are kept low and there’s a good herd health program, there’s much less need for use of antibiotics.

“Except in rare situations, I almost never use antibiotic in scouring calves anymore,” says Hoffman. Supportive care, like giving adequate fluids and electrolytes, is more important. In some cases he will use antibiotics, depending on the situation, but years ago a person automatically gave scouring calves pills and a shot. He stopped doing that some years back because it didn’t make that much difference.

The animal has to fight off the infection; the immune system of that individual animal is what determines whether it can recover or not. Antibiotics merely help buy time for the animal to mount its own defenses. The state of the animal will also be part of the determining factor regarding which antibiotic you choose. “In a really stressed, immunocompromised animal, you’d want a bacteriocidal antiobiotic that will kill the bacteria, because the body isn’t as able to fight them off,” says Hoffman.

“Antibiotics by themselves are never going to cure the problem. You are just helping tip the scales in the right direction. This is why people with AIDS die. If the body doesn’t have a viable immune system, no matter what you do, that animal will die. Antibiotics by themselves won’t cure the disease.” This is why it’s important to have good health conditions, with proper nutrition (including adequate trace minerals) and a healthy immune system, and a good vaccination program to stimulate immunity.

Good supportive care can also help tip the scale in the animal’s favor. “Banamine is helpful in a case of pneumonia (and approved for this use), because it decreases the incidence of lung lesions. It also reduces fever and inflammation and makes the animal feel better,” he explains. If they get back on feed and will eat and drink and get their strength back up, they can fight off the disease quicker.

Regarding which antibiotic to use in a specific case, he says the only way you absolutely know is to grow a culture and do a sensitivity test. “Then you know exactly what that bug is and can test it with different antibiotics to see which one works best. You also have to know whether it’s a drug that will get to the target organ (such as the lungs, or wherever the infection is located),” he says. Every situation is not ideal for figuring this out, however.

Usually you don’t have time to grow a culture before you start treatment (the animal may be dead before you get the results), so the veterinarian chooses something he/she thinks might work in the meantime. A culture can help guide your decision in the future if you might have multiple cases in that herd, however. “You need to have enough knowledge to know that what you are growing in the culture is the cause of the infection, and not just a secondary bacterium that just happens to be there, too,” says Hoffman.

Thoughts From a University Professor

Dr. Geoffrey Smith, North Carolina State University, says there are several good antibiotics effective against pneumonia-causing bacteria. “This is a huge market for drug companies and there aren’t any control trials done by independent researchers to show that a certain drug works the best. All we have is drug company data. There are 5 or 6 products that I consider good. Some work better in some situations, and others work better in other cases. The ones I use a lot are Micotil and Nuflor, but you should not use Nuflor in calves less than 30 days of age because it tends to make them scour. It’s hard on the GI tract,” says Smith.

“Baytril is fairly good and some people use it for pneumonia in calves. Another good one is A180 (Danafloxacin). It’s about the same as Baytril but it concentrates in the lung a little better. In our region it’s been about half the price of Baytril, so I use more of it than Baytril. Slaughter withdrawal time is only 4 days for A180, which is a lot shorter than some of the other drugs,” he says.

“Draxxin is the newest product and the good thing about this drug is how it concentrates in lung tissue and stays there for about 8 to 10 days. The down side is cost,” he says. The big market for it is in feedlots; they have a lot of respiratory disease and use a lot of antibiotics and have more total dollars at stake with each animal lost. Feedlots use it in large quantities and can get a better price break than veterinarians can get, says Smith. But eventually it may become more affordable for the cow-calf producer.

“With any drug, we need to monitor how the calf is doing and if it’s not getting better within a few days we need to give something different,” he says.

Cost Sampling at a Local Clinic

Costs of drugs will vary from region to region and from time to time. Here is what the most commonly used antibiotics are at the Blue Cross Veterinary Clinic in Salmon, Idaho, and the cost to the client on a certain day in January, 2008 (costs can vary with each new order, however):

LA-200 500 ml. $53.00

Baytril 100 ml. 95.00

Nuflor 100 ml. 64.00

Draxxin 100 ml. 350.00

Tribrissen tablets (100) 21.00

Abscesses & Scar Tissue

An abscess will usually show up as a lump, a few days after the injection. It may grow larger then break and drain. If it doesn’t break on its own it should be lanced and drained and flushed. An even greater problem, however, is an abscess deep in the muscle, since it may not be detected until the animal is slaughtered. Scar tissue from a surface abscess can result in significant carcass trim, but a deep abscess may contaminate the meat around it and it must be trimmed even more drastically.

Even a poke into muscle with a clean needle without injecting anything leaves a small scar and a tough area in the meat. Sterile scar tissue in the muscle after a shot can still be there months or years later. Injections given to a calf may create lesions that must be trimmed at slaughter 2 years later or even a dozen years later when a cull cow goes to market. These sites contain more connective tissue and fat than normal muscle, and the meat may be less tender in an area up to 3 inches around the lesion—a piece of meat the size of a grapefruit.

Reactions

When you give any kind of injection, always keep in mind the possibility of an adverse reaction. These problems are most common if a product is given in overdose or inappropriate location. For instance, a product might be safe when administered SubQ but fatal if injected into a blood vessel. A few animals are sensitive to certain products and will react even if the injection is given properly. The reaction may be as mild as local swelling at the injection site that subsides in a few days, or may be serious and life threatening if the animal goes into shock.

Temporary swelling is usually nothing to worry about, but if you inject the neck too close to the shoulder, swelling makes it hard for the animal to walk. That shoulder can’t be moved forward without discomfort. Some types of vaccine are notorious for causing local swelling, and some animals react more than others. To avoid making the animal lame, put a neck injection well ahead of the shoulder, closer to the head.

A more serious type of reaction occurs when an animal is very sensitive to the product being injected, producing a severe allergic response (anaphylaxis). This may result in constriction of air passages and difficult breathing. The animal may go into shock, collapse, and die. Signs of severe hypersensitivity reaction may develop within 10 to 20 minutes or longer. Usually the more severe the reaction, the sooner it occurs.

When using any injectable product, keep an emergency antidote on hand, and know the proper dosage to give. You may never need it, but if you do, swift injection of epinephrine (adrenalin) and dexamethasone (a steroid—safe for a non-pregnant animal) will usually reverse the condition and enable the animal to recover. Always observe cattle after vaccinating (or any other injection) and check them for at least 2 hours for any signs of shock. If a certain animal ever shows a serious reaction to a particular product, do NOT give it again to that animal. A second exposure usually produces an even greater reaction in the already sensitized animal, and it may die.

Using any animal health product in a way not specified on the label (at higher or lower dose, more frequent intervals, in different location or route of administration, or in a different species than intended) is illegal without a veterinarian’s prescription. Even if it’s not harmful to the animal, there may be more risk for residues. A drug intended for another species (such as a non-food animal) may leave residues in meat since withdrawal times have not been determined. Detectable residue at slaughter is a violation that results in condemnation of the carcass.

There are situations, however, when a vet will prescribe a product in an off-label use for certain purposes or to treat an unusual condition. This is acceptable, according to the FDA, only if there is no approved drug already labeled to treat that condition or if treatment at recommended dosage or location would not be effective. There must be a valid veterinarian/client/patient relationship for this to be legal, which means the vet has a good working relationship with the client and has seen and diagnosed the animal and agrees to take responsibility for making a judgment regarding health and treatment—and the client agrees to follow the vet’s instructions. A record of any off-label treatment must be kept, and withdrawal time before marketing for slaughter must be extended in the case of some products or overdoses, with the time determined by the veterinarian.

Lighting for Moving Deer

Whitetail Rack Ranch

Lighting for moving deer. Most of you that handle deer probably know how important it is to have the proper lighting to assist moving deer. But I still talk to some that don't realize it. Even during the day, if your handling system is dark, lighting can help. The red lights are great for viewing the deer without spooking 7them but the white light is what makes the deer easier to move. We have 17 holding pens by the barn connected to a 10' alley. If I'm moving them at night, I'll have lights at the end of the alley close to the barn. In the chute system, we put white lights on where we want the deer to go but not at the opening. When the get to the end of the alley we have a guillotine get entering the chute system. If it's dark they will look in the chute but hesitate going in. They go in much quicker if they can see the light ahead of them. Annette bought some LED lights about the size of a pack of cigarettes at Tractor Supply marked down to $3. The have a hook on them that swivels so you can hang it on the fence or something and rotate it to point in the direction you want them to go. Don't have the lights facing back toward the deer. Hope this helps.

Are Southern Deer Genetically More EHD Resistant?

 

by Whitetail Rack Ranch

EHD Resistant Southern Deer????
I keep seeing things about 'buy my deer because they are EHD resistant southern deer'. Everyone can have an opinion on something but when it's controversial sometimes people get a little overzealous in their arguements. I'm a scientist, not a mad scientist, and not one in a lab with bubbling bottles. I was trained as a wildlife biologist and studied deer behavior for two masters degrees. That doesn't make me smarter than anyone else but that much education does make your mind look at things a little differently.
In a scientific study, all variables not being manipulated for research should be controlled. For example, if I had two groups of deer in my study to determine if protein supplements produced bigger antlers and one group was my 'control' that didn't recieve the supplement but they had a food plot with high protein beans and the group that received the supplement had bermuda grass, then it wouldn't be a good scientific study because the variables in the food plot would make the study inaccurate.
A lot of what you hear about deer health and what works is anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence is not scientific in nature. An example would be if I put vanilla extract in my deer water when they had pneumonia and they all got well, then vanilla being the cure for pneumonia would be anecdotal evidence. They may just have gotten over it on their own.
'Facts' that you hear about EHD resistance in deer is often anecdotal. There is some evidence but not much that proves a southern deer may be inherently more EHD resistant than a northern deer because of years of breeding to only southern deer. I haven't found the study again yet but I had read one a couple of years ago and if I do find it again I'll post it. The study was on passive immunity for EHD and I think southern deer were used. The study took a group of fawns as newborns to bottle feed. Titer levels were checked and found there was some EHD resistance. That was from passive immunity from the mother either through the placenta or immunoglobins in the cholostrum.
The fawns were divided into two groups. One was left outside and the other was moved inside to an insect-free environment. At weaning the two groups were checked for titer levels for EHD resistance again. The outside group showed resistance but the inside group did not. The results of the study showed that resistance exists from passive immunity when born but the passive immunity does not relate to permanent immunity. The difference in the two groups of fawns is that the outside group had exposure to the virus but the inside group did not. EXPOSURE is necessary either through direct exposure to the virus in the environment or through vaccines. Otherwise, after the passive immunity wears off the animal will be unprotected.
If the animals were EHD resistant because they were from the south and it was in their genetics passed down, then the EHD would have been there after weaning for both groups. The arguement is that if you buy northern deer and move them to the south, they won't survive. I have about 300 pure northern genetics deer in Louisiana. Did I lose many when I moved them here? You bet. I got sick of going out and dragging dead deer to my burn pile. The southern resistance guys will say that mine died because they weren't EHD resistant or weren't used to our insects or other diseases. I agree in part, but.....when deer are handled, they are stressed. If they are darted they are stressed even more. A study in South America on red deer showed lack of immune response 30-40 days after tranquilization. Hauling deer in a trailer for 20+ hours adds to the stress level they already have. Then you dump them out in foreign surroundings often mixed with deer that start pecking order fights. They are put abruptly on new feed. It's no wonder so many die. And stress doesn't just last 2-4 weeks. Some studies indicate that stress related illnesses can occur up to a year later.
I believe that moving northern deer south will result in some deaths. Minimizing stress through proper handling will help a great deal. Bringing feed from their origin and gradually changing the ratio of new/old feed will be less stressful. Pen size changes can cause stress. I use Aureomycin in my feed for a month after the deer are moved. Anything to mitigate the changes and stress that results from it will increase survival rates.
As for EHD, I believe that northern deer can survive very well in the south. They must have some exposure to the virus. There will be deaths. But, I know of many pure southern deer that have died from EHD. Ask a biologist from any southern state when there is a bad epidemic of EHD. Native deer are dying in the woods.
If you move northern deer south, just prepare for higher death rates. Once they get past that first year they do much better. The offspring don't know the difference. The advantages of northern bloodlines are worth what we went through initially. If you don't want that heartache and stress, buy northern bloodlines from someone who has suffered through it and has the strongest survivors.
EHD and BT viruses are killers no matter where the deer are from when it hits hard.
Please respond with your comments. I know there will be a lot of you that feel differently but at least try and find some scientific evidence to back up your arguements.

EHD: Northern vs. Southern Deer Resistance

 

by Whitetail Rack Ranch

I had a conversation with a friend about northern vs. southern EHD resistance. I wanted to share some of my thoughts. From the research I've read, I don't believe northerns with exposure to EHD will have any more trouble than southerns if their previous exposure history is the same. I hear it all the time that northerns aren't EHD resistant but I think that the people that have southerns are the ones promoting that view. If you bring northerns down south they likely won't have the resistance of deer born and raised in the south. I know someone in southern Louisiana who has said for years that it was a mistake to have northerns in the south. I haven't heard him say much since he lost a bunch of his southerns a few years ago when I was losing northerns. Even with southerns, research shows that fawns lose their immunity after weaning if they don't have continued exposure to the virus. It takes time for northerns to build their immunity because of the cyclic nature of EHD. If you bring northerns down and there is no significant EHD present for a few years, when it hits hard I would expect northerns to have somewhat higher death losses. Likewise, though, if fawns lose their immunity without having contact with the virus wouldn't the southern ones have higher death losses later in life too? I personally believe we're going to see EHD worsen for southerns in the future. If someone puts up a mister system around their pens, they eliminate the chance for building immunity to the virus. Animals MUST be exposed and get the virus to have immunity. One thing that you may be seeing in your southerns with flu-like symptoms, rather than more severe symptoms with northerns, is their history. Research shows if a deer gets EHD-1 it will have SOME cross protection but NOT immunity to EHD-2. Once the animal has the virus it should have lifetime immunity for that particular serotype. That's why live virus vaccines are only given once without the need for annual boosters as compared to killed virus vaccines. The problems facing us with EHDV and BTV is similar to humans and the flu. Mutations each year present the animals with slightly different viruses. The permanent immunity to one serotype doesn't prevent infection from a different one. Give northerns in the south some time to build their immunity and lets hope mister systems don't cause our southerns to lose their resistance. Something else I hear people promote is buying semen from their EHD resistant southern bucks. I have seen NO evidence of EHD protection passed down from the sire. Think about it just from a common sense perspective. Why do we vaccinate for BRSV, BVD, IBR, PI3, C&D, etc. if there is passdown immunity from the mother. We should be able to vaccinate a doe and all of her offspring would have immunity without ever needing to be vaccinated. Immunity doesn't work that way!!! Feel free to comment.

EHD and BT Symptoms in Whitetails

Symptoms of EHD and BT are the same.  The viruses are different but common vectors carry it.  Some deer never show symptoms and get over it.  Some never show symptoms and are dead the next day.  After an incubation period, several days to one week, the animal becomes infected at varying levels.  The symptoms of both viruses are:

• Extensive hemorrhaging and sudden death.
• Sick and dead animals found near water (because of high fever)
• Swelling of face, tongue, neck and eyelids
• Bloody discharges may come from nose, mouth and rectum
• Extensive hemorrhaging in many tissues and internal organs
• Ulcers in mouth tongue and stomachs
• Lameness/ Cracked, overgrown hooves occur after the disease has been present and may take a number of days to a couple of weeks to start showing up.
• One of the symptoms that a deer has had EHD is that the coronary band at the top of the hoof will be very red. The normal color is a sort of clear gray. You may have to move the hair back from the hoof to be able to see it. Sometimes it's so noticeable that you can see it if you get close enough and use binoculars without having to touch the deer. After you see this sign you may eventually notice hoof sloughing or the deer may just walk tenderly because of pain in the hooves.

Louisiana Deer for Sale

At Whitetail Rack Ranch we have deer for every budget.  We started at our bottom end with 200"+ genetics for the shooter buck market.  The bucks from those does produce clean, mostly typical antlers with just enough kickers, stickers and splits to add some character and bump up the score.  These are the bucks hunters look for.

We also have our high-end breeding.  We bred our 300" and 400"+ does to X-Factor in 2010.  He's expected to go over 600" for 2011. 

Most animals in our operation have been born here including all of our 3-yr old breeder bucks.  Our foundation stock went through one of the worst EHD cases that Louisiana has had in recent years a few years ago.  Yes, we lost some, but everything that remains is a survivor. 

We have all classes and ages for sale.

• Buck and Doe Fawns
• Fall 2011 open or bred does
• Does from our shooter buck pen will be bred to some of the country's top mid-250" class main frame bucks that have also been top producers.
• Our other does will be bred with several AI bucks ranging from clean 300" class to the 600" X-Factor.  Or, they will be bred to our top breeder bucks by live cover.
• Shooter bucks:
• our does producing our shooter bucks give us bucks with nice clean frames with just enough kickers, stickers and splits to create character and bump up the scores.  These are the bucks that hunters are looking for.
• We may sell one or two breeder bucks this year
• Our bred does normally sell out before the breeding season starts
• Semen Sales
• We have semen available for immediate delivery from the top new hot bucks
• X-Factor was 509 6/8" in 2010 and is expected to be over 600" in 2011
• Rocky should finish about the 500" mark
• Geyser will be a nice clean 300"
• Gold Dust should finish high in the 400s or close to 500"
• X-treme, an X-Factor 2-yr old should finish high in the 200s
• We will collect some of our WRR bucks this fall.  We've sold out of current stock on our own bucks.

Don't delay, contact me by clicking on this link for email EMAIL ME or reply to this post.
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website http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/

X-Factor and Friends Watch 'Em Grow Week 10

He's Done It!!!  X-Factor is an estimated 600" already.  His semen prices have gone up to $5000/straw and will increase again soon.  If you haven't purchased already, you missed out on the $4000/straw price.  Don't wait or you'll miss out before it goes up again.
E-mail Me to buy semen now.  He is truly incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!

X-Factor and Friends Watch 'Em Grow Week 9

X-Factor will break the 600" mark soon if he stays healthy.  E-mail Me to buy semen before it goes up!!

X-Factor and Friends Watch 'Em Grow Week 8

Week 8 and he's still growing strong.  Semen still just $4000/straw but will go up soon.

X-Factor Semen now $5000/straw and set to go up again

X-Factor semen has gone up to $5000/straw and will go up again soon.  He is expected to break 600" this year if he stays healthy.  Don't wait too long.  You've already missed it for $4000.  He has some awesome yearlings and 2-yr olds on the ground already.  This picture was taken July 3, 2011. He's already bigger than last year.  Wait till you see this week's pictures!!!
Click to email me

Anter Infection Cure for Whitetailed Deer

I have an older buck, 7 yrs old, that we used to breed with. He's double bred Redoy Bill. Redoy Joe, AKA Joey, had a best score of a little over 200" at 4. At 5 he was still getting over the stress of moving from Minnesota to Louisiana and didn't grow as good. At 6 he lost one antler in January and the other in April. The late one started growing around the old base. He so tame I'd pull on it every day. When it finally came off it had infection under it. I dosed him with antibiotics and it got better.....I thought. All that year and through last winter he stayed skinny. I tried everything. We don't breed with him because we have better bucks but Joey is part of the family. He had no stress, no does to chase, no bucks to fight. This year he lost both antlers close together in February. Both were infected underneath. I think now that he had the infection all year long. After casting his antler I hit him with antibiotics but within a couple of days I noticed a swelling under one eye. That really concerned me because I figured the infection wasn't isolated in the antlers. It was probably in his bloodstream and who knows what might be infected. The battle of the antler infection started. Over the next 3 or 4 months we tried antibiotics 8 times. I used Draxxin, Baytril, Nuflor, Oxytetracycline and long lasting penicillin. I also used hydrogen peroxide daily when infected was apparent followed by diluted iodine. I was also giving Shock Effect Conditioner to put high amounts of probiotics in him to boost his immune system. It kept coming back. I hit him with heavier doses for longer periods of time determined to kill it or him!! My veterinarian is great to work with and we kept trying. I asked Faye Thayer of Shock Effect and she said a vet in Texas had helped someone she knew. I contacted him and he said he was going to give me a list of Do's and Don’ts.
DON'T
Don't use hydrogen peroxide; he said it doesn't kill bacteria and just created new pockets and channels for bacteria with all the boiling up that it does. News to me because I thought, since childhood, that it was great and used it on myself all the time. If it's doing all that boiling up stuff it has to be good right?
Don't use any of those antibiotics for antler infection, they won't work.
Don't use iodine on the antler infection.
DO
Now this is his advice for my particular buck but he said he had done a couple of hundred and it will work. You should always consult your own veterinarian and will have to buy some of the products through him anyhow.
Use Convenia antibiotics, 1 shot, 1 time at 4.5cc/100lbs body wt. It's used for small animals but gives 14 day coverage and will work on the bacteria in antler infections. It comes in a vial of powder that has to be reconstituted and is only good for 28 days afterwards. You only get 10cc and it's expensive for 1 shot.
Use Novalsan-S to clean and disinfect the area of infection. I'll post pictures later. Dry after using Novalsan-S.
Use Dry-Clox, a mastitis drug containing cloxacillin. The tube has a tip similar to Super Glue, slender and pointed to go in a cow's teat. Put it down into the infection and inject the creamy med. He said to get 6 but I got a whole box because my vet said he uses it in wounds like dog bites. Use the Dry-Clox for 3 days, but the Novalsan-S only the first time.
Give 1cc/100 lbs body wt of injectable Multimin-90, a zinc, manganese, selenium, and copper supplement. Give it 1 time only and do not use other supplements with selenium or copper to prevent toxicity.

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WIN A STRAW OF X-FACTOR SEMEN

A lot of people have been asking what we think X-Factor will score this year. As you can see in the pictures, he is off to a great start. Win a free straw of X-Factor semen by coming the closest to guessing his... SCI score for 2011.
Rules for the contest are:
It doesn't matter if you are over or under. It is the closest score. Email your guess of his 2011 SCI score to my email address facebookmail@daddyoadventures.net. Give your name and phone number with your email. When he is measured in the fall, we will give the winner one free straw of X-Factor semen. One guess per person per email address. In the event of a tie, the person who submitted the winning score first, will be the winner. We will try to show you new photos weekly. Check for pictures on our Facebook page Whitetail Rack Ranch Good luck !!!!!!!

X-Factor and Friends Watch 'Em Grow Week 7

I TOLD YOU SO!!  X-FACTOR ALREADY AT 500" BEFORE JULY!!!!
X-Factor exploded this week.  He is at 500" already and this is just June!  He just needs another 100" with over 2 months to grow it.  Look at all of these incredible bucks.  Contact me before the semen skyrockets.  IT IS GOING UP!!!!  Click to Contact

X-Factor

X-Factor

X-Factor

Xtreme (X-Factor's son)

Geyser

Geyser

Gold Dust

Level King

Level King

Rocky

True Blue



X-Factor and Friends Watch 'Em Grow Week 6

Another week made a huge difference.  X-Factor will hit 600" if nothing happens to him.  All of these bucks are doing fantastic.  Buy your semen early or you'll be getting it at a higher price!!  Click to Contact

X-Factor

X-Factor

Xtreme (X-Factor's son)

Geyser

Geyser

Gold Dust

Level King

Rocky

True Blue



X-Factor Watch 'Em Grow Week 5

Here are pictures from week 5.  They are all getting bigger.  X-Factor is really packing it on.  So is Rocky.  They are all doing great.  X-Factor is growing toward that 600" mark.  Contact me for semen sales while it's still cheap!!!  Click to contact

Geyser

 Geyser

Gold Dust

 Level King

 True Blue

 X-Factor

 X-Factor

 Xtreme (X-Factor son)



Rocky



X-Factor Watch 'Em Grow Week 4

X-Factor is growing so fast you can see the change within 4 hours!!!  Packing on a lot more than last year.  Let me know if you want semen.  We still have some left.  Get it now in case something happens.  Pray that he continues to stay healthy.  Can't wait to see what he ends up as this year.  Still maintaining the same look, only bigger and better.
Email me

http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/

X-Factor Watch 'Em Grow

X-Factor is already 2 1/2 to 3 weeks ahead of his growth at this time last year.  He's looking great and he's bigger.  Will he be the first 600"?  Get his semen at $4000/straw now.  NO guarantees about future pricing or availability. 

E-mail Me

http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/

MC Ranger semen $1000/straw

MC Ranger is a great looking Maxbo Ranger son and his mother is from the Charlie line.  Maxbo Ranger is half brother to Dream Ranger.  Read more about him below.  Semen is $1000/straw.
E-mail Me

http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/

BamBam 1 straw/$3000

BamBam 1 straw/$3000

AGN BamBam is huge with his score of 448" at 5 with 11 6/8" base measurements!  He was 341" at 2 years old.  This Avalanche son has  a lot of bone on his head.
We only have one straw of his semen left.  Price is just $3000.  A steal for a buck like this!!  Look at his picture and tell me size doesn't matter.

E-mail Me

 http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/

Shock Effect Bacteria, Probiotic, Enzymes and the Deer Stomach

Shock Effects has numerous benefits designed specifically for whitetails.  Read about the stomach of the deer and how Shock Effect can help improve your deer's performance.  E-mail Me for more information or to order some.

http://www.whitetailrackranch.com/