Clinical Problems Associated with Starvation in Western Beef Herds

Abstract

The term "starvation", as I refer to it, may cover several situations:
(I) Complete deprivation of food is probably rarely seen by the practitioner and is usually due to severe weather conditions-floods, blizzards, drought, etc. (2) Simple slow starvation (protein and energy deficiency) is seen far more often, particularly in cold climates during late winter and early spring months when animal's nutritional requirements are going up due to late gestation, lactation, and / or cold stress, often in the face of reduced feed . (3) Partial starvation, is the deficiencies of one or more essential nutrient. Other nutrients may be substandard, minimal or adequate. This condition is often confused by the presence of concurrent infectious disease problems. The last situation is one which western bovine practitioners see often but may not recognize.