Treating Frost bite and hyprthermia

Treating Frost bite and hyprthermia

Susan Allen
Susan Allen

A conscientious rancher pays close attention to young animals during cold and wet conditions.  On today’s Open Range I’ll be back with how to treat  animals with hypothermia and frost bite.  The good folks at Western Stockmen have an on going campaign to remind our regions ranchers to be prepared for winter conditions by stocking up on essentials,  like electrolytes and colostrums because  newborn animals are susceptible  to cold due to electrolyte imbalances. Animals less than forty eight hours old are also prone to frostbite.  And because cattle tuck their front legs when they lay down their exposed back legs are typically the first part affected. North Dakota State University emailed me a reminder to warm hypothermic calves slowly but frostbitten babies quickly, both at about 105 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Too hot and you cause burns or shock. For hypothermic calves an  electric blanket work wonders so does a  warm bath and  heat lamps. Keep colostrums on hand to feed in the first six to twelve hours it provides an important energy source. It’s also wise to provide electrolytes, because without enough fluids a  calf could succumb to pneumonia or scours. Now my first  tendency is to want to rub frost bitten areas but that can damage a newborns fragile skin tissues. Remember that as the baby  animal warms the frost bitten region  will hurt and they’ll want to lick or rub it making it worse. If you have a severely frostbitten animal immediately call your vet for  treatment advice as my guess it that he or she will prescribe painkillers.

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