Opinions

Cattle can be much like toddlers. You have to watch them closely to make sure they don’t put non-food objects into their mouths to avoid a hazard. Much of that has to do with making sure those hazards aren’t left out so they don’t end up in mouths. That leads us to the issue of hardware disease. This happens when cattle put metal or sharp objects in their mouth, swallow it and then it gets into one of their stomach compartments where it can puncture a hole and move into other parts of the animal’s body. Some of these items could include wires, nuts, bolts, and metal shavings from worn or broken equipment. Sometimes these objects can get into our cattle feed sources like hay bales, or silage through the harvesting and ensiling process.