The Annual Brown County Ag Day program has been set for Tuesday evening March 29, 2022. It will be held at the Brown County Fairgrounds Home Economics Building, located at 4206 HWY 377 S in Brownwood, Texas.

The Ag Day is sponsored by Brown County Farm Bureau and is being conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Topics and speakers include:

Dr. Bruce Carpenter, Extension Livestock Specialist Ft. Stockton

Spring Cattle Management with continued drought

Dr. Reed Redden, Extension Sheep/Goat Specialist, San Angelo

Spring Sheep/Goat Management with continued drought

The Brown County Ag Day is open to anyone interested. There will be a $10 registration fee (cash or check only) payable at the door. A sponsored meal is included.

Registration begins at 5:00pm. The meal will be served prior to a 6:00pm program start. Pre-registration is requested to allow proper meal planning. To pre-register contact the Brown County Extension Office at 325-646-0386.

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Vampire bats could move into Texas

Vampire bats are mainly found in Mexico and Central and South America, but their habitat has been expanding north into the U.S. over the past few years.

In Mexico, vampire bats cause about $47 million a year in damages through livestock predation and public health risk concerns. The warm-blooded flying mammals are particularly attracted to cattle, according to Dr. Joanne Maki, a rabies expert and Technical Director for the North American Veterinary Public Health group at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.

It also feeds on other livestock, but primarily cattle, and those animals suffer because of the blood meals being taken. Not only are those animals at risk for potentially having rabies transmitted by the bite of a vampire bat, but due to the blood meal the vampire bat consumes, it stresses the cattle or stresses the horse, and you see a decrease in that animal’s production levels.

Since the vampire bat has been detected as close as 35-40 miles south of the Texas-Mexico border, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other governmental agencies have increased surveillance.

Feedlots, farms and wild animal habitats are being surveyed for signs of vampire bat feeding.

If someone has an animal with an atypical bite wound, such as on the ears or neck or withers, where vampire bats feed, [USDA’s] Wildlife Services wants to know about it. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) should also have more information about the surveillance program, awareness and resources for people interested in learning more.

The rabies case-reporting system in Texas is linked with federal information, which helps equip the Lone Star State to handle a potential vampire bat spread.

Signs and symptoms of rabies in animals

In animals, rabies manifests in one of two forms: furious and paralytic. Maki noted the form is influenced by the animal species.

Dogs and cats quite often get the furious form of rabies, the typical thing we think of when we think ‘rabid animal.’ Foxes can also become very aggressive, lose their fear of humans and attack, and bite them. “But the other form, paralytic or ‘dumb,’ is when the rabies virus basically causes paralysis in an animal, and they’re showing neurological symptoms like staggering or weaving around during the daytime when that wildlife species would normally be out only at night.

Other animals with paralytic rabies may hide under vehicles or in sheds or other places around homes and businesses because they’re sick and have lost their innate sense of self-preservation. Maki said this form can be even more dangerous to humans because people may think the animal needs help and approach it.

Cattle often get the paralytic form. But since there are a lot of different diseases that can cause neurological symptoms in livestock, we want to be sure livestock owners are aware that rabies may be the issue. Recumbency, not being able to rise, weakness in the hind legs, stumbling, hitting the head on a fence—those are not normal behaviors for a cow. Livestock producers should associate these signs with rabies, especially in unvaccinated animals or those with lapsed vaccinations, so they do not end up exposing themselves while handling that sick animal.

It is advised ranchers to contact a veterinarian immediately if they notice livestock exhibiting these symptoms. Veterinarians are best qualified to make preliminary differential diagnoses between rabies or other issues while handling the animal safely.

If you’re bitten and the animal is rabid, the post-exposure prophylaxis is expensive. The technology has changed and the number of doses of vaccine you would receive are not as plentiful or as painful in the past, but it’s still expensive.

Ecologists and other scientists are working on both sides of the border to monitor vampire bats and provide timely information.