PAP Testing

Meanwhile, back…

Today, Daniel and Brandon hosted a presentation on PAP testing. Now, I can already see you guys starting to turn away to run, and most of the women cringing… But PAP testing with cattle is far removed from taking Pap smears with women! Stick around, all of you, you might find this interesting!

PAP stands for pulmonary arterial pressure. One of the problems we have in raising cattle at the high elevations in the Rocky Mountains is sometimes they have what is commonly called Brisket Disease. It is a genetic trait that causes fluid to back up into the lungs and fill up various cavities, commonly the brisket or chest. That’s what you notice, a swollen chest and labored breathing. Sometimes taking them to lower elevations can save their life, but they won’t ever get over it, they just can tolerate lower elevations. Ignored, it will kill your cattle.

The past few years, we’ve focused on buying only PAP tested bulls. Lower PAP scores translate to less chance of brisket Disease, and it’s one of the criteria we use in buying bulls.

Dr. Tim Holt came up from Colorado to show us how PAP testing is done, and answer a zillion questions. Brandon and Daniel teamed up, called the neighbors, and put on today’s great program.

Dr. Holt put on a fantastic clinic… Demonstrating on Daniel’s small registered herd… Explaining the process while actually doing it… And sharing great hands-on items that furthered our understanding. Simply put, a large needle is inserted into the jugular, a catheter is then run into the jugular, down into the heart. It is pushed even farther, exiting the heart into the pulmonary artery, and there it measures the blood pressure between the heart and lungs. Results are read on the screen just like yours would be at the hospital.