Once again it was time to PAP test the young bulls and heifers that belong to Daniel and I. We don’t do this for all the ranch’s, just ones we personally own. Daniel does it because he sells his bulls and knowing that his breeding is producing low PAP bulls and heifers is a great benefit. Buyers around here prefer to know the PAP score.
Angus cattle, on occasion, when taken to a high elevation, like our summer pasture, can develop “brisket disease”. Basically, they have a difficult time breathing due to hypertension and will die unless returned to lower elevation. The fluid buildup shows up as swelling in the brisket or chest area. To lower that chance, they are tested for Pulmonary Arterial Pressure, which tests the blood pressure in the pulmonary artery.
I’ve always been interested in medical stuff… not to dig down and chase through rabbit holes, but enough to explain what are the causes and remedies. I rather find it fascinating that three feet of tubing can be fed down the jugular vein, through the heart, hooked up to the machine which then gives you the pulmonary artery pressure.
With the head turned to the side, the area is washed and disinfected.
Once the jugular has been located, tubing is inserted and run down to the heart.
The tubing is connected to a machine, located in front of me… which is basically like the one they hook humans up to in hospitals to measure the heartbeat… without the annoying beepbeep.
Daniel and the vet study the screen (which I’m casting shade upon so they can read the screen) making sure the animal is standing straight and not moving. Within minutes the job is done and they’re released from their medical test.
Everyone received good scores, so that made us happy!
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