UC Davis - Livestock Medicine & Surgery Service

01/08/2026

Time for some livestock medicine trivia🧠

Q: What is this helpful therapeutic procedure and what are some of the reasons it might be beneficial to use?

Hint: This procedure is often used in human medicine as well🤔

Answers will be posted later this week, so stay tuned!

01/05/2026

The Beef Cattle Health Webinar series is back! UC Cooperative Extension and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine are excited to offer a series of FREE online webinars for cattle producers. Every Tuesday evening in January from 5:30-7:00 pm we will have guest speakers presenting with a question-and-answer session, covering topics important to cattle health and management. The sessions will be live and will include lots of visuals.

Register for one or all sessions here: https://forms.gle/1AiVkUuRiUB6cYcX6

12/04/2025

Let’s meet another one of our amazing technicians, Allie Autrey🐮🩺♥️

Allie comes from a small club calf operation in Pleasant Grove🌾 She is a familiar face at UCD as that’s where she earned her B.S. in Animal Science and competed on the women’s D1 Swimming & Diving Team. She spent lots of time at the Feedlot, Beef Barn & Dairy and was even a member of YCA! 💙💛

Some of her favorite cases include laser therapy, enucleations, and dystocias, but she has a soft spot for all things bucking bulls and beef cows🐂 But if it’s a foot thing, no matter the species, she’s your gal. You can always find her with nippers in hand and a smile on her face🤠

In her free time, Allie enjoys spending time outdoors, riding her horses, photographing all things western, and making leather items for her friends and their horses🐴🎁

11/20/2025

Let’s meet another one of our amazing Staff Veterinarians, Dr. Munashe Chigerwe! 🐮🩺♥️

Dr. Chigerwe was born and raised in Southern Zimbabwe🇿🇼 🐘 He received a multitude of training from the University of Zimbabwe, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the University of London before joining the team here at UC Davis to continue his never ending studies in Livestock Medicine📚

His research interests include domestic and wild ruminant neonatal immunity🔬🧬as well as mental health and wellness among the veterinary students❤️‍🩹

When he is not at work, he enjoys running (for hours though, like miles and miles and miles👟), hiking, cooking, baking beautiful loaves of bread to feed his fellow staff members🍞, and landscaping (“I am not qualified though, so don’t hire me”). He also enjoys taking care of his two cats🐱

11/11/2025

To sign up for a UC Davis webinar on New World Screwworm for livestock owners, please use the following link: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=47066
6 pm - 7:30 pm

11/11/2025

Let’s meet another one of our amazing technicians, Heaven! 🐮🩺♥️

Heaven is our most recent hire! Her journey started with an A.S. in Veterinary Technology from the Yuba College Veterinary Technology Program. She is now serving as a proud program board member🤓

After an inspiring internship with the UCD Livestock Medicine and Surgery Service, she just couldn’t get enough of us! She set a goal to become an RVT for C-Barn…and now she’s starting her exciting new journey here with us🤠 She is so willing to jump right in, eager to help teach, and is a great addition to our team.

When she’s not caring for the multitude of patients in the barn, you can often find her and her husband (of 25 YEARS🥂) metal detecting, beading or sewing, or taking their 10 year old dog, Poppy, out for a walk☀️

We are thrilled to have her bring her passion and expertise to our team. Welcome, Heaven!

11/07/2025

Let’s meet one of our amazing Residents, Dr. Hailey Drerup! 🐮🩺❤️

Dr. Drerup is a born and raised Texan. Prior to arriving at UC Davis, she first became an Aggie while completing her schooling at Texas A&M University. So naturally, when it came to persuing her residency, the UC Davis Aggies were the clear choice💙💛

Hailey enjoys the day to day diversity of cases seen at UC Davis and the dedication that our clients have to their animals. She loves a good metabolic or respiratory case, but her heart is happiest when working with beef cattle and bucking bulls🤠 No matter what the day brings, you can always find her sipping on a Dr. Pepper🥤You will know the day has gone off the rails if you see a Mountain Dew in her hands though..

Outside of work, Haley enjoys spending time with her three dogs, trying out new restaurants, or traveling and exploring new places🐾🌄

10/17/2025

🧠 TRIVIA ANSWER - If you guessed “Lice” or “Sucking Lice” you are correct! As mentioned in the previous post, there are two types of these external parasites. However, neither can infect humans!

Take a look at the first image. This is a Sucking Louse on a microscope slide that one of our technicians Allie Autrey captured. Notice how pointy and narrow the head is… almost like it was made for piercing skin! The Chewing Louse, in comparison, has a much broader head that is almost as wide as its body. If you swipe to the second image, you can see a BEAUTIFUL side by side comparison of the two captured by one of our former students and now DVM, Mieko Temple🤓

Some common symptoms of these parasites may include but are not limited to: biting, licking, itching, hair loss, dull or matted hair, weight loss, reduced milk production in lactating animals, anemia, or lack of energy. As pesky as these are, most cases can be treated with a topical or injectable medication. As always, if you have any concerns about the health of your animal, don’t hesitate to call your local veterinarian!

Thanks for participating, til next time🐮🤠

09/30/2025

Let’s meet one of our amazing Staff Veterinarians, Dr. Meera Heller! 🐮🩺♥️

Dr. Heller is from Stanford and started her veterinary journey with a DVM from UC Davis in 2001. After receiving her DVM, she completed an internship in Canada before traveling back to the states for a Residency AND PhD in Livestock Medicine from UC Davis. She has been with us ever since🤓

Her favorite cases include dairy goats (especially the hardworking old ladies🐐🥛), beef calves, and surgeries of all kinds! She is always on the lookout for any case that might benefit from acupuncture⚡️

When she’s not sitting in a stall trying to hand feed a picky goat… she’s usually teaching, working on research, going on adventures with her family, or milking her goats to try and perfect her homemade goat cheese! 🧀

09/28/2025

09/12/2025

TRIVIA TIME🧠

Q: We often use microscopes as a helpful diagnostic tool to see things up close and personal. What can be seen in this picture from a microscope slide? What are some of the adverse effects that a patient might be experiencing from this tiny monster?

Hint: There are two types, and neither can infest humans.

Check back in a few days for the reveal!🤓

09/08/2025

Let’s meet another one of our amazing residents, Dr. Genevieve Hughes! 🐮🩺♥️

Dr. Hughes hails from the mighty land down under! 🇦🇺🦘She received her DVM in Australia and went on to work in mixed rural practice for 3 years. After seeing all kinds of critters, she decided to fly across the world and join us here at UC Davis for a residency in Livestock Medicine🇺🇸

Gen enjoys the variety of surgery and medicine cases that we see here at Davis, but some of her favorites include a tricky tube cystostomy, hospitalizing sick piggies, and will certainly never turn down a hoof trim on a bucking bull🤠

Outside of work she enjoys all types of outdoor adventures. She can be found camping or hiking in the mountains, running long distances, and partaking in any type of sport! 🏔️🏃🏽‍♀️🏕️⚽️