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A reminder to be monitoring water sources on a regular basis right now.
With temperatures increasing across the prairies livestock producers should be on the lookout for blue-green algae in dugouts, lakes, and reservoirs.
Blue-green algae are naturally occurring bacteria that can be present in water bodies and commonly occur during calm, hot weather in water bodies with shallow, slow-moving, or still water that has sufficient nutrients.
Livestock and Feed Extension Specialist Natasha Wilkie says as temperatures increase, patches of potentially harmful blue-green algae blooms can accumulate and appear as surface scum with shimmering, foamy, or pea soup-like appearances.
Those blooms can last up to three weeks and can be pushed around the pond or lake by the wind.
If you see signs of blue-green algae, it's important to move livestock right away and treat the water with a registered product containing copper sulfate, as blue-green algae can be fatal for livestock.
She says as the cyanobacteria dies, it releases toxins that affect either the liver or the neurological system of the animal.
"Symptoms can occur fairly quickly, neurological symptoms can include staggering, difficulty breathing, convulsions and death. When they affect the liver, you will see the animal becoming weak, have pale-coloured mucous membranes, bloody diarrhea resulting in death."
Photosensitivity can also develop in animals that survive the toxins, which will have the same effects on livestock as sunburns affect humans.