NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2010
Staff News
Some of you will have met Tim Adams, our TB-testing locum over the summer months. He has now taken up a position as an equine vet and we wish him well in his future career. For this autumn and winter, Jonathon Wilton is going to help us with the TB testing. Jonathon grew up in the Abergavenny area and has several years experience in mixed veterinary practice in this part of the world.
Cattle Handling Facilities
Poorly designed and maintained facilities can cause injuries to cattle and handlers and have been proven to reduce weight gain and meat quality. For many producers investing in a brand new handling system has been seen as too costly, but low-cost modification to existing facilities can bring about vast improvements, greatly reducing the dangers and saving time by working more efficiently with the cattle.
The key principles which encourage calm movement with minimum intervention from the stockperson include:
- Cattle show less hesitation when moving through curved races, lanes and forcing pens.
- Minimise the opportunity for animals to turn round by using long, narrow pens.
- Reduce distractions from nearby animals and handlers by using solid sided races and pens.
- Equipment should operate quietly to avoid frightening cattle.
- Exits should be obvious, avoid 90 degree turns and obstructions near the crush exit, the nearest wall should be no closer than 6m in front of the crush.
- A raised walkway will encourage the handler to stand in the correct position relative to the animals and will reduce the need to enter the pen or race to encourage animals forward. Cattle move most willingly when the handler is located at an angle of 45-60 degrees back from the animals shoulder.
- The crush position should be such that cattle are given the impression they are being returned to where they entered the system. A cattle-free, safe working area should be designated around the crush to prevent damage to equipment and injury from loose cattle.
- Cattle become extremely nervous when they slip; worn floors are responsible for many cattle and handler injuries. Provide a non-slip surface to avoid hesitant animals.
Where a new handling system is being considered it should be remembered that any faults in the system will have to be corrected at a later date, so careful planning is essential. For those who wish to improve on their current system, some fairly simple and inexpensive modifications of existing facilities can overcome persistent problems with handling. Extensive information is available for those who would like to improve their handling facilities. As vets, we see all types of systems, good and bad, and will be able to advise on what might work best for you.
Milk Let-Down in Heifers
This seems to have been more of a problem recently with some herds having to use quite large quantities of oxytocin. This should not be necessary. It is important to make milking a pleasant experience, not associated with fear or pain. If fear is involved, adrenalin will be produced and the let-down mechanisms will be inhibited. The following tips may help:
• Bring heifers through the parlour before calving so that they know the routine. Applying a good teat dip at this stage will also get them used to being handled.
• Do not chase them round the collecting yard to get them into the parlour
• Take care with the backing gate, especially if it’s electrified.
• Try to ensure that the heifer is not squashed into the parlour between large cows, making her become uncomfortable.
• The full procedure of pre-dip, fore-milk, wipe and dry before the unit applied will help milk let-down. Some milkers massage the udder with a warm cloth before unit application.
• Some consider that feeding concentrates in the parlour helps.
• Some farms keep a separate heifer group.
• Excess udder oedema is painful and will reduce milk let-down. Over-feeding and insufficient exercise pre-calving are predisposing factors.
• One machine manufacturer has an initial rapid “stimulation pulsation” phase, run at a lower vacuum, to try to stimulate milk let-down before unit application.
•
A suggested routine for the first few milkings is:
1. Bring heifers gently into the parlour, carry out a full udder preparation routine and apply the unit. If no milk, remove after 1-2 minutes maximum.
2. Repeat for the next two milkings, doing your best to optimise the let-down response, perhaps by manual massage of the udder.
3. If there is still no milk let-down, at the fourth milking use 2ml oxytocin as soon as she enters the parlour, so that she will associated milk let-down with udder preparation and not with unit on.
4. Use 2ml oxytocin for four milkings, then 1ml for the next two milkings, then 0.5ml for two (provided this low dose still works), then try without.
Dates for your Diary - Sheep Meetings
We are holding 3 Farmskills meetings in association with Tyndale Vets. The dates and subjects have been decided, but some of the farm venues are still to be confirmed.
1. Wednesday 3rd November. Advanced Sheep Keeping – lameness and nutrition (venue-Undy area)
2. Wednesday 10th November. Advanced Sheep Keeping – parasite control and infectious disease (at Upper Cwm Farm, Llantilio Crossenny, Abergavenny courtesy of Mr Chris Ball)
3. Wednesday 17th November. Basic Sheep Skills and Stockmanship (venue Dursley nr Glos.)
On each day there will be 2 talks, lunch and a farm walk. There will be a charge for these courses of between £50-70, 50% of which will be subsidised for Welsh farmers.
If you have any questions about these courses or anything else in the newsletter, please contact us at the office.
Thursday 9 September 2010
Wednesday 11 August 2010
July News Letter
Farm First July 2010 Newsletter
Summer Mastitis
Summer mastitis is a disease of dry cows and heifers that has changed little over the years. It is an acute clinical disease of the non-lactating mammary gland caused mainly by the bacterium Actinomyces pyogenes. It usually occurs on the same farm year after year.
An affected animal will often be separated from the others, dull, off its food, lame and will have a high temperature.). The whole udder will become swollen, hard and the affected quarter will produce a foul-smelling, thick, yellow discharge. Flies may be attracted to it, which can then spread the infection from quarter to quarter, or from cow to cow. Without treatment the animal can abort or even die.
Treatment is aimed at saving the animal, affected quarters rarely recover. Treatment consists of antibiotics (straight penicillin e.g Norocillin is fine) to fight the infection and anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling and the temperature. Affected quarters should be stripped frequently. Sometimes vets will slit the teat or remove the teat to try and drain the quarter and remove as much infection as possible.
For summer mastitis prevention is much better than cure. Prevention measures involve the use of dry cow antibiotics, teat sealants e.g Orbeseal, fly control treatments (especially during July, August and September) and avoiding areas with large fly populations. Avoid low- lying wooded areas for susceptible animals, put your pregnant animals on higher ground exposed to more wind (which flies dislike). Teat lesions will also attract flies so should be minimised.
Ewe management for lamb production
The profitability of sheep farms mainly depends on the number of sheep on the farm and the lambing percentage. The management of the ewes after weaning through to one month after tupping determines next year’s lamb crop to a great extent. The scanning/lambing percentage you achieve is largely determined by the number of eggs produced when the ewe comes into heat, the proportion of eggs that are fertilised and the number of embryos produced that survive. Important factors in improving lambing percentage include:
Body condition score of the ewes around tupping.
The ewes need to be in the right body condition score (BCS) pre-tupping in order to maximise the number of eggs produced. The BCS scale runs from 1 (emaciated) to 5 (obese). The ideal condition score 2 weeks pre-tupping is 3–3.5 for lowland ewes and 2.5 for hill ewes. Manage the ewes after weaning based on their BCS at weaning; fat ewes on bare grazing with high stocking rate and thin ewes on good grazing at a low stocking rate (possibly with supplementary feeding eg mineralised sugar beet pulp). It takes about 6 weeks to change half a BCS so plan in plenty of time which pastures will be used for which ewes.
Feed intake over the tupping period. (Flushing)
High feed intake (flushing) over the tupping period will increase the number of eggs developing and therefore the number of eggs produced. Note however a high feed intake after mating can reduce embryo survival, so a compact flushing period with a high energy intake is desirable followed by a period of maintenance feeding only.
Other considerations
Rams need to be fit and fertile. Avoid prolonged contact between ewes and rams before mating this will help to ensure a compact lambing period.
Stress can reduce the embryo survival rate so avoid management tasks like foot-paring during tupping. Also provide shelter/ supplementary feed when bad weather occurs.
Ordering of drugs
Please give the practice ample notice (ideally two days) when you would like to place a big order of drugs, so that we have enough time to order the drugs from our wholesaler if needed. Even if you are just picking up a bottle of antibiotic or two, the girls in the office would appreciate a phone call so they can get it ready for you. This is even more important if you don’t know exactly what you want; they can then speak to a vet to sort which treatment you need or the vet can ring you. If you would like to pay at the time to obtain your 10% discount please tell the staff when you order the drugs.
Anti- inflammatory drugs in Treatment of Mastitis
Currently, one of the drug companies is strongly promoting Metacam usage with antibiotics in all cases of mastitis. This is following on from a trial in New Zealand which showed reduced cell counts and culling rates after using this regime. However, the trial did not directly compare Metacam with other similar drugs, such as Flunixin; and the cell counts were only measured for 3 weeks after a case of mastitis. Several veterinary practices in this country are advocating this approach, and we will await feedback from them with interest. In the meantime we would advise that all cases of mastitis where the cow is off colour, has a temperature, or where there is swelling in the udder, should receive an anti-inflammatory injection alongside antibiotics. This will help to reduce high temperatures, swelling and tissue damage in the udder and the pain associated with these. Anti-inflammatory treatment should help to maintain the feed intake of the cow and result in a more rapid improvement in the clinical signs. The two products that we use most commonly are Flunixin: cost per dose £11.12+ vat for 700kg cow, and Metacam: cost per dose £17.50 for 700 kg cow. Metacam is usually given as a single dose under the skin, whereas Flunixin should be given intravenously and can be repeated every 24 hours.
Booking TB Tests
A plea from the girls in the office. Please give us as much notice as you can when booking TB tests in. We are starting to get very busy again and are having difficulty fitting even small numbers in at short notice. At present we are working on about 2 weeks notice for small numbers of animals and about a month for a large whole herd test.
Summer Mastitis
Summer mastitis is a disease of dry cows and heifers that has changed little over the years. It is an acute clinical disease of the non-lactating mammary gland caused mainly by the bacterium Actinomyces pyogenes. It usually occurs on the same farm year after year.
An affected animal will often be separated from the others, dull, off its food, lame and will have a high temperature.). The whole udder will become swollen, hard and the affected quarter will produce a foul-smelling, thick, yellow discharge. Flies may be attracted to it, which can then spread the infection from quarter to quarter, or from cow to cow. Without treatment the animal can abort or even die.
Treatment is aimed at saving the animal, affected quarters rarely recover. Treatment consists of antibiotics (straight penicillin e.g Norocillin is fine) to fight the infection and anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling and the temperature. Affected quarters should be stripped frequently. Sometimes vets will slit the teat or remove the teat to try and drain the quarter and remove as much infection as possible.
For summer mastitis prevention is much better than cure. Prevention measures involve the use of dry cow antibiotics, teat sealants e.g Orbeseal, fly control treatments (especially during July, August and September) and avoiding areas with large fly populations. Avoid low- lying wooded areas for susceptible animals, put your pregnant animals on higher ground exposed to more wind (which flies dislike). Teat lesions will also attract flies so should be minimised.
Ewe management for lamb production
The profitability of sheep farms mainly depends on the number of sheep on the farm and the lambing percentage. The management of the ewes after weaning through to one month after tupping determines next year’s lamb crop to a great extent. The scanning/lambing percentage you achieve is largely determined by the number of eggs produced when the ewe comes into heat, the proportion of eggs that are fertilised and the number of embryos produced that survive. Important factors in improving lambing percentage include:
Body condition score of the ewes around tupping.
The ewes need to be in the right body condition score (BCS) pre-tupping in order to maximise the number of eggs produced. The BCS scale runs from 1 (emaciated) to 5 (obese). The ideal condition score 2 weeks pre-tupping is 3–3.5 for lowland ewes and 2.5 for hill ewes. Manage the ewes after weaning based on their BCS at weaning; fat ewes on bare grazing with high stocking rate and thin ewes on good grazing at a low stocking rate (possibly with supplementary feeding eg mineralised sugar beet pulp). It takes about 6 weeks to change half a BCS so plan in plenty of time which pastures will be used for which ewes.
Feed intake over the tupping period. (Flushing)
High feed intake (flushing) over the tupping period will increase the number of eggs developing and therefore the number of eggs produced. Note however a high feed intake after mating can reduce embryo survival, so a compact flushing period with a high energy intake is desirable followed by a period of maintenance feeding only.
Other considerations
Rams need to be fit and fertile. Avoid prolonged contact between ewes and rams before mating this will help to ensure a compact lambing period.
Stress can reduce the embryo survival rate so avoid management tasks like foot-paring during tupping. Also provide shelter/ supplementary feed when bad weather occurs.
Ordering of drugs
Please give the practice ample notice (ideally two days) when you would like to place a big order of drugs, so that we have enough time to order the drugs from our wholesaler if needed. Even if you are just picking up a bottle of antibiotic or two, the girls in the office would appreciate a phone call so they can get it ready for you. This is even more important if you don’t know exactly what you want; they can then speak to a vet to sort which treatment you need or the vet can ring you. If you would like to pay at the time to obtain your 10% discount please tell the staff when you order the drugs.
Anti- inflammatory drugs in Treatment of Mastitis
Currently, one of the drug companies is strongly promoting Metacam usage with antibiotics in all cases of mastitis. This is following on from a trial in New Zealand which showed reduced cell counts and culling rates after using this regime. However, the trial did not directly compare Metacam with other similar drugs, such as Flunixin; and the cell counts were only measured for 3 weeks after a case of mastitis. Several veterinary practices in this country are advocating this approach, and we will await feedback from them with interest. In the meantime we would advise that all cases of mastitis where the cow is off colour, has a temperature, or where there is swelling in the udder, should receive an anti-inflammatory injection alongside antibiotics. This will help to reduce high temperatures, swelling and tissue damage in the udder and the pain associated with these. Anti-inflammatory treatment should help to maintain the feed intake of the cow and result in a more rapid improvement in the clinical signs. The two products that we use most commonly are Flunixin: cost per dose £11.12+ vat for 700kg cow, and Metacam: cost per dose £17.50 for 700 kg cow. Metacam is usually given as a single dose under the skin, whereas Flunixin should be given intravenously and can be repeated every 24 hours.
Booking TB Tests
A plea from the girls in the office. Please give us as much notice as you can when booking TB tests in. We are starting to get very busy again and are having difficulty fitting even small numbers in at short notice. At present we are working on about 2 weeks notice for small numbers of animals and about a month for a large whole herd test.
Thursday 8 July 2010
June Newsletter 2010
Farm First Newsletter July 2010
Bleeding Calf Syndrome (Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia)
This is a new disease which is characterised by uncontrollable bleeding from the skin, nose and other areas, typically affecting young calves less than 4 weeks of age. Often the first sign seen is at tagging when the calf will not stop bleeding from the insertion hole. Almost all affected animals will die. The disease is due to damage to the bone marrow, which is responsible for producing the platelets in the blood which are essential for clotting.
The reason for the bone marrow damage is not known, however a possible link between vaccination of dams with Pregsure BVD and the birth of affected calves has been identified in Germany. Pfizer has voluntarily withdrawn the product from the market, but it should be stressed that no link between the vaccine and the disease has been proven, and other BVD vaccines such as Bovilis BVD are not under suspicion. The VLA would like all suspected cases to be reported, as there are ongoing investigations into the possible cause. If you are suspicious that you have a case please contact the surgery.
Emergency on Farm Slaughter
There are strict limits as to which animals fit the criteria for an emergency on-farm slaughter, the guidelines state: ‘An otherwise healthy animal must have suffered an accident that prevented its transport to the slaughterhouse for welfare reasons’.
Basically this really limits the injury to a fracture or dislocation, which requires immediate veterinary attention for welfare reasons. For this reason we must see the animal as soon as possible after injury. Animals which have been injured for several days, or suffering from chronic conditions such as lameness are not eligible.
The statutory withdrawal periods for any veterinary medicine administered must be observed for any animal slaughtered for human consumption. A declaration is required stating that all withdrawal periods for the animal have been observed. A veterinary surgeon must be present before slaughter to perform an inspection. The vet is required to declare the animal is fit for consumption, the reason for slaughter, and any treatment administered. The vet is also required to declare the date and time of slaughter, therefore he/she must be in attendance at the time of slaughter.
The farmer must contact the abattoir to confirm they will accept an emergency slaughter; however they are under no obligation to do so. The carcase must be clean, transported hygienically and arrive at the abattoir within 2 hours of slaughter.
Fly control
One of the drawbacks of the fine weather we’re currently enjoying has been a surge in the number of flies. As well as being a nuisance through biting, flies also act as a source of infection, most notably in summer mastitis but also for other diseases such as New Forest eye.
Butox Swish is probably the best product available to control flies in cows, giving protection for 8-10 weeks. For dairy cows it has a zero milk withdrawal. Stockholm tar also works well when applied directly to the udder but is very messy and needs to be reapplied every 2 weeks.
A new option available is the use biological fly control using fly parasites which are native to this country. These parasites are distributed in fly breeding areas around the farm-yard such as loose housing areas and slurry lagoons. The parasites hatch and kill the adult flies, then lay further eggs which repeat the cycle. More details on biological fly control are available on the Clover website at www.flymanagement.co.uk or www.clovergroup.eu or telephone the Clover Group at 0800 612 5289.
Identification of Cheques
A request from the girls in the office: please ensure when posting in a cheque to pay a bill that you identify it by writing your name and the farm name on the back. Otherwise the girls have to trawl though a long list of surnames to try and identify who it’s from - quite a list if your surname is Jones! The girls would also like the cheque made out to Nat, Tracy or Deb, not sure how Rob will feel about that one though. (Do they think I’m that dull-Rob)
New Streamline Machine
Farm First are slowly moving into the modern age and have invested in a Streamline machine. We should have it up and running in the next few weeks (as soon as Nat has read the instructions) and so soon will be able to take payments via card. Please note that there will be a small charge for the use of credit card(1% of invoice), debit card use will be free of charge.
Enzootic Abortion Vaccine
For those of you that have had enzootic abortion problems diagnosed in your sheep in the past, remember that vaccination is a very good method of controlling losses from this disease. Despite recent reports that the vaccinal strain has been found in some abortion samples, we would still strongly recommend that farmers with this problem vaccinate. Sheep owners in this area with the problem who have vaccinated in the past have repeatedly confirmed that the vaccine works very well. Ewe lambs kept for breeding can be given the vaccine from 5 months of age. For shearlings and older ewes the vaccine should be given from 4 months prior to mating. Do not vaccinate less than 4 weeks prior to mating-early lambing flocks need to be thinking about it now. Do not vaccinate pregnant ewes (the vaccine that we used to be able to give to pregnant ewes is now no longer available). Most ewes are vaccinated once as ewe lambs or shearlings, the vaccine then covers them for life in most circumstances. Often people slowly build up a vaccinated flock by just doing their replacements every year. Cost is about £2.00/ewe, discounts will be given for large orders. Please contact the surgery if you wish to discuss
Toxovax Vaccine
Please note there are supply problems with this vaccine this year. The practice has only been allocated 100 doses for the remainder of the year. If you normally use this vaccine for your ewes please contact us as soon as possible, the available vaccine will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
From Rob and his team at Farm First Vets.
Bleeding Calf Syndrome (Bovine Neonatal Pancytopenia)
This is a new disease which is characterised by uncontrollable bleeding from the skin, nose and other areas, typically affecting young calves less than 4 weeks of age. Often the first sign seen is at tagging when the calf will not stop bleeding from the insertion hole. Almost all affected animals will die. The disease is due to damage to the bone marrow, which is responsible for producing the platelets in the blood which are essential for clotting.
The reason for the bone marrow damage is not known, however a possible link between vaccination of dams with Pregsure BVD and the birth of affected calves has been identified in Germany. Pfizer has voluntarily withdrawn the product from the market, but it should be stressed that no link between the vaccine and the disease has been proven, and other BVD vaccines such as Bovilis BVD are not under suspicion. The VLA would like all suspected cases to be reported, as there are ongoing investigations into the possible cause. If you are suspicious that you have a case please contact the surgery.
Emergency on Farm Slaughter
There are strict limits as to which animals fit the criteria for an emergency on-farm slaughter, the guidelines state: ‘An otherwise healthy animal must have suffered an accident that prevented its transport to the slaughterhouse for welfare reasons’.
Basically this really limits the injury to a fracture or dislocation, which requires immediate veterinary attention for welfare reasons. For this reason we must see the animal as soon as possible after injury. Animals which have been injured for several days, or suffering from chronic conditions such as lameness are not eligible.
The statutory withdrawal periods for any veterinary medicine administered must be observed for any animal slaughtered for human consumption. A declaration is required stating that all withdrawal periods for the animal have been observed. A veterinary surgeon must be present before slaughter to perform an inspection. The vet is required to declare the animal is fit for consumption, the reason for slaughter, and any treatment administered. The vet is also required to declare the date and time of slaughter, therefore he/she must be in attendance at the time of slaughter.
The farmer must contact the abattoir to confirm they will accept an emergency slaughter; however they are under no obligation to do so. The carcase must be clean, transported hygienically and arrive at the abattoir within 2 hours of slaughter.
Fly control
One of the drawbacks of the fine weather we’re currently enjoying has been a surge in the number of flies. As well as being a nuisance through biting, flies also act as a source of infection, most notably in summer mastitis but also for other diseases such as New Forest eye.
Butox Swish is probably the best product available to control flies in cows, giving protection for 8-10 weeks. For dairy cows it has a zero milk withdrawal. Stockholm tar also works well when applied directly to the udder but is very messy and needs to be reapplied every 2 weeks.
A new option available is the use biological fly control using fly parasites which are native to this country. These parasites are distributed in fly breeding areas around the farm-yard such as loose housing areas and slurry lagoons. The parasites hatch and kill the adult flies, then lay further eggs which repeat the cycle. More details on biological fly control are available on the Clover website at www.flymanagement.co.uk or www.clovergroup.eu or telephone the Clover Group at 0800 612 5289.
Identification of Cheques
A request from the girls in the office: please ensure when posting in a cheque to pay a bill that you identify it by writing your name and the farm name on the back. Otherwise the girls have to trawl though a long list of surnames to try and identify who it’s from - quite a list if your surname is Jones! The girls would also like the cheque made out to Nat, Tracy or Deb, not sure how Rob will feel about that one though. (Do they think I’m that dull-Rob)
New Streamline Machine
Farm First are slowly moving into the modern age and have invested in a Streamline machine. We should have it up and running in the next few weeks (as soon as Nat has read the instructions) and so soon will be able to take payments via card. Please note that there will be a small charge for the use of credit card(1% of invoice), debit card use will be free of charge.
Enzootic Abortion Vaccine
For those of you that have had enzootic abortion problems diagnosed in your sheep in the past, remember that vaccination is a very good method of controlling losses from this disease. Despite recent reports that the vaccinal strain has been found in some abortion samples, we would still strongly recommend that farmers with this problem vaccinate. Sheep owners in this area with the problem who have vaccinated in the past have repeatedly confirmed that the vaccine works very well. Ewe lambs kept for breeding can be given the vaccine from 5 months of age. For shearlings and older ewes the vaccine should be given from 4 months prior to mating. Do not vaccinate less than 4 weeks prior to mating-early lambing flocks need to be thinking about it now. Do not vaccinate pregnant ewes (the vaccine that we used to be able to give to pregnant ewes is now no longer available). Most ewes are vaccinated once as ewe lambs or shearlings, the vaccine then covers them for life in most circumstances. Often people slowly build up a vaccinated flock by just doing their replacements every year. Cost is about £2.00/ewe, discounts will be given for large orders. Please contact the surgery if you wish to discuss
Toxovax Vaccine
Please note there are supply problems with this vaccine this year. The practice has only been allocated 100 doses for the remainder of the year. If you normally use this vaccine for your ewes please contact us as soon as possible, the available vaccine will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
From Rob and his team at Farm First Vets.
Tuesday 18 May 2010
MAY NEWSLETTER 2010
Buffer Feeding Dairy Cows at Turnout
Dairy cows at turnout often suffer energy shortages, especially the early lactation animals and higher yielders. This is because grazed grass will support at best about 25 litres of milk plus maintenance a day. Milk yields will often be maintained at higher levels than this because of the “driving force" of the high protein in pasture. If, in addition, you cut the cake in the parlour at turnout, the cows may struggle to meet their energy needs, lose weight and go on to suffer fertility problems. This energy issue is often reflected in the energy (milk proteins) vs milk-yield graphs we get from milk-recording herds at this time of year.
What should you use? Nutritionally and palatability-wise, maize silage, molasses (with added magnesium for staggers), wheat and sugar beet pulp are probably the best. Some people use whole-crop cereals or citrus pulp. Brewers’ grains don’t seem to be so good as they seem to drop butterfat levels in the milk which can be lower anyway because of the lower fibre levels in the grass. As there is lots of protein in the grass you don’t usually need to worry about that. If you are using high protein cake (18%) you can drop this to a 14 to 16% crude protein concentrate in the spring because of the high protein in the grass.
When should you feed it? “My cows won’t eat it” I hear you cry. Depends on the herd a bit and if you want to maximize grass intakes. If you do want to do this, then cows should go out hungry and have an early afternoon feed, and then go out again after milking. If you are a high-yielding herd where grass intake is not maximized (i.e they are just loafing about), then a feed when they are hungriest just after milking will be best(but it does take the edge off their appetite).
And remember to carry a bottle of magnesium in you tractor/landrover/quad cab at this time of year for any staggers cases you might get.
Don’t get caught in parentage trap-cattle passports
There are at least 18,000 UK cattle currently known to be without valid passports, and therefore legally un‐saleable, according to the British Cattle Movement Service. As you will know, a first‐time passport application for animals 28 days of age onwards, or an appeal against a rejected passport application, has to be accompanied by proof of parentage from an authorised source.
Please refer to BCMS for a detailed account of the application/appeal process.
For the parentage check, blood samples are required from the animal itself and the dam. Kits for this purpose can be provided by the practice and one of the vets can take the relevant samples during a visit. Results are posted directly back to you from the Pfizer Animal Genetics’ laboratory. The lab fee per animal is £25 + vat (so £50 + vat for a calf and dam pairing.
Fluke Control
For several years, cattle and sheep farmers have been battling against an increasing incidence of liver fluke on their farms. This year’s icy, snowy winter may have an unexpected silver lining as far as fluke control is concerned by interrupting the parasite’s life cycle. Fluke eggs on the pasture can survive for a time at low temperatures, but adverse conditions can reduce survival and hatchability. This means that after a cold winter the main contribution to future infection are infected, untreated animals passing eggs, and the snail, which after it emerges from hibernation in the spring deposits infective metacercaria on the pasture from May onwards.
The metacercaria from these winter snails are much less significant in number than those from summer infected snails, partly because of snail mortality during the winter months. The harsher the winter, fewer snails survive.
This means that this spring we have an opportunity to get on top of fluke. Pasture contamination is likely to be lower this spring than in previous springs that have followed milder winters, and by treating your stock with a spring dose of flukicide it can be kept low. Fasinex (the triclabendazole flukicide) does not have to be used at this time because we are generally dealing with adult fluke in the animals. This class of drug should be saved for use in the autumn/winter, which will help prevent resistance to the drug developing. Please phone and speak to one of the vets if you wish to discuss.
Zolvix – A new class of wormer
Zolvix is a new broad spectrum wormer for treatment and control of gastrointestinal worms, including those resistant to the current range of wormer classes (white, yellow and clear) in sheep. It is the first new wormer group since 1982. Zolvix is a new ‘fourth’ group of wormer to be called ‘the orange group’ or 4-AD (amino-acetonitrile derivatives). Initially it is only available for sheep.
Although the new 4-AD wormer was first discovered ten years ago it has taken until now to come to the market, and because of its importance to the anthelmintic market place it is classified as a vet only product. Despite Zolvix being effective on all resistant and multi-resistant strains of gastro-intestinal worms, its main benefit to producers will be to prolong the effectiveness of the other wormer groups when used in conjunction with them.
One of two key areas of use is for mid-season lambs (at, or shortly before, weaning), when the worm burden from resistant worms is at its highest, and the most financial benefit can be gained from its use. The other area is as a quarantine drench, when stock are brought onto a unit. Then Zolvix will remove all worm burdens including resistant strains, when used following SCOPS recommendations.
Any farms diagnosed with resistance to the current classes of wormer will need to integrate Zolvix into their worm control programme. With a 7 day meat withdrawal period and a wide safety margin, Zolvix is environmentally friendly with no danger to watercourses or insects, which may favour the use of the product for organic production.
For the time-being Zolvix is only available via vets, and is marketed with a state of the art dosing gun. Dose rate is 1ml/10 kg by mouth and packs are available in 1 litre, 2.5 litre and a treatment pack (2 x 1 litre and a dosing gun). Prices are (for payment at time) £140.40, £351 and £324 plus vat for the respective pack size. The dosing gun on its own is approx £77 + vat. A fancy video of the new system and more information on the product is available on the web at www.zolvix.com
Buffer Feeding Dairy Cows at Turnout
Dairy cows at turnout often suffer energy shortages, especially the early lactation animals and higher yielders. This is because grazed grass will support at best about 25 litres of milk plus maintenance a day. Milk yields will often be maintained at higher levels than this because of the “driving force" of the high protein in pasture. If, in addition, you cut the cake in the parlour at turnout, the cows may struggle to meet their energy needs, lose weight and go on to suffer fertility problems. This energy issue is often reflected in the energy (milk proteins) vs milk-yield graphs we get from milk-recording herds at this time of year.
What should you use? Nutritionally and palatability-wise, maize silage, molasses (with added magnesium for staggers), wheat and sugar beet pulp are probably the best. Some people use whole-crop cereals or citrus pulp. Brewers’ grains don’t seem to be so good as they seem to drop butterfat levels in the milk which can be lower anyway because of the lower fibre levels in the grass. As there is lots of protein in the grass you don’t usually need to worry about that. If you are using high protein cake (18%) you can drop this to a 14 to 16% crude protein concentrate in the spring because of the high protein in the grass.
When should you feed it? “My cows won’t eat it” I hear you cry. Depends on the herd a bit and if you want to maximize grass intakes. If you do want to do this, then cows should go out hungry and have an early afternoon feed, and then go out again after milking. If you are a high-yielding herd where grass intake is not maximized (i.e they are just loafing about), then a feed when they are hungriest just after milking will be best(but it does take the edge off their appetite).
And remember to carry a bottle of magnesium in you tractor/landrover/quad cab at this time of year for any staggers cases you might get.
Don’t get caught in parentage trap-cattle passports
There are at least 18,000 UK cattle currently known to be without valid passports, and therefore legally un‐saleable, according to the British Cattle Movement Service. As you will know, a first‐time passport application for animals 28 days of age onwards, or an appeal against a rejected passport application, has to be accompanied by proof of parentage from an authorised source.
Please refer to BCMS for a detailed account of the application/appeal process.
For the parentage check, blood samples are required from the animal itself and the dam. Kits for this purpose can be provided by the practice and one of the vets can take the relevant samples during a visit. Results are posted directly back to you from the Pfizer Animal Genetics’ laboratory. The lab fee per animal is £25 + vat (so £50 + vat for a calf and dam pairing.
Fluke Control
For several years, cattle and sheep farmers have been battling against an increasing incidence of liver fluke on their farms. This year’s icy, snowy winter may have an unexpected silver lining as far as fluke control is concerned by interrupting the parasite’s life cycle. Fluke eggs on the pasture can survive for a time at low temperatures, but adverse conditions can reduce survival and hatchability. This means that after a cold winter the main contribution to future infection are infected, untreated animals passing eggs, and the snail, which after it emerges from hibernation in the spring deposits infective metacercaria on the pasture from May onwards.
The metacercaria from these winter snails are much less significant in number than those from summer infected snails, partly because of snail mortality during the winter months. The harsher the winter, fewer snails survive.
This means that this spring we have an opportunity to get on top of fluke. Pasture contamination is likely to be lower this spring than in previous springs that have followed milder winters, and by treating your stock with a spring dose of flukicide it can be kept low. Fasinex (the triclabendazole flukicide) does not have to be used at this time because we are generally dealing with adult fluke in the animals. This class of drug should be saved for use in the autumn/winter, which will help prevent resistance to the drug developing. Please phone and speak to one of the vets if you wish to discuss.
Zolvix – A new class of wormer
Zolvix is a new broad spectrum wormer for treatment and control of gastrointestinal worms, including those resistant to the current range of wormer classes (white, yellow and clear) in sheep. It is the first new wormer group since 1982. Zolvix is a new ‘fourth’ group of wormer to be called ‘the orange group’ or 4-AD (amino-acetonitrile derivatives). Initially it is only available for sheep.
Although the new 4-AD wormer was first discovered ten years ago it has taken until now to come to the market, and because of its importance to the anthelmintic market place it is classified as a vet only product. Despite Zolvix being effective on all resistant and multi-resistant strains of gastro-intestinal worms, its main benefit to producers will be to prolong the effectiveness of the other wormer groups when used in conjunction with them.
One of two key areas of use is for mid-season lambs (at, or shortly before, weaning), when the worm burden from resistant worms is at its highest, and the most financial benefit can be gained from its use. The other area is as a quarantine drench, when stock are brought onto a unit. Then Zolvix will remove all worm burdens including resistant strains, when used following SCOPS recommendations.
Any farms diagnosed with resistance to the current classes of wormer will need to integrate Zolvix into their worm control programme. With a 7 day meat withdrawal period and a wide safety margin, Zolvix is environmentally friendly with no danger to watercourses or insects, which may favour the use of the product for organic production.
For the time-being Zolvix is only available via vets, and is marketed with a state of the art dosing gun. Dose rate is 1ml/10 kg by mouth and packs are available in 1 litre, 2.5 litre and a treatment pack (2 x 1 litre and a dosing gun). Prices are (for payment at time) £140.40, £351 and £324 plus vat for the respective pack size. The dosing gun on its own is approx £77 + vat. A fancy video of the new system and more information on the product is available on the web at www.zolvix.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)