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
