Farm First Newsletter December 2012
Parasite Forecast
Here is a summary of the NADIS parasite
forecast. The full version can be found at
www.nadis.org.uk .There is a risk of very
high levels of liver fluke disease in Scotland, Wales and western England, and
probably Northern Ireland, with a significant risk of disease across most of
the UK. Localised areas that have remained wet for long periods over the summer
and autumn will present a threat to livestock in any part of the country.
Sheep
Death and
disease caused by immature fluke may continue to occur into the winter.
Ill-thrift and poor production caused by adult liver fluke reaches peak levels
in the winter/spring, but can occur throughout the year. Sheep on
fluke-infected farms will most likely need winter treatment to remove adult and
immature fluke. Repeat doses are likely to be needed this year if risky
pastures are still being grazed through the winter. It’s very important to use the correct drug
for the time of year and likely risk level: triclabendazole is usually the best
in the autumn/winter if there is a risk of very recent infection, but not if
there is any evidence of resistance to it in the fluke on your farm.
Cattle
If cattle were
housed 6 weeks ago, a closantel or nitroxynil treatment given now should clear
the cattle of infection. Cattle rarely suffer from disease caused by young
immature fluke, so delaying the dose is often a practical option.
Depending on previous treatments and grazing
conditions, out-wintered cattle will probably require winter flukicide
treatment this year.
PGE IN SHEEP
Watch out for:
Poor growth and scour caused by worms in store and replacement lambs
Worm challenge to grazing
livestock in December may still be enough to cause disease or poor growth. Faecal egg count monitoring of batches of
lambs, as recommended by SCOPS, is an invaluable tool in controlling PGE
without the overuse of anthelmintics. Decisions about dosing and further
sampling can then be made with veterinary advice.
PGE in CATTLE
Prevention: All
youngstock should receive a dose of wormer at housing
Prolonged
housing and shortage of bedding and forage will lead to increased disease
problems in stock this winter
All youngstock
should receive a housing dose of anthelmintic to treat arrested Ostertagia larvae
(e.g. a Group 3/ivermectin type wormer). Any youngstock that grazed pastures
carrying worms in the autumn and did not receive an anthelmintic at housing may
carry Ostertagia infection through the winter. This can cause disease in
the late winter/early spring (type 2 disease).
LICE IN CATTLE
Watch out for:
Lice and mite infestations which are more common over the winter housing
period.
Calves may be
treated for lice at housing with a pour-on Group 3 (ivermectin-type) product,
primarily given as a wormer.
Adult
cattle rarely require a housing wormer, so a pyrethroid-type pour-on may be
required at housing to control lice (under veterinary advice)
Paramphistomum
There
is a heightened risk of acute paramphistomum infection for grazing cattle and
sheep for the rest of this year. Paramphistomum is the rumen fluke which
is different to the liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica. Adult rumen
fluke can be found in the rumen of cattle and sheep and are not regarded as a
major risk to their health. However immature paramphistomes can cause a
severe diarrhoea in cattle and sheep grazing recently flooded, or continually
waterlogged fields. These provide a suitable habitat for the intermediate snail
host of this fluke species(the water snail). Cases were reported last
year in sheep in Scotland, and this year there have been two outbreaks of
diarrhoea in young grazing cattle in the south west of England. Deaths
occurred in these outbreaks. Suitable treatment is more limited than
treatment for the liver fluke, but oxyclosanide has been found to be effective
against mature and immature infection. Two treatments five days apart may be
required but overdosing must be avoided.
Sterimatic Guns – the ideal Christmas
present for busy farmers
We
now have Sterimatic injection guns in stock. These systems are designed for
safer, cleaner injections which improve animal welfare through less abcesses,
and operator safety, as needle stick injuries are less likely. The guns come in
two sizes and are priced at £16.45+ VAT (pay at time) for the 6ml bottle
mounted syringe and £16.90+VAT( PAT) for the 10ml tube fed syringe.
Household Flea Spray
RIP
Fleas Extra is a Reliable, Instant, Protecting and complete solution to rid your
home of insect parasites. RIP Fleas has a unique triple action formula, which
works instantly to stop fleas. As well as rapid results, RIP Fleas also has the
assurance of 12 months efficacy to keep on killing flea larvae in the home. RIP
Fleas also kills house dust mites, which can be a common cause of allergies in
people and pets. RIP Fleas is the highest volume presentation available and
will cover the whole house. (Up to 120 square metres). We now have this product
in stock at a cost of £12 (inc vat). It should be used in combination with
products such as Frontline, which kill the fleas on the animal, and which we
also have in stock.
Christmas Opening Hours
The office will be open for the usual
hours over the Christmas and New Year Season, apart from the days listed below.
Please get your medicines orders to us in good time, so that we can ensure you
have what you need.
Christmas
Eve, Monday 24th December
08.30 – 1pm
Christmas
Day, Tuesday 25th December Closed
Boxing
day, Wednesday 26th December
Closed
New
Years Eve, Monday 31st December
08.30 – 1pm
New
Years Day, Tuesday 1st January
Closed
We would like to take this opportunity to thank
you for your custom this year and to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy
NewYear
