Farm First Newsletter February 2013
Reduced Price Liver Fluke Testing in Dairy
Herds
An
increased number of animals are being diagnosed with liver fluke this year and
we would like to make sure that it is not a hidden problem in your herd. We are
seeing it even in cows which were treated at drying off, as they could be
carrying a significant burden, due to development of immature fluke not killed
by the treatment or re-infection after the treatment, If cows are carrying a
liver fluke burden it will cause a drop in milk yield and quality, and have
effects on fertility and general health. We can carry out two simple tests to
look at the risk of fluke in your herd. Firstly, a bulk milk test will look at
the level of antibodies across the herd to give an indication of the level of
infection this year. If this is high, and more information is required, a fluke
egg mob test can be carried out on faeces from 10 of the thinnest cows, to see
if there are any fluke eggs present. If they are, this would confirm the
presence of adult liver fluke in the liver. If results indicate a problem, we
will discuss the various treatment options with you. We have decided to
subsidise the cost of post, packing and interpretation on these tests, to
encourage sampling to be carried out. The total cost will be £9.20 + VAT for
the bulk milk test and £38.80 for the mob test on faeces.
Colostrum
Storage
We
have recently come across the following product called Perfect Udder .The Perfect Udder Colostrum Management Kit is the
solution for handling colostrum from harvest to feeding without the fear of
recontamination, while also allowing the colostrum to be pasteurized,
refrigerated, frozen, reheated and fed through a nipple or oesophageal feeder
all from the same container. With its special heat conductive materials, the
Perfect Udder allows complete pasteurization and also quick cooling and warming
of product. A 10 bag sample pack and tube costs £22 +vat and is sold by a
company called G. Shepherd Animal Health (www.gshepherdanimalhealth.co.uk) Tel.
01772 690333 / 07778 191964).
Subsidised
Testing for Barren and Aborting Ewes
If
you scanned your ewes and recorded a barren rate greater than 2% you can now
ask for a subsidised flock blood test to establish whether the cause of the
problem was toxoplasmosis. At a time when many sheep producers are asking for
veterinary diagnostic support to confirm or rule out potential Schmallenberg
virus (SBV) infection, it makes sense to investigate whether other diseases are
present in the flock at the same time. Barren
Ewe Check, the diagnostic scheme supported by MSD Animal Health, is
available until 31st March 2013. As we move into lambing time
abortions may occur in your flock, and if the rate exceeds 2% investigations
should be undertaken. Ideally aborted foetuses with placenta should be
submitted for sampling to try to find the cause of abortion. The cost of a post mortem for
abortion is £88 for foetus(es) from 1 dam and £98 for foetus(es) from 2 dams. If you are having
problems, don’t just don’t just assume it’s Schmallenburg, as the other common
causes of abortion will still be around and each one requires different
measures to reduce the impact and prevent further cases next year. If the cause
of abortion has not been identified during lambing, MSD Animal Health also
supports an annual Flock Check
diagnostic service, in which blood samples are taken from 6-8 aborted ewes. The
2012 Flock Check results showed once
again that the most commonly diagnosed causes of abortion in sheep continue to
be EAE and toxoplasmosis, despite the availability of cost-effective vaccines
Over 300 samples were tested in 2012 of which 86% were positive for toxoplasmosis
and 58% for enzootic abortion. Over 50% of the samples (52%) showed exposure to
both these diseases.
Ewe
Nutrition Pre lambing
Poor
nutrition in the last 4-6 weeks of pregnancy can lead to the following
problems:
Ewes
- Twin lamb disease, hypocalcaemia, mastitis.
Lambs - Hypothermia, watery mouth/rattle belly, joint ill
(navel ill), pneumonia, scour.
The
ewe must have enough to eat and the means to be able to eat and drink enough so
consider: grazing, housing, trough space, water availability, ewe health, lamb
numbers
Twin lamb disease should be considered as a
warning that the flock is under nutritional stress. Survival rates of ewes with
twin lamb disease are generally poor and there is an argument that the cost of
treatment is better put into the remaining healthy ewes.
Treatment options Glucose supplements oral glucose will not work as it is metabolised
by rumen flora, so glucose precursors such as glycol need
to be used. Work from one XLVet practice suggests that dosing
four times a day is more beneficial than the traditional twice daily regime. We
now have in stock Ewe-Go a combined energy and calcium drench which costs £ 1/
dose.
Non-steroidal drugs (NSAID’s) There is evidence to show that the complex biochemistry
associated with twin lamb causes release of inflammatory factors that have an
effect on appetite. Suppressing these
with drugs such as Flunixin can encourage the ewe to eat.
Inducing Birth -as the major reason for the
occurrence of twin lamb disease is the presence of the lambs, inducing the ewes
is often the best means of a cure.
However, this should be discussed in detail with your veterinary
surgeon.
Meetings
DairyCo
are holding a Dairy
Feed efficiency meeting on 6th March at: Alice Springs Golf Club,
Kemeys Commander, Usk, Monmouthshire. NP15 1PP. 7:30 – 10:30pm. DairyCo and
Professor Kevin Sinclair will review:
- Balanced diets for dairy
cows
- Variety of protein
feedstuffs
- Improving nitrogen
efficiency for reduced environmental impact and improved profit
- Effects of reducing protein
in the diet
Staff
News
Simeon,
one of our TB testing vets, is moving on to pastures new at the end of the
month when he will move to a new job closer to friends and family in the
Midlands. We wish him well in his new position.
We
have appointed a new vet called Gabriel Ciprés who will be starting as a TB
tester at the beginning of next month. We look forwards to welcoming him to the
practice.
