Livestock Oct 2008 Newsletter
Bluetongue Update
It’s now beginning to look clearer as to what is going to happen this winter with regard to Bluetongue vaccination. The decision by the Scottish Government to definitely state that they will implement a compulsory vaccination programme means that we can now plan for the ordering, delivery and vaccination of livestock this winter. It’s not yet fully clear when vaccination will commence but certainly not before 1st November 2008, and the window for vaccination is likely to last until April. This means we can plan when to vaccinate unlike those farmers in the original disease zones who had little time to plan or choose when to vaccinate. Thankfully they have done a great job in getting large numbers of animals vaccinated and keeping the lid on the disease. Reports from vet friends in the North of England suggest that vaccination levels have in general been much lower than expected and needed to effectively control the disease. With the whole of Scotland about to start vaccinating, any pockets of unvaccinated animals could act as reservoirs of infection to maintain the disease. With free movement of animals between Protection Zones the risk of drawing BTV into these zones is very high so it is crucial that vaccine uptake is high throughout the entire country. We do not want any areas of the country being able to support and spread disease.
The vaccine being supplied is produced by Merial Animal Health and will initially only be available in 100 ml bottles. The dose is 1 ml under the skin for sheep and cattle – sheep only require one dose for protection, cattle need 2 doses separated by an interval of 1 month. The vaccine is very temperature sensitive and the “cold-chain” needs to be very secure, and bottles must be used within 8 hours of opening. I’m sure you can already see the problems with small flock/herd numbers, and deciding when best to vaccinate is going to be a crucial decision, bearing in mind that many adult cows/ewes will be pregnant and already getting 3 or 4 other vaccinations during the winter period. How best to work it all in??
Pregnancy Diagnosis in Cows
That time of year again, and with cull cows at peak price it makes sense to locate the barren cows now and cull them when they still carry good condition from the summer grazing. We can check cows in several ways – simple manual PD, yes or no and we can usually tell the later calving cows: scanning to confirm pregnancy, can be quicker and helps to spot the later calvers: and scan and date, which gives a reasonably accurate calving date, but can take a little longer and needs to be done within 6 weeks of mating finishing for best results. We can arrange a fee per head or on time, whichever suits you. Give your usual centre a call for more advice.
Pneumonia Vaccination
Been difficult to concentrate on getting calves vaccinated this autumn with the serious difficulties the weather has created in finishing the harvest. Two areas of concern are making sure that at housing the best clean, dry straw can be found for the calves, at least for the crucial 8 week risk period and if it has not been possible to get the calves onto creep feed because of the waterlogged fields, try and get the calves used to their winter concentrate diet over a 4-6 week period after housing. Acidosis is a huge risk factor in creating a pneumonia outbreak, and is a highly fatal condition in its own right.
Cowboy Logic – “good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement”
It’s now beginning to look clearer as to what is going to happen this winter with regard to Bluetongue vaccination. The decision by the Scottish Government to definitely state that they will implement a compulsory vaccination programme means that we can now plan for the ordering, delivery and vaccination of livestock this winter. It’s not yet fully clear when vaccination will commence but certainly not before 1st November 2008, and the window for vaccination is likely to last until April. This means we can plan when to vaccinate unlike those farmers in the original disease zones who had little time to plan or choose when to vaccinate. Thankfully they have done a great job in getting large numbers of animals vaccinated and keeping the lid on the disease. Reports from vet friends in the North of England suggest that vaccination levels have in general been much lower than expected and needed to effectively control the disease. With the whole of Scotland about to start vaccinating, any pockets of unvaccinated animals could act as reservoirs of infection to maintain the disease. With free movement of animals between Protection Zones the risk of drawing BTV into these zones is very high so it is crucial that vaccine uptake is high throughout the entire country. We do not want any areas of the country being able to support and spread disease.
The vaccine being supplied is produced by Merial Animal Health and will initially only be available in 100 ml bottles. The dose is 1 ml under the skin for sheep and cattle – sheep only require one dose for protection, cattle need 2 doses separated by an interval of 1 month. The vaccine is very temperature sensitive and the “cold-chain” needs to be very secure, and bottles must be used within 8 hours of opening. I’m sure you can already see the problems with small flock/herd numbers, and deciding when best to vaccinate is going to be a crucial decision, bearing in mind that many adult cows/ewes will be pregnant and already getting 3 or 4 other vaccinations during the winter period. How best to work it all in??
- Vaccine not yet advised to be given with other vaccines, and safety in pregnant animals not yet established – however millions of doses have been used with a very small number of adverse incidents, and we will have to remain pragmatic and practical in how to use the vaccine. A lot of nonsense has been talked of serious disease outbreaks and illness after vaccinating. These have not been formally reported and as a result not investigated.
- The first dose of a vaccine is the most difficult for the animal to remember and respond to – if possible we need to avoid using any other vaccines at the first dose. This should be possible in ewe flocks - scanning might be a good time to vaccinate, but it will be difficult in cow herds when we are trying to squeeze in vaccinations for BVD, Lepto and Rotavec!!
- We do not know what exemptions there will be - thinking about lambs and cattle that will be slaughtered next year but that might be alive after the end of the vaccination period.
Pregnancy Diagnosis in Cows
That time of year again, and with cull cows at peak price it makes sense to locate the barren cows now and cull them when they still carry good condition from the summer grazing. We can check cows in several ways – simple manual PD, yes or no and we can usually tell the later calving cows: scanning to confirm pregnancy, can be quicker and helps to spot the later calvers: and scan and date, which gives a reasonably accurate calving date, but can take a little longer and needs to be done within 6 weeks of mating finishing for best results. We can arrange a fee per head or on time, whichever suits you. Give your usual centre a call for more advice.
Pneumonia Vaccination
Been difficult to concentrate on getting calves vaccinated this autumn with the serious difficulties the weather has created in finishing the harvest. Two areas of concern are making sure that at housing the best clean, dry straw can be found for the calves, at least for the crucial 8 week risk period and if it has not been possible to get the calves onto creep feed because of the waterlogged fields, try and get the calves used to their winter concentrate diet over a 4-6 week period after housing. Acidosis is a huge risk factor in creating a pneumonia outbreak, and is a highly fatal condition in its own right.
Cowboy Logic – “good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement”