August 2015
Issue 23
Newsletter
STAFFING NEWS
Sadly, Andy is leaving us at the end of July but I am sure you will join us in wishing him all
the best in the future, especially as he is getting married on August 15th in Mark to his fiancée
Kate.
Niamh Field (pronounced Neave) is joining the Large Animal team at the beginning of
August. She has recently qualified from Dublin University and wants to work primarily in the
large animal field. I am sure you will all give her a warm welcome.
As you all will be aware Alice and James are due their second child towards the end of
September. Alice is stopping large animal work at the end of July and goes on maternity
leave from mid- September.
The large animal team will consist of Rachel, Becky, Niamh and myself,
with Carol at the helm.
TB TESTING
The transition from AHPA to XLVets Farmcare Wessex, after a lot of hard work especially
by Carol, appears to be going reasonably well at our end. You hopefully have seen no
difference. It is still very important that you contact us as soon as you receive notification of
to arrange a date for your TB test, failure to do this can result in deductions from your single
farm payment. Unfortunately, we have had quite a few breakdowns lately and the diary is
filling up quickly.
We all need to work together on this one, early is best!
YOUNGSTOCK FOCUS
With Autumn approaching it is important to start thinking about calf health once again. This
year we are running a series of meetings and farm visits particularly focusing on pneumonia
and calf scours, included in the package are scour test kits and a colostrometer to measure the
quality of colostrum fed to calves. If you are interested in participating then please speak to
Becky for more details.
AUTUMN CALVING HERDS
Now is the time to start preparing for the prevention of scours in your
autumn born calves. Rotavec Corona vaccine protects via increasing the
antibody concentration of rota virus, corona virus and E coli in the dam’s
colostrum. Protection is passed to the calf through them suckling
therefore it is ESSENTIAL that calves receive enough colostrum at birth
– 1 litre/10kg bodyweight in the first 12 hours, i.e. a 50kg calf needs 5 litres.
A single injection during pregnancy can be given to the dam at anytime
between 12 weeks and 3 weeks before calving is expected.
RISPOVAL RS+Pi3 INTRANASAL
This vaccine is now available as
packs of 5 dose and 25 dose vials.
SINGLE DOSE VIALS,
as well as
MOT RAMS – THE 5 T’S
How to check your rams....................
TOES
Check locomotion, feet and arthritis
TEETH
Check mouth and feed correctly
TESTICLES
Measure and check firmness (flexed bicep!)
with no lumps and bumps
TONE
Body condition 3.5 - 4.0, spine covered
TREAT
Vaccination – Clostridia and Pastuerella, Parasites, Lameness
Consult your vet for a full examination
BVD
Do you know if your herd is infected with BVD?
BVD causes immunosuppression which makes animals more prone to diseases such as
pneumonia and scours. This in turn causes a decrease in weight gain and longer time taken to
get to bulling or finishing weight.
Whilst at your annual TB test we are able to take blood from 5-10 animals aged 9-18 months
old, or take a bulk milk sample to monitor your BVD status.
This testing is being subsidised for a limited time,
so when booking in your TB test let us know if you would like this testing carried out.
IBR - INFECTIOUS BOVINE RHINOTRACHEITIS
We are detecting IBR more and more in dairy herds from bulk milk samples. This disease
can cause milk drop, nasal discharge and abortions.
Although these clinical signs can be seen sometimes the disease is only seen with sick cows
which can have high temperatures. Farmers with disease diagnosed on farm who have started
vaccinating have seen an increase in milk yield almost immediately and a general
improvement in the health of their cows and subsequently the youngstock
This testing is being subsidised for a limited time,
so when booking in your TB test let us know if you would like this testing carried out.