North – Tom Angel
After a busy winter and what seemed like a particularly bad one for calf pneumonia, it’s nice to see the first signs of spring emerging as we head towards turnout. This is a good opportunity to be proactive with regards to lungworm prevention for first season grazers. Vaccination with Huskvac prior to turnout allows for natural exposure during grazing and stimulates a long-lasting immunity. Animals can be vaccinated from 8 weeks of age and require two doses of Huskvac, 4 weeks apart. Onset of immunity occurs two weeks after the second dose so it’s important this time has elapsed before exposing animals to potentially at-risk pasture. This approach is much more favourable than regular worming with regards to reducing wormer usage and allowing animals to develop their own immunity and not leaving them vulnerable further down the line.
East – Josh Swain
So far the New Year has not delivered many bright or dry days and I had to get out and perform the ‘welly test’ numerous times to check if my van would get through the flooded roads. We have had pneumonia outbreaks in the East region (to both the cattle and human populations!). Some interesting recent calf post-mortem and respiratory swab findings have found bacterial opportunistic pathogens such as Mannheimia and Pasteurella in the absence of pneumonia viruses such as RSV and PI3. Normally, these viruses are the first to infect the respiratory tract and then lead to secondary colonization by the bacteria. However,
bacterial infection alone can occur when host defences in the lungs are compromised by stressors such as poor weather. Prompt detection of cases, good calf housing management and vaccination can all help mitigate the risks of challenging weather conditions.
West – Jenny Clayton
Pneumonia is causing problems in calves of all ages and although many are vaccinated the environmental challenge some calves are facing is huge. When they are over stocked or living in under or over ventilated sheds they can succumb to the disease. High temperatures, mouth breathing and raspy lungs are all too familiar. It can be depressing and certainly takes a lot of time to treat, both with antibiotics, and anti inflammatory supportive care plus finding space for them when they need to be separated from the others. Simple solutions, including opening up sides of sheds or preventing drafts, can make such a difference and although obvious to a new fresh set of eyes may not be so obvious when working in the same shed for years! I opened a window on one shed after doing a smoke bomb test and it just provided enough fresh air into the shed to force the air up and away from the calves. This meant they were not rebreathing in the same air. Now is the time for smoke bombing, whilst sheds are full, and we can then see how each shed performs.
Central – Katharine Benjamin
Most of you will be gearing up for calving and lambing season, and many of you will be in the swing of it already. We have been busy across the practice due to a resurgence in cases of Schmallenberg this year, with an increase in difficult calvings and lambings displaying the typical bent limbs and fixed joints seen after infection with the virus. We have had these confirmed as SBV on brain or blood samples in multiple cases. The virus is spread by midges and the warm Autumn and early Winter we had last year will have extended the active midge period, allowing for infection of dams during the critical stage of gestation. If you are concerned about cases on your farm there is funding available for surveillance testing of foetal brain stem or blood sampling of dams. If you find yourself struggling we are available 24/7 to help.
Lympstone – Lorna Pillar
It’s been one month as Synergy Farm Health Lympstone and we’ve hit the ground running as we enter our busy period for lambings and calvings. The relentless wet weather has brought its own challenges and I’ve had to get used to driving a van! With the poor weather we have seen higher than usual levels of pneumonia issues with calves. Although the weather certainly makes things harder, there are lots of ways that we can help tackle calf pneumonia including diagnostic testing, tailored vaccination protocols and advice on calf housing and ventilation. Please make sure you speak to your vet if you are experiencing any problems with pneumonia in calves.
The saturated ground means we are also seeing an increase in sheep lameness cases. Muddy areas around gateways, feeders etc. can result in the sheep’s normal defences against infectious lameness being compromised. Here at Synergy we can help advise on good preventative lameness care and foot management to help reduce the level of lameness and antibiotic usage on farm.
