UK farming has been a world leader in reducing antibiotic use – yet we have struggled to prove this progress in our ruminant sectors. Now we have the Medicine Hub for beef, sheep and dairy. While we know from our own records at Synergy that our beef cattle and sheep clients are generally low users […]
Tag Archives: Cattle
Suckler Calf Mortality – time to investigate?
A study looking in to the risk factors associated with beef calf mortality found the following:- Dystocia (difficult birth), small birth weight and older parity of the mother increased the risk of mortality in calves <1 month old. In calves 1 – 5 months old, being the offspring of a heifer was associated with significantly […]
Control of Johne’s Disease in the Beef Suckler Herd
Johne’s disease, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium sub-species paratuberculosis, or MAP for short, is characterised by a long incubation period before irreversible diarrhoea and terminal weight loss. Infection can occur at any age but is most common via the faeco-oral route within the first hours, days or weeks of life, although clinical signs are […]
Calf Castrates
Last year, Team Sheep focused their attention on how tailing and castrating lambs affects the animals involved; and looked at scenarios where the procedure had been improved or avoided. The meetings definitely changed my attitude, and I got to wondering why we don’t all take the same approach with calves. It’s not uncommon to see […]
Cattle Freeze Branding
Recently I have been developing my skills in Freeze branding. Here I share a few thoughts on the process and some key facts which help explain the method we use to provide permanent ID on cattle. Freeze branding uses copper alloy irons chilled in a solution of dry ice (frozen C02) and an alcohol solution […]
Vaccination Time for Cattle
For most, Spring is the busiest time of the year. Traditionally herds would vaccinate their cows before turnout, but all year round housed cattle tend to have the majority of vaccine now as well. It is important an individual vaccination programme is in place for your farm so that not only the correct timing, dose […]
Lameness and Welfare in Dairy Cows
Lameness has been identified by all stakeholders within the dairy sector as the most obvious and concerning compromiser of welfare. When considering the Five Freedoms, lameness impacts all: Inhibits normal feeding and drinking behaviour Causes discomfort and alters lying times Lameness is a painful condition and a gateway to developing other diseases Inhibits normal behaviour, […]
Seven steps for a better service period
By the time you read this newsletter, spring calving will be well under way – for some of you perhaps already over! I appreciate there are a hundred and one tasks to carry out following calving, from ear tagging to turnout. But to ensure a smooth service period, resulting in an improved calving next year, […]
Why do we administer Anthelmintics to our Cattle?
The presence of a worm infection prevents animals from utilising the nutrients in their food properly, leading to poor growth and performance rates. If left untreated, infection with these parasites can cause serious disease and even death. There are three main parasite groups to consider when deciding on which anthelmintic we should be giving our […]
