Dosing sucklers and their calves

danpaddyandy

hey ive 8 sucklers and their off spring out on grass calves 5-9 weeks old all calves are healthy im hearing all about vaccines for blackleg,pneumonia etc should they be vaccinated for these or just leave them alone until i see something wrong
also i want to give cows general dose for fluke etc is it ok to give them ivermac super injection thanks

whelan1

do the calves for blackleg asap. most important

Farmer Pudsey

danpaddyandy wrote: »

hey ive 8 sucklers and their off spring out on grass calves 5-9 weeks old all calves are healthy im hearing all about vaccines for blackleg,pneumonia etc should they be vaccinated for these or just leave them alone until i see something wrong
also i want to give cows general dose for fluke etc is it ok to give them ivermac super injection thanks

Ivermac super is a branded product so quite expensive. I am not a great fan of these dual fluke and worm injection and definately not dual pour on. Ivermac super is the same as any ivermectin product and it has a product call clorsulon to kill fluke. It is the same as Flukiver and any Ivermectin product such as bimectin, animec combined.

However if you have a fluke problem Trodrax will give a better fluke kill Deldrax is an unbranded version if you can come accross.

I use Bimectin or animec ( or any inbranded ivermectin product) for worms if you did cows for fluke during housing there is no point in doing for fluke until they are out two months and then it is trodax/deldrax you should use unless you are willing to use an oral dose such as Albex. Cows should also be out 4-6 weeks before doing for worms.

Blackleg vaccine is cheap I do them for it two injections 6 weeks apart if you can use a sterile needle to draw the amount you need into another bottle use straight away seal top of vaccine bottle with candle wax and the remainder will hold for 6 weeks and beyond.

1chippy

Blackleg vaccine is cheap I do them for it two injections 6 weeks apart if you can use a sterile needle to draw the amount you need into another bottle use straight away seal top of vaccine bottle with candle wax and the remainder will hold for 6 weeks and beyond.[/QUOTE]
Great idea for the blackleg injection. just remember to keep it in the fridge too. done everything yesterday. cows dosed, blackleg, calves dosed and booster to all calves. great checking the progress on the calves.

Richk2012

danpaddyandy wrote: »

hey ive 8 sucklers and their off spring out on grass calves 5-9 weeks old all calves are healthy im hearing all about vaccines for blackleg,pneumonia etc should they be vaccinated for these or just leave them alone until i see something wrong
also i want to give cows general dose for fluke etc is it ok to give them ivermac super injection thanks

If you leave them alone until you see something wrong in the case of blackleg , the telltale signs will be a dead beast . I done some calves yesterday for it . 2ml subcutaneous and repeat in 6 weeks . (pain trying to do them again in 6 weeks)
And dont quote me on it but i think it said calves must be 3 months old before vaccination . :rolleyes:

danpaddyandy

cheers for advice ya better do them for blackleg so must ask vet about them being 3 months old cows are a bit runny and few of them coughing so will give them whatever dose is needed for that going off the topic a bit how old should calves be before you start feeding them ie creep feeder i want to build up herd so want heifers to be right size at 15 months

whelan1

danpaddyandy wrote: »

cheers for advice ya better do them for blackleg so must ask vet about them being 3 months old cows are a bit runny and few of them coughing so will give them whatever dose is needed for that going off the topic a bit how old should calves be before you start feeding them ie creep feeder i want to build up herd so want heifers to be right size at 15 months

they are never too young to start on creep feed, the earlier the better, start off with calf crunch

blue5000

danpaddyandy wrote: »

cheers for advice ya better do them for blackleg so must ask vet about them being 3 months old cows are a bit runny and few of them coughing so will give them whatever dose is needed for that going off the topic a bit how old should calves be before you start feeding them ie creep feeder i want to build up herd so want heifers to be right size at 15 months

You'd be better off to creep graze them ahead of cows, creep feeder would break you, time enough to meal them a month or two before weaning.

Muckit

Is blackleg not something that's carried in the soil and dependent on your location or farm history? Best consult your own vet.

Also is there much point in dosing adult cattle for worms? Would they not have built up immunity in the first few years?

We have never vaccinated for blackleg and never had a loss from it. Perhaps we were lucky.

BeeDI

Muckit wrote: »

Is blackleg not something that's carried in the soil and dependent on your location or farm history? Best consult your own vet.

Also is there much point in dosing adult cattle for worms? Would they not have built up immunity in the first few years?

We have never vaccinated for blackleg and never had a loss from it. Perhaps we were lucky.

I used not vaccinate against blackleg either. Then I got a brainfart to be progressive and decided to do a bit of reseeding. Reseeding disturbs the soil, and can bring up the kind of things which set off blackleg.
Needless to say ,,,,,,,,,,, a right good suck calf ended up dead:mad: Been vaccinating since:rolleyes:

blue5000

AFAIK blackleg survives in damp soil better than dry soil.

I think an animal that died of blackleg years ago has to have been buried in the field for animals to get it, this probably explains why some ppl have been getting away without vaccinating. An animal has to get a scratch/cut for the bacteria to enter. Vaccination isn't expensive, roughly 35-40e for 25 shots. Needs to be repeated though.

Richk2012

danpaddyandy wrote: »

cheers for advice ya better do them for blackleg so must ask vet about them being 3 months old cows are a bit runny and few of them coughing so will give them whatever dose is needed for that going off the topic a bit how old should calves be before you start feeding them ie creep feeder i want to build up herd so want heifers to be right size at 15 months

I wouldnt be worming cows on the basis of being a bit runny . Fresh grass is going to have them loose in the dung anyway , and chances are its constanaly wet grass there eating with what rain has fallen over past week . And as for coughing Id be more inclined to be keeping a close eye on them for a chill or pneuomnia rather than lung worm . Had the vet with a cow and a calf over weekend , both with it , because of this changeable weather .
I agree with Blue on creep grazing the calves ahead . Breaks the strong bond between cow and calf too .