FLUKE FOCUS
Liver fluke are parasites of the liver and need a tiny mud snail to complete the lifecycle and infect the cow or sheep, so you tend to find "flukey pastures" where there are boggy areas or along river edges.
LIFECYCLE: It takes 12 weeks for the fluke to get to an adult stage - and at this time of year in cattle it is the adult one's we're worried about. The adults are cornflake shape and size, they sit in the bile ducts of the liver and feed on blood. In large numbers the adults can lead to anaemia, but it is usually the livers reaction to the fluke that causes the most damage - there is intense inflammation around the site of infection which causes scarring in the liver and compromised liver function.
CLINICAL FLUKE: this is uncommon in cattle, but sometimes we see fluid collecting under the jaw "bottle jaw" along with scour and weight loss in affected animals.
SUBCLINICAL FLUKE: this is more typical in cattle and the signs are due to poor performance as the liver becomes compromised. An affected liver results in poorer feed conversion rates and reduced growth rates in youngstock, and poor production and performance in the milking herd.
FLUKE IN SHEEP: Sheep react differently to fluke compared with cattle and we can see acute infections and sudden death before chronic infections and poor performance.
DO YOUR STOCK HAVE FLUKE? We use a variety of measures to check for infection:
- antibodies on blood samples can show exposure in individuals
- fluke eggs in muck samples once there are adults in the liver
- target bulk tank sampling for milking herds
- abattoirs will often pick up signs of liver fluke in condemned livers
FLUKE CONTROL: There's no place nowadays for blanket fluke treatment "just in case". There is increasing resistance to the very limited fluke treatments we have, so we must make best use of treatments by targeting the right animals with the right treatment at the right dose and at the right time. Along with targeted treatments, a vital part of fluke control is reducing exposure of cattle and sheep to the infectious mud snail by fencing off boggy areas and limiting grazing in areas prone to flooding.
PLANNING FOR TURN-OUT: worming plans
There's been an occasional burst of sunshine with a bit of warmth in it that reminds us spring is on it's way!
Over the next month we will be talking to you about updating your worming plans for 2021. This plan will cover first and second season grazers as well as any adult treatments, and it is a useful time to schedule in any worm egg counts to monitor pasture egg build up.
There is increasing pressure for judicious use of wormers rather than a blanket policy - we need to preserve a population of susceptible worms to future proof our wormers!
HUSKVAC REMINDER:
Huskvac is a great way to safely get youngstock immune to lungworm infection before the first grazing season - they will need two doses, 4 weeks apart and the second dose 2 weeks before turn out.
Don't forget - Huskvac immunity will need boosting with natural exposure to lungworm throughout the grazing season so this will need factoring in to your worming schedule. Long acting wormers should NOT be used with Huskvac.
Grip & Grooves
Slippy concrete in cubicle sheds, passageways and collecting yards can result in down cows and casualties, as well as more white line disease as cows "slip then catch" their grip on the edge of a groove.
This "slip then catch" puts huge pressures on the junction between the wall horn and the sole horn, especially on the outer claw of the hind feet and you get areas of bruising, separation and infection or White Line Disease.
How can we prevent White Line Disease (WLD)?
Preventing WLD is a combination of proper feeding to support healthy hoof growth, along with reducing abnormal forces on the feet - usually through better flooring surfaces and improving cow flow so cows can pick their route and walk at their own pace.
Better Flooring Surfaces:
Concrete is a dry, hygienic, cost effective flooring for cows but can be slippy and will need grooving; especially at bottle necks, to give bulling cows confidence and protect heifers and fresh cows transitioning into the milkers.
Grooving can be floated into new concrete or cut into existing concrete - new research suggests ideal grooving should be straight lines in the direction of cow flow, spaced close enough together so her foot contacts a groove at all times, but wide and deep enough so muck is pushed under the foot into the groove and the foot has contact and traction without excessive wear.
GROOVE DIMENSIONS:
- 19mm wide groove
- 13mm deep with vertical sides
- spaced 83mm on centre
Strategic Rubber Flooring
Rubber flooring your high risk areas can really help prevent WLD by reducing repetitive traumatic forces on the feet. Examples of high risk areas would be forced turns out of a parlour, collecting yards if waiting times are over an hour, sharp turns in passageways, and as a flooring in the parlour itself. Rubber flooring in cubicle housing can reduce lying times which doesn't always help lameness so it's important to target the right high risk areas relevant to your farm.
Improving Cow Flow - Temple Grandin
Many of you will have heard of Temple Grandin and the incredible work she has done improving cattle handling systems across the world. Don't forget, a bad flooring surface won't cause WLD alone - it is how the cow moves on that surface that can cause the damage so cow flow and cattle handling are just as important!
Temple is doing a free AHDB Webinar on 8th February at 7pm on improving cow flow - click on the link below to register, and you can either watch live or get the link to the recording so you can watch later at a time to suit you.
If you're interested in straight line grooving get in touch with Joe Kirby:
Changes to Red Tractor Beef Standards
Did you know that all RT beef farms will need to be part of a BVD eradication program by 2023?
There are a few different options for BVD eradication programs, from BVD Free England https://bvdfree.org.uk/ to the CHeCS accreditation programs https://www.checs.co.uk/diseases/bovine-viral-diarrhoea-bvd/.
BVD is a costly disease, causing both poor fertility in sucklers and poor youngstock health as the circulating virus hits the immunity of the in-contact animals hard. We usually start the process doing a handful of bloods on youngstock to monitor recent exposure to BVD by looking for antibodies. These results will then feed into your BVD control plan on farm.
GET IN TOUCH:
Paula: 07764 747855 paula@haywoodfarmvets.com
Tom: 07837 291097 tom@haywoodfarmvets.com
Enquiries: mail@haywoodfarmvets.com
Website: haywoodfarmvets.com
Open hours: M-F 08:30 - 16:30
Out of Hours: 07398 743095