New Calcium Supplement for Cattle:

Anyone who has given Calcium under the skin to cattle with milk fever will know that it isn't always very well absorbed. Sometimes it's still sitting there 24 hours later.

Calcium is well absorbed through the gut, however, and we now have a calcium supplement that can be given down the throat. It comes in a container very like mastic sealant and is squirted down the cow's throat with a mastic gun. It is not a replacement for giving Calcium into the vein but for milk fever cows that can still stand or as a preventative to potential milk fever problem cows, it should be very useful.

Semen Freezing for Goats

Many of you will know that the Practice has been involved in sheep laparoscopic A.I. and semen freezing from tups for several years now.

Recently we have trained in collecting and freezing billy goat semen for a sheep and goat fertility company based in Somerset.

If any of you visited the practice during the collection week you may have noticed the all-pervading smell of billy goat! Talk to Fiona or Richard if you want any information on semen-freezing.

Remember the frozen semen from a tup is generally much cheaper than insuring him against loss of use and should the worst happen you still have his bloodline.

Interherd Scheme:

Just a reminder to all dairy farmers: We are now up and running with ‘Interherd’ the fertility, mastitis and health computer program. Any of you that are milk recording can allow us at the bare minimum to monitor your cell counts and advise on improvements.

Even if you don’t milk record we can be there to advise and assist just by browsing your records, especially service dates, calving dates, and treatment records.

We can work to aid your cow’s fertility by having an easy list as often as you would like of those whom should have been in heat, served or due PD. The extent of what we can do for you depends on how much you want out of us and this new system.

Please don’t hesitate to ask us for more information next time we are out on farm or next time you are in the surgery.

Nematodirus in Lambs:

As many of you will know, Nematodirus is a parasitic gut worm that infects lambs in the spring and causes watery diarrhoea, loss of condition and, in severe cases, death. Lambs that recover from the disease often take a long time to regain body condition. Unlike most other gut worms, Nematodirus does not infect adult sheep, so it is purely a lamb to lamb disease. Eggs that were passed out by lambs last year develop on the pasture up to a certain stage. To complete their life-cycle, they require a period of chilling followed by temperatures above 10°C. If this happens early in the year before many lambs are around then the hatched worms die off before they can infect lambs. However, if the warm spell comes in May or June when many lambs are starting to graze then large numbers of lambs can become affected.

Prevention - because Nematodirus can survive on pasture for up to two years the ideal is to avoid putting 1-3 month-old lambs onto pastures that were grazed with lambs in the previous two years. Calves can also carry Nematodirus so pasture grazed by them should also be avoided, if possible.

For many farms such grazing systems are not practical and they must rely on treatment.

Treatment - treatment with most modern anthelmintics is effective against Nematodirus except injectable ivermectins or injectable Cydectin. Dectomax requires an increased dosage rate to be effective against adult Nematodirus.

There is no persistence in any of the wormers against Nematodirus so it is important to monitor regularly and treat promptly.

Diagnosis - in the majority of cases we can diagnose Nematodirus in lambs by detecting the eggs (which are larger than normal worm eggs) in faeces samples. So, if you suspect you have a problem with scouring lambs, have a word with one of the farm vets.

Resistance to Worm Drenches:

Do you think this affects you?
If you keep sheep or goats, then the answer is YES!

Are you planning to give all your ewes a lambing dose before tupping? Think again before you do this – it may be important to drench some ewes but not all the ewes.

Drenching fit & healthy ewes has no benefit, it is expensive & it has been found to dramatically increase the speed that resistant worms develop.

There are parts of the world where it is no longer possible to farm sheep, purely because of resistance to wormers.

This is a rapidly increasing problem in this country too & already there are farms in Scotland that are having to plough up pastures & stop keeping sheep.

We very much want to avoid this being a situation that you face on your farm.

Recent new guidelines have been drawn up to help us slow down the development of worm resistance & avoid the mistakes that have already been made in other sheep-producing countries.

PLEASE do come in and talk to one of the farm vets to learn of the latest advice.

Pneumonia Vaccination:

Those of thinking of using Rispoval4 this season should be thinking of getting the first dose in now if you haven't already.

That way you can give the second dose at housing to give full cover by the time the peak risk period for pneumonia is here.

Semen Freezing for Sheep:

A reminder to sheep farmers that we are still offering our semen-freezing service. If you have a tup that is a particularly good getter, then freezing some of his semen, once he’s finished working this year, is a good idea. Once frozen, the semen will keep pretty well forever and can be used to artificially inseminate ewes at a future date even long after his death.

If you are interested then contact Fiona or Richard.

Scab:

Yet again we are seeing an increase in the number of sheep with scab. If you think that you may have a problem then it is vitally important to get a proper diagnosis to differentiate it from other causes of itchy sheep such as lice.

Diagnosis of scab is done by examination of a skin scraping under a microscope at the surgery to provide you with an immediate answer.

TB On The Increase:

We are sure that you will be aware of the increase in T.B. cases being detected. Veterinary practices in the T.B. affected areas are reporting a large increase in cases this year compared with prior to February 2002 when testing had to be abandoned.

Unfortunately the disease has also spread from the South West of England & Wales to other parts of the country.

This includes Northumberland where we understand there have been fifteen affected farms and even in our practice area one re-stocked farm had three cows which reacted positively to the test.

Your T.B. tests therefore, although often regarded as a nuisance, are of vital importance.
As you no doubt will remember, we cannot undertake T.B. tests unless the cattle are put through a crush, on safety grounds. The response that we have had to this from farmers has been very positive with many people saying that they were surprised we didn't stop years ago!

If this is going to cause you a problem and you are due a test, please contact the surgery.

Liver Fluke in Teesdale:

The Veterinary Laboratory at Thirsk has recently reported Liver Fluke in sheep in parts of the country not normally associated with it.

Coincidentally, we have just confirmed an outbreak of Fluke in cattle in Upper Teesdale.

We know that Liver Fluke is associated with high rainfall and we have certainly had that over the last few years. However, a Liver Fluke infection also needs the presence of a particular snail on the pasture to act as the intermediate host and complete the life cycle.

? So where have the snails appeared from?

? Someone suggested it might be biological terrorism!

Answers on a postcard please...

Direct Debit Payments:

We are now able to offer you the opportunity to pay you account by Direct Debit.

Direct Debit will make collecting payments more efficient and reliable and will help us to maintain our costs at a minimum. It provides more security than cash or cheques and means you don't have the bother of writing and posting a cheque or visiting the surgery to make a payment.

You will still receive a monthly invoice, as now, and payment will be taken on or soon after 25th day of the month following the invoice date, giving plenty of time for any queries to be resolved.

Direct Debate mandates are available now from the surgery - contact Bob for more information.

Links To Other Websites

- DEFRA

- 'Farming Help & Support'
Co Durham & Darlington Rural Support Line
FREEPHONE: 0800 0857034
Available for Advice & Support

- RSPCA

- 'Send a Cow'