By Anna Martyn King Country Vets
WITH weaning time fast approaching for most reared calves, now is the time to re-examine and fine tune weaner health plans. Planning must start prior to weaning or purchasing any stock for the optimum results. Prior to weaning or purchasing weaners – closely examine: • umbilical region for signs of infections or hernias • joints for any swelling, lameness or asymmetry • breathing, for any signs of underlying pneumonia or pleurisy • check eyes for any cloudiness, potentially pink eye warning signs • check for any signs of scours including faecal matting on tails • check for adequate weaning weights. Good Friesian or white head weaners should be 100kg + and jerseys should be 90kg. If stock are weaned too early (too light), the impact on the rest of that animal’s life can be very significant and remain an uphill battle.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT This is extremely important for farmers taking on dairy grazers to weigh stock coming onto the property to ensure adequate weaning weights and to determine if any post weaning transition feed is required to help mitigate issues. Arrival plan –consider the following: Quarantine protocol. With any new stock coming onto the property, it is extremely important to give an effective drench to prevent bringing drench resistance onto your farm. A quarantine drench for R1 cattle should be at minimum a triple combination or ideally a novel drench such as Zolvix Plus. Liveweight is a consideration when choosing your quarantine drench so please talk to your vet about the best option. It’s a great idea to check efficacy too, by doing faecal egg counts 14 days post drench. Don’t drench and put on to ‘clean pasture’ either, put in a ‘dirty’ paddock for 24-48hrs post drench. NAIT As stock are unloaded, double check that all NAIT tags are present and scan. Ensure movement details are updated on NAIT system as soon as possible. Ospri are remarkably helpful if you need to call them for guidance or queries. Coccidia treatment. Any stress including transportation, weaning and diet changes can increase the risk of scours and reduced liveweight gain caused by coccidiosis. There are a few options available so check with your vet which is most suitable. B12 injection may be given on arrival to help stimulate appetite and ease the transition. Clostridial disease prevention – 5 in 1, 8 in 1 or 10 in 1 options. Booster vaccinations should be given 4 weeks later, especially if higher risk situations such as bulls, winter crops or known farm clostridial deaths. Leptospirosis is an important consideration for both human and animal health. The ideal regime for best protection is two vaccinations, four weeks apart in spring / early summer then a booster in autumn to align calves with herd regime. BVD. Knowing the status and or vaccinating against it can be very important depending on the systems and their risks on your farm. Vaccinations can be administered from four months old onwards. Booster vaccinations are required.
END IN MIND Finally, start with the end in mind. What is the end target for these weaners? Growing to a specific mating date and weight? Target slaughter at 18 months or 24 months or 30 months? To achieve these targets, what is the necessary growth rates/day; six- nine- and 12-month weight targets? How is progress going to be measured? With this in mind, plan for the likely animal health requirements for your new weaners, so targets will be attained.
WEIGH REGULARLY Weigh stock regularly, so intervention can happen swiftly if off target. Remember how critical nutrition is for the first six to nine months of a beast’s life as it has significant impact on their frames. Drench selection is important to ensure that the most production limiting worms are targeted at the right time. Initially, drenches should be combinations containing levamisole to target Cooperia, as this is the most significant worm affecting young stock prior to their first winter. Ostertagia type II becomes more important during winter and continues into their adult life, so drenches that include mectins should be used from that point.
GROWTH REDUCTION Trace element deficiencies may reduce growth rates, particularly over autumn and should definitely be checked prior to winter. Zinc treatment options for facial eczema in autumn and pink eye prevention in summer all should be considered. Ideally disbudding should occur prior to weaning. Just remember that they will require pain relief to be dehorned. Potential diseases weaners should be monitored for includes scours (possibly Yersinia, salmonella, coccidiosis), pink eye and thiamine (B1) deficiencies. For further information on any of these disease or any other concerns about weaners, please do not hesitate to contact your vet.
