Westmeath Dairy farmer talks Precision Microbes Probiotics & Postbiotics

Westmeath dairy farmer sees huge benefits in calf health on probiotic and postbiotic liquid

The Precision Microbes team visited Pat & Elaine Hickey to hear how Precision Microbes calf products are transforming calf health on their farm.

Have a look at the video below to see what Elaine had to say about Precision Microbes calf pro and postbiotics in calf scour treatment and in the prevention of digestive upsets.

Note: Calves can be fed 30mls daily from birth and we recommend 30mls for 30 days this spring.

 

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Lungworm in Cattle

Lungworm or hoose is a common problem on Irish cattle farms with outbreaks usually seen late in summer and into autumn. It is important to read the signs early as leaving untreated can lead to lung damage in the cow and sometimes even death.

Signs And Symptoms

Clinical signs vary from mild or moderate to severe. Within any group of affected animals there will typically be a few mild affected, most moderately affected and a few severely affected.

Mildly affected animals will only cough occasionally, especially when moving. Moderately affected animals will experience frequent bouts of coughing. Even at rest their breathing will be faster and more laboured.

Severely affected animals show very fast, laboured breathing, and in an attempt to get air into their lungs, frequently adopt the classic “air hunger” position of mouth breathing with the head and neck outstretched. Adult cows may also have a severe drop in milk yield.  Animals often have a deep harsh cough, salivation and anorexia. Most animals will gradually recover however there is an immense impact on their productivity and profitability as well as an increase in veterinary costs.

 

Measures To Help Prevent Lungworm

  • Lungworm larvae contamination builds up on the pastures over the summer season. Land that was not previously grazed by calves, newly sown grass fields, silage or hay aftergrass, and alternate grazing with sheep all decrease the risk of high burdens on the pastures.
  • Grazing on very quick paddock rotation cycles (about every 3 weeks) means that larvae are not being given the chance to die off on pastures so that the maximum infective larvae are being eaten.
  • Strategic dosing can be used to minimise pasture contamination.

Treating Lungworm

As soon as lungworm is identified in a herd it is important to treat the whole herd and to treat it fast. Lungworm can be treated with the following anthelmintics

It should also be said that it’s best to develop a dosing strategy with your vet as continued use of the same product can lead to anthelmintic resistance.

 

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Top Tips For Spray Season

Ideal time for spraying grass weeds

The best weather for spraying grass seeds this spray season need to be warm, not windy, not cold, not wet, with no rain forecast for the next 12 hours.

Spray the weeds after a deal of rain when there is growth in the weeds as well as in the grass.

The best thing to do is spray a dry leaf. Sometimes if you have a heavy dew, it doesn’t matter if the grass is wet, the important thing is that the weeds are sitting up and they are reasonably dry. Most products are rain fast within two hours of application.

Apart from avoiding windy conditions when spraying.

Right time to spray

Size of weeds is important. The spraying won’t be as effective if the weed is not sprayed at the ideal size.

Reseeding weed control

 

Spraying reseeds

Weeds in new reseeds are best controlled when the grass is at the 2-3 leaf stage

  • Docks and chickweed are the two most critical weeds to control in reseeds.
  • High populations of other weeds such as fat hen, charlock, redshank, mayweed can cause problems.
  • It is essential to control docks and chickweed at the seedling stage. This is achieved by applying a herbicide before the first grazing.
  • To achieve the best lifetime control of docks in a sward, eradicating the dock at seedling stage in a reseed is the best opportunity
  • Herbicide choice for dock control will depend on the presence of white clover in the reseed
  • Chickweed are a problem particularly where regular grazing is not expected to take place (silage fields), therefore herbicide choice is important.
  • You should consult your local advisor for correct herbicide choice. Our team would be delighted to help!
  • Remember to keep the prescribed cross-compliance records and follow the instructions on the product label.
  • Have a look at this video from Teagasc for best practices when using pesticides this spray season.
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New Veterinary Prescribing Rules Delayed Until December

New veterinary prescribing rules delayed until December

The team here, like all Licenced Merchants, had been preparing for a June implementation of the new veterinary prescribing regulations.  However Charlie McConalogue, the Minister for Agriculture has confirmed that the transition period for the requirement of a veterinary prescription for anti-parasitic medicines has now been extended to December this year.

Under these rules, anti-parasitic medicines such as spot ons or worm doses will require a prescription from a vet before they can be purchased.The additional time will allow further development of the National Veterinary Prescription System (NVPS) as well as allowing ourselves to get up to date on what is needed and how it will affect our customers.

McConalogue said industry stakeholders, such as the merchants,  have shown “real commitment” to ensuring implementing changes that will help farmers tackle antiparasitic and antimicrobial resistance.

The transition period will now end on December 1 next. This will allow merchants and farmers alike to get up to speed and address the challenges facing us.

Should you have any questions regarding the new veterinary prescribing rules please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sources

Agriland

Irish Examiner

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Paratuberculosis (Johne’s Disease)

This post was written by

Eamon Guinevan MRCVS| Veterinary Surgeon at McLaughlin’s Veterinary Clinic

 

Calving season has already started. We need to be aware of Paratuberculosis Johne’s disease and the risk of spread at this time.

For those that dont know Johnes disease, it is a bacterial disease of cattle and other ruminants for which there is no cure. It is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), hence the other name for the disease Paratuberculosis.

It is a disease of adult cattle resulting in:

  • Reduced production: lower milk yields & lower feed conversion rate
  • Weight loss
  • Scour and emaciation followed by death

The most common time for an animal to get Johnes is during its first six months of life. Calves can be affected at birth when the mother has the disease. More often than not the calf gets Johnes by bacteria from contaminated sources. When a calf drinks or eats contaminated food or milk this is when they get Johnes. Even the smallest amount of dirt/dung on a cows udder when the calf is suckling can cause them to have the disease.

To minimise the spread of Johnes Disease an action plan should be put in place.

  • Removing the calves from the calving pen as soon as possible when they are born is crucial in order to reduce the risk of infection. By carrying this out, the risk of calves attempting to suckle from a cow with a dirty udder is reduced.
  • It is important to maintain hygiene levels within calving pens. Calving pens should be frequently and thoroughly cleaned.
  • Disinfectants can be used to get rid of any unwanted bacteria.
  • Sufficient fresh bedding should be put down between calvings to ensure that the pen floor is dry and clean.
  • It is important to wash your hands and ensure that the feeders, tubes and buckets that come in contact with the cow’s first milk are carefully washed between each use.
  • It’s best to feed colostrum and milk from cows that have tested negative for Johnes.
  • Heifer calves should be fed with replacer after the first few feeds.
  • New testing for Johnes disease: can be done on milk, blood or faeces.
  • Any positive animals should be selected for culling and kept away from calves until such time as they leave the farm. By the time an infected animal tests positive it is likely that they will be shedding the bacteria in dung and milk.
  • These animals should be prioritised for culling since while they remain in the herd they can spread the disease. Please speak to your vet on the above issue.
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Tips for Control of Liver Fluke

Liver fluke disease or fasciolosis is a parasitic disease of grazing animals caused by a flat worm (Fasciola hepatica) and is economically important in cattle, sheep and goats. Depending on the degree of infection, liver fluke may cause a reduced meat production of up to 20% in cattle and up to 30% in sheep, and a reduction in milk production of up to 8% in cows. Fertility can suffer and beef cattle affected by fluke may take an extra 80 days to reach market weights. Losses also occur due to the number of livers condemned in meat plants as up to 50% of livers may be condemned.

Signs that your herd has Fluke

Animals may show a variety of obvious signs such as oedema (dropsy) under the jaw (bottle jaw), anaemia, poor coat condition and lack of appetite. Liver fluke infestation can cause decreased fertility and wool production. However, the animal with weight loss and bottle jaw represents the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Detection of subclinical infection with its adverse effect on growth rate, milk yield and fertility requires diagnostic tests such as blood tests (elevated globulins, low albumins, elevated GGT) and assessment of faecal egg counts.

Top Tips to Control Fluke

  • Improve drainage and fence-off wet areas with poor drainage, where possible.
  • Take reasonable measures to prevent poaching and avoid grazing ‘flukey areas’ particularly
    when metacercariae are likely to be present.
  •  Dose bought-in animals with an appropriate flukicide before introducing to pastures. All bought-in animals
    should be quarantined for at least 4 weeks after arriving on farm – see the AHI Biosecurity Purchasing Stock
    Guidelines for more information on quarantining of newly arrived animals.
  • A strategic dose, in early – mid summer, designed to reduce the number of snails becoming infected, is also
    recommended.
  • Monitor fluke burdens by using a combination of faecal egg counts, bulk milk ELISA and data
    relating to liver condemnations from the factory. Discuss these results with your vet to ensure your control
    strategy is effective and appropriate.
  • Dose animals, where possible, at housing, and if required, again 4-6 weeks after housing – refer to the AHI
    leaflet Parasite Control at Housing for more information on treatment at this time.
  • Treatment of dairy cattle is a particular problem. Consider dosing with an authorized product during the dry period.

liver fluke

All information taken from Animalhealthireland.ie

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Ready For Harvest

 

READY FOR HARVEST

This post from

Sophia Kingston | Agricultural Advisor

It is coming to that time of the year, where the combines are exiting the sheds. Some fields down this way have already been cut. For the most, they have not. The time in which the barley is cut determines the quality and grain yield. Malting barley has to have a germination percentage of 98%.

 

Knowing when the barley is ready to cut

  • The grain should not be able to be dented with thumbnail
  • Nice golden colour, no greenness across the field

 

The production phase starts after flowering, lasting through to the grains filling and ripening. Barley is different from wheat (especially spring barley) as flowering can start just prior to ear emergence. During this period the critical yield components i.e. final number of grains /m2 and the grain weight will be determined.

The number of grains on each ear depends on the number of fertile spikelets on the central ‘stem’ or rachis of the ear. In barley, each spikelet contains one floret. In two-row barley, the spikelets form in threes with only the floret in the central spikelet being fertile. For six-row barley, florets in all three spikelets are fertile. Crop management, and particularly nutrition, can significantly influence grains/ear and ears/m2. Grains/m2 and the size of individual grains determines the storage capacity during grain filling.

Leaf area is made up differently in barley. Each successive leaf has a smaller area with the final flag leaf representing 4% compared to the 16% of leaf 5. The ear with the awns is very significant with it representing 11% of the green area. Maintaining the health of all the leaves and awns is critical to maximize grain development. Plant stem carbohydrate reserves are also important and act as a buffer against stress conditions experienced by the crop, such as drought. Up to 50% of yield can come from these reserves which build up and reach their peak shortly after flowering.

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Today’s Heifer Calf is Tomorrow’s Lactating Cow

This post was written by

McLaughlins Veterinary Team

 

“It’s crucial our heifer calves get off to a strong and healthy start in life, particularly in the first six weeks. Invest time and focus in their early life and reap the benefits of a high producing cow”

Bedding

In Ireland straw is the most suitable type of bedding, followed by woodchips. However depending on the warmth of the house, the age of the calves and the hardiness of the breed other bedding can be used such as peat, gravel or mats.  Straw bedding should be 15cm  deep and act as a nest for the calves.

“The ground should be checked on a daily basis that it is dry enough”

This can be ensured by kneeling on the ground, if your knees are damp by doing this exercise, you need dryer bedding. Straw must be changed on a weekly basis. If using wood chips, new wood chips need to be put out every week or so to ensure clean dry bedding.

Water

“Clean water must be available to calves at all times”

especially if they are scouring. When dehydrated, calves will drink almost anything, so access to water which may be harmful must be prevented.

Drainage

A slope of 1:20 is desirable so that any water gathered can drain freely without decreasing the temperature of the shed.

Ventilation

Ventilation is important to remove effluent gases and prevent outbreaks of pneumonia. Air should be coming in above the line of where the calf is lying/standing, designed so no incoming air is directed at the calves.

“Air should be flowing in an upwards direction, coming in from the sides and heading up out of the shed.”

Calf coats are a relatively new phenomenon. They are proving to be very effective in the last number of years, providing an extra thick layer of warmth that a calf would not normally have, thus reducing pneumonia and other illnesses. For 20 odd euros a calf, they are worth the investment as they are reusable, can be washed and can be used for many years ahead.

Hygiene

Spraying the houses with disinfectant using a knapsack sprayer is an effective way to ensure clean housing. Cleaning the house out properly and getting ready for calving is a must do. It would be no harm to do this again with a knapsack sprayer a few weeks into the calving season. Refreshing the calves house gets rid of any bacteria. “It will also reduce the likelihood of the calves scouring from diseases such are coccidiosis and cryptosporidium.”

Equipment

Make sure to wash your equipment after each use. You need to be using hot water and detergent. Clean inside every teat, detach them from the feeder to clean if you need to. “Build-up of residue can form inside the teats and feeders if they are not cleaned properly, this can lead to an increase of infections and disease very fast”. This job can often be forgotten as the main job of feeding the calf is completed but this is quite often how calves can become sick which interferes with the calfs’ development.

Colostrum – Easy as 1 – 2 – 3!

  1. Use colostrum from the first milking for the first feed.
  2. Give colostrum within the first 2 hours of being born
  3. Give at least 3 litres.

Colostrum will maintain it’s quality when stored in a freezer for 1 year. Do not thaw or heat colostrum in boiling water or in a microwave. Stomach tubing can be done if the calf is not drinking. Limit stomach tubing calves to once in their lifetime unless absolutely necessary. Make sure the calf is in a stable condition when
doing this i.e not moving around so that the cause is not damaged by the tube.

“The person feeding the calf should be able to feel the tube running down the calfs’ oesophagus from outside the calf. This observation is crucial to make sure the tube is gone down the right way, and not down the windpipe.”

This would cause the calf to not be able to breath.

Electrolytes

It is always important to have these at the ready. You never know when a calf might go down and electrolytes will be needed. If stuck for electrolytes at a given time, and the calf could do with a boost rather than a cure, a homemade recipe would do the trick.

Recipe:

  • 2 tbsp glucose
  • 1 dstsp baking soda
  • 1 heaped tsp common salt
  • 2 ltrs water

Dehorning

A proper system needs to be put in place for this job. You want the calf to be in as little stress as possible when they are about to be dehorned. A portable calf crush is ideal. Calves should be dehorned from 1 to 6 weeks old if using a gas dehorner. Dehorning will reduce the risk of injury and bruising to other calves.  A silver aluminium spray is preferable, this aids wound healing and forms a physical barrier to help prevent direct contact with contaminants.

Navel ill

This is an infection of the naval. This happens when infection enters the umbilical cord at birth or soon after.

“Checking the calves naval on a daily basis is very important for calf health. The best and easiest time to do this is when all the calves are around the feeder.”

They would be quite still while drinking so you can go around to them one by one. If any naval feels as hard as a golf ball, this is a sign of infection and will have to be further examined.

Roughage

Straw or hay should be available to them at all times for rumen development. This will help with ingestion and digestion of food.

Concentrates

It is important to start introducing solid foods to the calf after a few days. This can be done by leaving a small amount in a trough beside them. They can come as they please, to get a taste of it and to come to like it themselves. It is best to start off with a course feed and move them onto pellets after if preferred. You can gradually change over. Giving them half course, half pellets is a good way to get them used to the pellets.
When a calf reaches the stage of eating about 1kg of concentrates a day this is a good time to start weaning the calf off milk.

Survivor colostrum

 

Thermoplus Calf Jacket jackets thermal
Aluspray

 

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Bye-bye 2020 – Hello 2021

Happy New Year to you all!  Bye-bye 2020 – Hello 2021!!

 

Any new year resolutions this year?  …. NO?!  Me neither! The good news is that New Year resolutions have been cancelled this year (along with loads of other things unfortunately!).

Another unusual thing this January is that the schools are closed – so home schooling is on the go again.  I’ve always fancied being a teacher so please humour me and we’ll try a bit of it ourselves! 

Here we go…lámha suas… who can list the usual new year resolutions we make

  • lose weight
  • improve our diet and eat healthy foods
  • be more active
  • quit smoking
  • worry less

All of the above are still important points and obviously good for you but I’m not going to go on about stuff that you already know.  

Instead lets try something different… lets focus on the positives in our daily lives….. right so, lámha suas arís

  1. The evenings are getting longer – woohoo!!  (extra time to go for a walk, kick a ball, puck a sliotar or indeed do more work!!!)
  2. Springtime is around the corner – new life, new starts, some farms have new calves already and daffodils have also been spotted
  3. Sports and the Late Late Show are still keeping us entertained!
  4. We’ve highly trained healthcare professionals in our hospitals minding our loved ones
  5. The COVID vaccine is here and is being rolled out as quick as possible
  6. We have learned new ways to communicate, to learn, to teach, to work, to carry on.
  7. Us Irish people have also learned how to say “No” if they are uncomfortable in a given situation
  8. Life has slowed down a bit, we’re not rushing about as much
  9. We have more time to spend with our families and appreciate them
  10. We are more aware of the most important things in life – health, family and friends

 

An-mhaith ar fad, super stuff! Hopefully everyone will agree with some of the above points.

Wow! This home schooling is harder than I thought  – time for a tea break (no sugar and one biscuit instead of two!)

If you have any other health concerns please do not hesitate to call us 023 8841115 – we’re here to help.

Until next time,

Keep well, keep safe and keep smiling!

 

Paula

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The benefits of minerals for your dairy cow

This post by

Liam Lacey | Inform Nutrition

The importance of vitamins and minerals in the diet of cattle

Vitamins, minerals and trace elements play a key role in metabolism, immunity and health, growth and production, reproduction and fertility. Mineral deficiencies can result in significant problems on farm with reduced production, poor fertility and increased health problems.

Why feed minerals to cattle?

The McLaughlins Farmcare mineral for Dairy cow range

Formulated for a higher production cows
  • higher yields & longer lactations imply a higher requirement for minerals and trace elements, 
  • higher volume of milk produced indoors increased vitamin requirements
  • Longer winters means more silage fed, cows are on concrete for longer (feet –chelated zinc). Harder wetter surface, wet softens the keratin in the hoof rendering it more susceptible to injury
  • Silages grown in wetter conditions have higher levels of mineral antagonists (molybdenum and Iron)
  • Higher production – higher levels of feed with higher levels of starch fed increased risk subclinical acidosis. Increased risk of laminitis, softer hoofs (increase risk white line and abscess), reduced body condition score, reduced production
Given above how can we help the cow 
  • Optimum levels of vitamins and minerals and trace elements for a healthy cow and calf
  • High levels of magnesium to support a reduction in risk of milk fever and related issues
  • High levels of vitamins to improve colostrum quality

 

Sweet-tooth 

Magnesium is the most important element to supplement to pre calved cows. McLaughlins Farmcare Sweet-tooth contains high levels of Magnesium. If extra supplementation of magnesium is required due to high DCAD silage diets then sweet-tooth is the ideal supplement to accompany it. A highly palatable form of water soluble magnesium is a great tool in the defence against the main issues around calving time, Milk fever (hypocalcaemia) and retained cleanings.

High potassium silages cause these main issues usually. Ones that interfere with magnesium absorption. This plays a critical role in the mobilisation of calcium from the bone after calving. 

 

Chelated copper

 

Roles in the cow
  • Plays and important role in many metabolic reactions – affects production or weight gain 
  • Important role in fertility – release of (Luteinising hormone) get anoestrus
  • Immune system  

Adding as glycine chelate. These are small molecules and are directly absorbed by the cow.  This improves the copper metabolism in the cow. Copper metabolism can be compromised by one or a combination of the following,

  • Low copper intake(all Irish forages have low levels of copper relative to animal requirements)
  • High levels of mineral antagonists (Iron and molybdenum). A significant portion of forages produced in the West will have high levels  

 Zinc

 

Role
  • Metabolism & appetite
  • Immune system implications for cell count
  • Formation of keratin – skin and hoof. Keratin is also an important tissue in the mammary gland

One of the main rationales for adding zinc chelate is to improve hoof quality particularly the integrity and hardness of the hoof and make it less susceptible to injury

 

Selenium

 

Role 
  • Forms important antioxidant -peroxidases, play an important role in the immune system. Implication for health and cell count
  • Fertility and productivity
  • Muscle 

Levels of selenium are low in all forages. Molybdenum and dietary calcium level have an effect on metabolism and absorption in the gut. Inorganic sources have to be chelated in the gut to be absorbed. This process has happened already in the yeast which is the source of protected selenium.

 

When to feed minerals 

It is important to feed pre calver minerals to cows for at least 8-10 weeks pre calving as any deficiency will not be corrected in a shorter time period. Continuous supplementation is more important to the animal than feeding higher levels of a nutrient that may be lacking for example Iodine. An animal has only the ability to absorb a certain amount of these nutrients daily so extra supplementation will not be effective and only secreted.

How to feed 

Dust the powder on the silage at the required feed rate daily and to scatter it across all the silage not distribute out in a line. The minerals can also be administered via diet feeding but watch out for dry mixes as the mineral may fall through the mix and be swept out in left over feed. 

 

Sweetooth
High-Phos
Precalver

 

 

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