Potential animal health issues, tasks to consider and reminders for this month include…
FACIAL ECZEMA
We are planning to start spore counting in January. Make sure you’re on our email lists.
Make sure you are ready for the facial eczema season! Plan the start of preventative zinc treatment to suit your farm.
Blood testing Zinc levels both before and during the eczema season is useful to confirm supplementation is working as planned.
DAIRY
Monitor cows clinical mastitis and be aware of rising bulk milk somatic cell counts particularly if using relief milkers over the holiday period.
Stay sharp on heat detection as you move through the mating period. Make decisions on when to stop mating or use a week of short gestation AI for an extra week
Lameness may be an issue so monitor cows daily to prevent large numbers creeping up. Once we get some summer sun this may become an issue as ground hardens. Alternatively wet weather can lead to some footrot and other types of lameness. Get us out if you need a hand.
Keep on top of bull management – remove lame or sick bulls to ensure a successful mating.
Ensure excellent weaner management – take some poo samples for testing and drench appropriately, weigh to monitor growth rates, consider blood testing and trace mineral supplementation, allocate adequate good quality pasture.
Continue to use calf meal with coccidiostat for one to two months after weaning to avoid coccidiosis commonly seen at this time of year.
Book in for early pregnancy scanning, ideally six weeks after end of AI.
Hot, dry dusty weather can increase the incidence of pink eye. Monitor for early signs of discharge from, or white spots on, eye(s) and act quickly to separate from the mob and treat. Unfortunately, the vaccine for this is not available this year, so other prevention methods are more important.
SHEEP and BEEF
Barbers pole – weather dependent, sheep may need specific drenching for this parasite sooner rather than later pale gums, depressed, exercise intolerant, increased breathing.
Monitor body condition in your sheep, keep up parasite management and watch for fly strike.
Ram preparations – plan and book in ram palpations, Brucellosis testing and organise teasers, if not done already.
Ensure finishing cattle are vaccinated to avoid deaths from clostridial diseases, these often occur when animals are growing well on lush pasture and can be hard to distinguish from bloat.
DEER
Plan preparations for de-velveting.
Keep an eye out for ticks.
Monitor hinds regularly during fawning.
Stag preparations – ensure feet checked in good time prior to mating.
EQUINE
Watch for Ryegrass staggers – temperament changes and neurological signs (increased sensitivity to stimuli, wobbly gait etc).
Equine asthma – dry cough, discharge from nose, fast breathing with increased effort. Contact us for diagnostic and treatment options.
Check for conjunctivitis – swollen eyelids, closed eye, and discharge from the eye.
Weaning is a potentially stressful period for youngsters so ensure excellent nutrition for young stock, with slow feed transitions. Plan ahead for branding, identification/registration and further vaccination(s).
