nantwich  farm  vets  

November  2016  

Helping  you  to  analyse  your  vet&med  costs  

We  now  have  a  program  called  VetImpress  which  we  can  use  to  generate  reports.  Some  of  you  will  recognise  it  as  the  program  that  produces  a  mobility  scoring  report  but  this  program  has  a  lot  more  potential.  It  can  also  be  used  to  breakdown  your  vet  spend  into  different  categories  e.g.  antibiotics/youngstock/vaccines  and  this  can  be  used  to  benchmark  your  farm  against  others.  The  program  also  has  a  mobile  friendly  app  which  can  be  used  for  medicine  records,  AI  dates,  fertility  info  and  will  automatically  pull  in  your  cow  details  from  BCMS  and  milk  records.  Please  contact  Liz  if  you  would  like  more  info.  

Don’t  forget  about  mycotoxins!  With  some  very  dry  maize  silage  out  there  this  year  please  don’t  risk  your  cows  health…if  you  have  to  feed  something  that  is  heating  or  has  visible  moulds  make  sure  you  are  adding  a  mycotoxin  binder  to  the  ration.    

 

Dates  for  your  diary  

9th  December  7.30pm  

Farm  client  Christmas  party  

Worleston  village  hall  

    Crewe  Road  End  Nantwich  Cheshire  CW5  5SF  

24hr  phone  line:  01270  610349  

www.nantwichvetgroup.co.uk  

We  are  planning  on  holding  another  Dairyland  foot  trimming  course  in  the   near   future.   Please   speak   to  Steve  if  you  are  interested.  

9th-­‐10th  November  

Soil  health  conference  

Tarporley.  Contact  Anne  Stones  01270  780990  

Date  TBC   Lucerne  club  meeting  

 www.nantwichvetgroup.co.uk   November  2016  

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We  have  now  hit  peak  liver  fluke  season  and,  having  experienced  one  of  the  mildest  winters  on  record  across  the  UK,  followed  by  a  very  wet  summer,  most  farms  in  the  west  of  the  country  are  likely  to  have  a  very  high  level  of  liver  fluke  this  year.  This  is  because  this  type  of  weather  provides  ideal  conditions  for  the  mud  snails  that  are  an  essential  host  during  part  of  the  fluke’s  lifecycle.    Two  main  forms  of  the  disease  are  generally  seen:    ACUTE  fluke  is  characterised  by  the  effects  of  immature  flukes  migrating  through  the  liver  tissue,  which  often  results  in  sudden  death.  This  disease  typically  affects  sheep  Sept.  –  Nov.  The  immature  flukes  can  also  cause  rapid  condition  loss  and  anaemia.      Acute  fluke  is  much  less  commonly  seen  in  cattle,  probably  due  to  their  relatively  large  livers.  Diagnosis  of  acute  fluke  is  difficult,  as  the  immature  stages  do  not  produce  eggs,  and  so  will  not  be  picked  up  on  a  faecal  sample.  Post  mortem  remains  the  gold  standard  for  testing  -­‐  a  full  PM  

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can  be  done  at  the  VLA  lab,  though  a  quick  ‘on  farm’  PM  by  one  of  the  practice  vets  may  often  confirm  the  diagnosis.     CHRONIC  fluke  leads  to  poor  body  condition  and  a  failure  to  thrive.  This  is  typically  seen  Jan-­‐April.  and  is  due  to  ADULT  flukes  in  the  livers  bile  ducts.  This  disease  is  commonly  seen  in  both  sheep  and  cattle.  Chronic  fluke  can  be  diagnosed  on  post  mortem  but  also  on  faecal  samples.    According  to  the  latest  research  over  50%  of  herds  tested  for  evidence  of  fluke  infection  in  the  CW,  ST,  SY  and  CH  postcode  areas  have  tested  positive.  But  how  do  you  know  if  your  herd  is  one  of  them?  There  are  several  ways  including  muck  samples,  blood  tests  and  a  bulk  milk  test  which  can  help  you  to  decide  whether  treatment  is  necessary  or  not.    

Please  DO  NOT  treat  without  knowing  whether  you  need  to  or  not!  Not  only  is  it  a  waste  of  money  but  it  can  lead  to  more  resistance  developing.    

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There  is  now  a  growing  body  of  research  to  show  that  we  have  resistance  to  triclabendazoles  (Fasinex,  Endofluke)  in  some  areas  of  the  country.  Triclabendazoles  are  very  important  for  those  sheep  farmers  who  particularly  have  trouble  with  the  acute  form  of  the  disease  because  those  products  kill  all  stages  of  fluke  including  the  very  immature  flukes.    

To  safeguard  these  products  for  years  to  come  just  like  with  wormers  you  should  rotate  different  flukicides  and  if  possible  only  use  a  product  which  only  does  adult  fluke  in  the  late  winter.  

Most  importantly  please  ask  us  for  advice  on  the  different  fluke  products  we  are  always  wiling  to  help!    

 

Liver  fluke  ALERT!  Stay   on   your   guard   for   this   killer  parasite  this  autumn      

 www.nantwichvetgroup.co.uk   November  2016  

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In  the  first  week  of  life  a  calf  is  likely  to  spend  extra  energy  trying  to  keep  warm  below  an  air  temperature  of  15oC.  The  actual  lower  critical  temperature  for  a  calf  will  depend  on  any  factor  that  influences  the  energy  dynamics  of  its  system.  The  requirement  for  additional  energy  management  in  a  calf  shed/hutch  varies  according  to  the  individual  calf,  the  weather,  the  quality  of  the  calf  environment  and  the  items  detailed  below:  

 

• Genetics  Some  breeds,  such  as  Jersey’s    will  feel  cold  before  other  breeds  because  they  are  born  with  little  fat  or  hair  cover  to  provide  insulation  

• Nutrition  Quality,  quantity  and  timing  of  Colostrum  is  key,  along  with  energy  density  and  milk  powder  dilution.  

• Air  Speed  Less  than  1m/s  is  ideal  as  anything  over  this  can  create  drafts  which  lower  the  calf’s  temperature.  

• Health  If  a  sick  calf  isn’t  drinking  and  moving  around  she  won’t  be  generating  her  own  body  heat,  

• Bedding  Dry  bedding  is  essential.  Damp  bedding  will  rapidly  extract  energy  from  calves,  lower  core  temperatures.  

 

 

 

 

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Calf  Jacket  Protocol  

 

• Make  sure  you  have  a  thermometer  in  the  calf  shed  and  record  the  air  temperature  

• Agree  starting  and  finishing  protocol  with  staff,  e.g.  3  consecutive  night-­‐time  Min  temps  below  10oC  

• Ensure  calves  are  dried  off  before  using  jacket  

• Jackets  must  be  made  of  a  breathable  material  

• Jackets  should  be  on  every  calf  from  birth  to  around  4  weeks  of  age  

• Remove  jacket  in  morning,  not  afternoon  

• Remove  dirt  and  wash  jacket  @  40-­‐50oC  

• To  preserve  body  heat  and  prevent  jackets  from  becoming  damp  make  sure  the  calf  can  ‘nest’  in  plenty  of  clean  dry  bedding  

It’s  time  to  get  your  coat  on  

Despite  the  unseasonably  warm  weather  it’s  time  to  prepare  for  the  winter  ahead  

 www.nantwichvetgroup.co.uk   November  2016  

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The    Universities   of   Nottingham,  Liverpool   and   Surrey   are  undertaking   a   survey   of   badger  carcasses  for  evidence  of  TB,  funded  by   Defra.   It   aims   to   determine   the  level   of  TB  in   badgers   in   the   'edge  counties.   It   follows   on   from   the  survey   of   road   killed   badgers   in  Cheshire   in   2014,   which   found  around   20%   of   road-­‐killed   badgers  were   infected  with  TB,  with  10%  of  those   infected   having   developed  signs   of   disease.  These   results   have  been   invaluable   demonstrating  that  TB  is   in   the   Cheshire   Badger  population.  

   

They   need  our   help   to   collect  more  badgers.   The   survey   uses    fresh,  found-­‐dead   badgers   which   are  collected   and   submitted   for   a   post-­‐mortem  examinations  by  one  of   the  three   universities.   The   northern  edge   counties,   being   surveyed   are  Cheshire,   Derbyshire,  Nottinghamshire,   Leicestershire,  Warwickshire   and  Northamptonshire.    

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For   safety   reasons   and   to   ensure  that   carcasses   are   collected   in   a  way  useful  to  the  project,  carcasses  have  to  be  collected  according  to  an  approved   protocol   and  accompanied   by   a   completed  submission   form.     Collection   kits  (containing,   instructions,   bags,  gloves   and   submission   forms)   are  being   made   available   through   the  local   NFU   and     other   stakeholders.  A   network   of   local   collection  centres   is   being   developed   where  carcasses   can   be   dropped   off   and  picked   up   by   the   university   teams,  but   it  may  also  be   possible   to  pick  up   carcasses   from   farms   in   the  short   term.     For  more    information  go  to  www.nottingham.ac.uk/vet/badgerTB  or   by   emailing  sv-­‐badger@nottingham.ac.uk  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vets  Mobile  Numbers  

 

Dave  Shaw     07836335185  

Rob  George   07773384450  

John  Manson   07813690860  

John  Yarwood   07814879109  

Colin  Baxter   07860605079  

Stuart  Russell   07770448179  

Peter  Duncalfe   07717780604  

Laura  Donovan   07800647608  

Steven  Crowe   07891843694  

Liz  Davies   07767447281  

Mike  Wilkinson   07866257014  

Jake  Lawson   07866257014  

Amy  Cox     07966833870  

James  Patterson   07774795700  

 

Vet  Technician  

 

Jess  Tonks   07921855043  

 

“@NantwichFarmVet”  

Cheshire  Roadkill  Badger  Surveys