Disease prevention move urged for suckled calves

Suckled calves presented at sales in the next few weeks may look in full bloom, but unless routine disease prevention is practised, you could be buying a lorry load of trouble.

To help prevent these problems, farm manager Peter Grace of Windovers Farms, Stockbridge, prefers to buy his 500 weaned Continental bull calves for finishing from farms with a known health status.

Although he would prefer to have an isolation period for each batch of calves, building space doesn’t allow. “But a strict vaccination programme is carried out consisting of vaccines for IBR, pneumonia and clostridial diseases,” he says.

“A wormer treatment is also administered.”

Those producers following all-in, all-out policies will effectively be isolating stock, but it’s not necessarily the norm, reckons Salisbury-based vet Keith Cutler.

“Often it will depend on drug choice and length of action as to whether calves are isolated, as many calves will be moved into appropriate finishing pens after a second or third vaccination.”

Considering parasite status is also advisable, he adds. “Worms and liver fluke are obvious concerns, but lice can be an issue as well, particularly when infection can make ringworm transition more prevalent with added scratching behaviour.

“And when selecting the right wormer, discuss the options with your vet and choose one active against dormant larvae, as some wormers will only paralyse worms,” adds Mr Cutler.

Preventative steps should also be put in place for respiratory disease, but vaccination choice is the single biggest factor to consider, he reckons.

“No single or combination vaccine will cover every cause of pneumonia, so producers have to decide whether to cover against as many causes as possible, those causes probable on the farm, or to cover the common causes.

“Also, choice will depend on length of action, as intranasal injections will cover calves quickly with one dose, but be shorter acting, or two doses will provide longer action, but require second handling two to three weeks later.” But these choices will also depend on system, labour availability and costs.

On the feeding front, Mr Grace prefers to purchase calves which have already been used to creep feed, because it means liveweight gains are met faster and the transition to the mixed diet consisting of brewers’ grains, bread, beet pulp and minerals offered at the farm is easier.