Vet viewpoint: regional round-up of key veterinary issues
Alistair Macpherson, Shropshire Farm Vets, Shropshire
Recently we had the first two confirmed diagnoses of Schmallenberg virus (SBV) in cows belonging to two different farmers. They were sick and off their milk. Cases have recently been confirmed in adjoining counties but we believe these are the first in Shropshire and, more worryingly, several of our dairy herds are showing increases in late-term abortions and sick fresh cows.
As a result we are now testing for SBV on many of these dairies with results pending. It is most concerning that SBV has been known to cause a milk drop of up to 4L a cow on a herd basis and a 30-50% drop in individual cows. Pregnancy rates in infected herds can also decrease by as much as 75%. We await the test results with interest and more than a little trepidation.
Chris Luckhurst, Calweton Vets, Cornwall
It always pays to get your basics right. As an example, fine-tuned rations are made worthless by a lack of feeding space. the requirement is 0.7m a cow is, and although it is often quoted that this can be reduced by 25%, in reality mass group feeding occurs frequently.
Dead-end passages and dominant cow bullying further reduces available feed space. The cow has an amazing sense of taste and smell, but imagine if you went to a restaurant for a meal and had to drink from a communal coffee cup full of dribble from the previous drinker and eat with a food-encrusted fork off dirty plates. That’s if you are lucky enough to get a seat.
Worse still, food acids often corrode the trough surface so you would have to dodge the broken shards of china. In a dairy herd, feeding is the absolute fundamental for getting everything else right and attention to basics pays back in productivity.
James Frayne, Millcroft Veterinary Group, Cumbria
Liver fluke is expected to be a major problem this winter following the wet summer preceded by a mild winter last year. This has provided ideal conditions for the mud snail, which is the intermediate host of the fluke, to flourish particularly in the west of the country.
Timing of treatments and choice of drug is critical to control. Triclabendazole is the only drug to effectively kill early immature fluke and is therefore the drug of choice for use in sheep now (in the absence of documented resistance). The drugs nitroxynil and closantel are suitable for use in cattle several weeks post-housing and sheep in late winter as they kill late immature and adult flukes. Benzimadazole (white drench) wormers, which also have activity against fluke, can be used where a spring dose is required as these kill adult fluke only.
James McClorey, Parlands Veterinary Group, Northern Ireland
Managing the transition cow is never simple, and this year, with questionable forage availability and quality, will be more challenging. The following three steps will give some assistance.
Acidosis: Managing the transition from high forage dry cow diet to high concentrate lactating diet is vital and requires careful integration to avoid acidosis.
Body condition: Monitor the herd to have a body condition score of 3-3.5 at calving. Control during the dry period is simpler if this can be achieved.
Calcium: To avoid sub clinical milk fever, the balance between magnesium, potassium and calcium all need to be considered. Forage has the biggest influence on potassium and this needs balancing with a high magnesium/low calcium supplement.
Vet viewpoint is a regional monthly round-up of key veterinary issues from members of the XL Vets group.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the Schmallenberg virus, including symptoms and advice about what to do if you think it’s in your herd or flock