FA R M N E W S L E T T E R January 2014 COPPER DEFICIENCY IN PREGNANT EWES Swayback in lambs occurs as a consequence of a severe copper deﬁciency in ewes during mid and late pregnancy. The breed of sheep and the nature of the feed can have a big inﬂuence on the likelihood of copper deﬁciency. Suﬀolks and Texels are very eﬃcient at absorbing copper from the diet and are therefore less likely to become copper deﬁcient than other breeds. If you are unsure of the copper status of your ewes, and are wondering whether there is a need to supplement the dietary copper, a blood test can help. Sampling six pregnant ewes can give an indica(on of the copper status of your ﬂock. Copper In!ec"ons—#e"cop 3opper in4ec(ons give a rapid, short term 52-4 month) increase in copper levels. The in4ec(on is administered as a single 2ml subcutaneous in4ec(on during mid-pregnancy. Please talk to one of the farm vets if you would like to discuss blood tes(ng ewes for copper status or the various treatment op(ons available. Barren Ewe Check Toxoplasmosis is a protozoa 5coccidial type organism) infec(on of sheep caused by ea(ng hay, straw, grass or concentrates contaminated with infected cat faeces. Infec(on results in barren ewes, re-absorp(ons, abor(ons, s(llbirths, mummiﬁed lambs or weakly live lambs. If copper supplementa(on is required, there are a few op(ons available) Copper Drench ‘Newhouse’ or ‘Swayback’ drench. The amount of copper which can be given in one dose is limited because of the poten(al toxicity. These drenches can therefore only give a short term boost to the liver copper levels. Ewes may need to be drenched twice) ﬁrstly in mid pregnancy and again one month later. It is not advisable to treat for liver ﬂuke at the same (me as giving a copper drench. With this in mind MSD 5Intervet) are running a “Barren Ewe 3heck” service from 1st January 2014 to 31st March 2014. During this (me MSD will provide free laboratory tes(ng of blood samples taken from barren or aborted ewes to see whether they have been exposed to Toxoplasmosis. The blood sample collec(on costs are not included in the scheme but sampling can be performed at the surgery to save visit charges. Copper Capsules—Copinox These are gela(n capsules containing copper oxide needles. They are administered orally to ewes either before tupping or during the ﬁrst half of pregnancy. The copper needles a.ach to the wall of the abomasum and dissolve slowly over 3-4 weeks allowing eﬃcient uptake and storage of copper in the liver with minimal risk of toxicity. Liver copper levels can remain increased for at least 6 months. Ct this years’ annual sheep mee(ng we will look at the factors which can inﬂuence the health and survival rates of newborn lambs. We will discuss nutri(on and disease control in the pregnant ewe, colostrum management, hypothermia and diseases of newborn lambs. Joint-ill and ‘ra.le belly’ will also be covered. Annual Sheep Mee"n'—21st January 2014 In the ma4ority of UK ﬂocks, early lamb deaths 5from birth to three days old) are at 10-25%. This represents a huge ﬁnancial loss to sheep farms. If you would like to a.end the mee(ng at North Ribblesdale Ru'by club on Tuesday 21st January at 7.30pm please contact Cnne, Kate Sutcliﬀe or Ruth at the surgery. Cal5 Scour Tes"n' We are able to test calf scour samples at the surgery for the four main causes of diarrhoea in young calves : Rotavirus, 3oronavirus, K99 E 3oli and 3ryptosporidia. The test is very quick, with results in a ma.er of minutes. If you experience problems with calf scour, collect some samples and bring them to the surgery 5in a leak-proof container !!!) This will then allow us to make informed decisions on the treatment, preven(on and control measures required for dealing with the present problem, and avoiding future scour outbreaks. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. Rotavec Corona #accine (Cal5 Scour #accine) Rotavec 3orona is a single dose vaccine administered to the cow between 3 weeks and 3 months before calving. This creates high levels of protec(on in the colostrum and milk which is then passed on to their calves. C single in4ec(on of Rotavec 3orona generates at least 60 (mes more an(bodies than an an(body paste administered at birth. The vaccine is par(cularly useful in suckler herds but is now increasingly being used in dairy herds as well. Clthough there are supply problems with the vaccine from the manufactures we do currently have stocks available so if you are intending to use the vaccine to protect your spring born calves please order your vaccine CSCP. Northwest Livestock Pro'ramme The Northwest Livestock Programme, which has been available to Lancashire-based farmers 5farms with a Lancashire holding number) is coming to an end in its present format at the end of Kebruary 2014. This scheme was ini(ated to give ﬁnancial and prac(cal assistance with health planning and disease control. We are led to believe that new applica(ons are s(ll being accepted up un(l mid January. Kor a cost of L160 there is an en(tlement of up to L250 of laboratory work. This can be used to test for Johne’s disease carriers, animals persistently infected with BVD 5in order to eradicate BVD) in the herd, or to asses levels of IBR or Leptospirosis on your farm. In addi(on to the laboratory fees, funds are also provided through this scheme to draw up a health plan based on the ﬁndings of any laboratory work. Kor further informa(on contact the surgery. Loca"m Cnother very useful product that can be used to protect against the same range of calf scours 5 E 3oli, Rotavirus and 3oronovirus) is Loca(m. This is highly concentrated dose of colostrum from a vaccinated cow. It comes in the form of a 60ml dose that is kept in the fridge before administra(on, and is given by mouth to newborn calves. It should be administered ideally within 4 hours of birth and certainly no later than 12 hours aEer birth. Loca(m IS NFT a colostrum subs(tute, and it is important that the calf also gets good quality colostrum. It is however, a useful tool to be used in the protec(on of calves against the main scour pathogens, especially in a number of circumstances : ♦ If the mother has not been vaccinated ♦ If the quality of the colostrum of a vaccinated cow is poor: i.e. low volume of colostrum, colostrum leaking pre-calving, disease of the mother. ♦ If there is doubt about the colostrum intake of the calf. ♦ In the face of a scour outbreak in an unvaccinated herd, it can be used to protect calves being born in the short term, whilst vaccina(on is ins(gated for longer term protec(on. This is to cover the 3 week period before colostrum from vaccinated cows is available 5because the minimum (me before calving that the vaccine can be given is 3 weeks) Polite No(ce To Karm 3lients Due to several pregnancies within the prac(ce, we kindly ask sheep farm clients to be aware of the health and safety issues regarding the risk of abor(on. Sheep abor(on samples must be packaged in leak proof containers and labelled with your surname and the farm name. They MUST be leE FUTSIDE in the yellow salt bin by the Portakabin and a member of recep(on informed. Please DF NFT bring any abor(on samples into the surgery. Thank you for your co-opera(on in this ma.er.