Castrating and dehorning 2

Theileria update 3

Mycoplasma bovis 3

Upcoming seasonal requirements 4

Drench resistance 5

Inside What’s

Dog Vaccination Runs These will be kicking off 30th November. We will have a small animal vet on the run so any ailments can be thoroughly checked out and any of your queries expertly answered. Your dogs are a huge asset to you—imagine how your day would go with your best dog out sick or injured. Be sure to let us know if your dogs have changed, not only for vaccinations but also for the worming programme.

233 State Highway 1, Bulls

48 Tutaenui Road, Marton

Email: team@srvs.co.nz

www.srvs.co.nz

Tel (06) 3222 333

OCTOBER 2017

SUNDAY

ROAST

Ram Health— Healthy and sound rams are essential for good fertility, particularly if you are to be confident in using relatively

low ram: ewe ratios (e.g. 1:100). Sperm development takes 8 weeks so the sperm present at mating are those that were

formed several months prior. All breeding rams should be checked at least 8 weeks before mating for lameness, flystrike,

scrotal mange and pizzle rot and treated promptly if necessary to ensure that sperm development is not affected for mating.

Shearing rams should also be done at least 8 weeks prior to mating – studies have shown shearing rams 6 weeks beforehand

has a negative effect on ram fertility. Improving the body condition and fitness of your rams should be something you are

thinking about now – NZ research has found rams lose up 25-30% of their body weight over the mating period.

Ram palpations—All breeding rams should be palpated by a vet two months before mating to identify the presence of condi-

tions that can indicate reduced fertility, for example genital lesions, chorioptic mange or rams with abnormally small testi-

cles. If you are buying in rams make sure they are from an accredited B. ovis free farm. If we find any suspicious lumps when

we palpate them, we take a blood sample to test for Brucellosis. The introduction of B. ovis into your rams can have a devas-

tating impact on fertility. We recommend giving a clostridial booster vaccine to prevent sudden deaths from blood poisoning

at the same time as doing the palpations. Consider zinc boluses in terminal sires pre-mating for facial eczema protection.

Teasers are used to synchronise ewes for a condensed lambing and to start cycling activity in your early bred hoggets. Ewes

will begin cycling on exposure to the sight and scent of a ram but the first heat is normally a silent one with a single ovulation.

Multiple ovulations are much more likely in subsequent heats, therefore teasers can improve lambing percentage and ensure

more ewes have twins at the planned start of mating. Teasers should be created 60 days before using them and should only

join with the ewes 17 days before the planned start of mating.

Sheep performance vaccines—Please make sure you fill in your order form and return it to us. We have seen an increase in

prevalence of both Toxo and Campy this year in previously unvaccinated flocks.

Toxovax: Toxoplasmosis is present on every NZ farm. It causes resorption, abortions, and weak lambs that fail to thrive. Two

tooths and hoggets are most at risk of contracting the disease, although any susceptible ewe that contracts the disease is at

risk. One shot protection for lifetime protection. A 2ml dose, into the muscle of non pregnant ewes, 4 weeks prior to mating.

Toxovax is a live vaccine that is made to order and has a shelf life of 10 days from date of manufacture. It is vital that you

notify us of your requirements, a minimum of 4 weeks before you need to administer it.

Campylobacter: is one of the biggest causes of infectious abortions in ewes. Most farms will experience a low abortion loss

level of about 9% a year, a Campylobacter abortion storm could see losses of 20%-70%. Both Campylovexin and Campyvax4

protect against Campylobacter Fetus Fetus strain. Campylovexin is a 2ml shot. Previously unvaccinated sheep need a booster,

then a sensitiser 4 weeks later, to be completed prior to mating. One yearly booster shot is required thereafter. Campyvax4 is

a 1ml dose and also contains the Campylobacter jejuni strain therefore should be used on farms where abortions caused by

jejuni have been diagnosed. Jejuni is not a common cause of abortion in the Rangitikei/Manawatu—much more so on the

east coast and in the South Island.

Facial Eczema Season—it is hard to believe we are starting to think about this already but if the rain continues this sum-

mer then you all need to have an action plan. Once again, thanks to the sponsorship of the Southern Rangitikei Veteri-

nary Trust, we will be carrying out our spore counting service at the same sites as last year. We will commence just be-

fore Christmas at the Turakina sites and then continue weekly in the new year, weather permitting. If you wish to re-

ceive these results please ensure Tracy has your email address so you can

be added to the list.

We have seen a spike of clinical theileria cases in the last 4-6 weeks mainly in dairy cows. It probably started soon after that

nice week of weather where had with no rain if you can remember that. We are seeing unusual presentations with some

cows (dairy and beef) being clinically anaemic at calving, and then the more common presentation within 10 days of calving.

Often these cows have another infection such as mastitis, metritis, RFM’s etc.

There also appears to be an association with low phosphate levels in the cows. So if the herd has lower than ideal phosphate

levels and clinical theileria is also present the affected cows are sometimes more severely affected and can go down hill to be

nearly dead within 24 hours. Low phosphate levels are recognised as a cause of red blood cell damage but usually at very low

levels. So there appears to be a double effect on the red blood cell damage here with low phosphate and theileria. This is cer-

tainly not clinically proven by trial data etc but talking to several “experts” there is an agreement that this relationship proba-

bly exists.

Treatment and management of affected cows is the same advice. Identify them as soon as possible so have the entire team

looking for them. Then it is imperative to reduce the stress as much as possible – so as little walking as possible, take feed out

to them if needed, treat any other health conditions that are present, B vitamin supplementation, TLC… We are doing blood

transfusions on some severely affected cows with good survival rates and response post transfusion.

Please talk to us if you have a lethargic animal. Have a look at their mucous membranes to see how pale/yellow they are and

if anyone comes across some management or treatment practices that is achieving good results please let us know.

Theileria update Up coming seasonal reminders

The latest on Mycoplasma bovis Many of you will have been following the Mycoplasma outbreak since 21st July when there was a positive result. MPI has

been managing the initial response, but an industry working group that included key industry partners (including Beef and

Lamb, MIA and Federated farmers), has been heavily involved in consultation and providing advice and technical support to

the response governance group.

MPI’s immediate response was containment with a view to eradicate. At the time of the incursion there was no testing

available in NZ for mycoplasma which was rectified over the following 4 weeks and as of the middle of September 2017

18,293 samples had been tested with another 39,000 pending. With all this testing it appeared that the disease was con-

tained to the original 6 properties. Because of this, MPI announced in early October that they intend to depopulate the

herds infected with Mycoplasma bovis. The decision to depopulate was supported by various industry partners, in the inter-

ests of preserving wider animal welfare outcomes for all cattle in New Zealand. There has been much thought, consultation

with industry and experts, and widespread surveillance and information gathering prior to this difficult decision having been

made. MPI are leading the depopulation process.

This must be a harrowing time for all involved but MPI are working closely with industry bodies, the Rural Support Trust and

others to support the affected farmers. Veterinarians on the ground are doing a fantastic job of supporting their communi-

ties.

Mycoplasma causes mastitis, pneumonia, arthritis and abortions in cows. In calves the signs are wider and include ear infec-

tions, conjunctivitis, and fading calves as well as arthritis and pneumonia. There are significant reasons why NZ should aim

to revert to a free status—not least of which is that there are huge animal welfare issues when the disease is sudden and

severe.

It is still unsure how Mycoplasma got here, MPI are still working on this. Eradication in other countries has not been

achieved but NZ is better placed due to our farming system largely being extensive by nature.

Castrating and Dehorning

A reminder of the Law:

We would like to remind you of your obligations under the Animal Welfare Act. The two rules most frequently confused are

those pertaining to castration/ringing of bulls and lambs, and dehorning of cattle.

The Animal Welfare (Painful Husbandry Procedures) Code of Welfare 2005, clearly states as a minimum standard:

Castration, or shortening of the scrotum, without pain relief must be performed when the animals are as

young as possible, but not greater than SIX months of age.

When castrating or shortening the scrotum of any animal over the age of SIX months, pain relief must be used.

Dehorning without pain relief must be performed when animals are as young as possible, and not greater than

NINE months of age.

When dehorning any animal over the age of NINE months, pain relief must be used.

When referring to ‘pain relief’ they mean the appropriate application/use of local anaesthetic during the procedure.

This currently means that without a trained professional e.g. a veterinarian or veterinary technician, you are NOT allowed

to castrate/ring any animal over the age of 6 months or dehorn any cattle over the age of 9 months.

It is a privilege to be able to own livestock, and it is your responsibility to be educated about the minimum standards of the

welfare code. Not only are you putting the animal through unnecessary pain and distress when the minimum standards are

not followed, you are also breaking the law and risk being prosecuted and having the right to own livestock taken away

from you.

Bear in mind there has been talk that many changes may be made to the welfare code in the coming years, and these

standards are likely to be reviewed. Most likely making the use of castration and dehorning techniques without pain relief

stricter. One code that has already been reviewed is disbudding of calves. From October 2019 this may only be done with

pain relief.

No drench is more expensive than one that isn’t working!!

Regular drenching is often a vital and a necessary part of pastoral farming in New Zealand, especially when we are talking

about finishing/fattening units where the majority of stock are young. Thousands of dollars are spent every year on drench

unnecessarily because a simple drench check (~$100) is not carried out. This would give you some idea of whether invest-

ment is paying off.

Recently we have diagnosed two species of ‘triple resistant’ worms on a sheep farm in our region, and I am positive this is

not an isolated case. Triple resistance means that when dosed correctly none of the three major drench families:

Benzimadazoles (BZ’s OR white drenches), Levamisole (clear drench) and Macrocyclic Lactones (ML’s), are able to kill these

two worms. This means our only option for an effective drench on this farm has become the two actives: Derquantel

(in Startect®) and Monepantel (in Zolvix®). To make matters worse, Startect® has recently been pulled off the market so

once the stocks run out, our only option will become Zolvix®. Why is this an issue? Not only are these drenches WAY more

expensive than the classic ones, they are also our last resort. So if the worms become resistant to them we will not have an-

other option, other than completely overhauling the farming system (e.g. not running sheep on this farm).

What’s interesting about this case is that most of this farmer’s mobs of lambs appeared completely normal and he was

none-the-wiser that there was a problem until one mob started dying. On further investigation the two resistant worms

were found to be rife throughout the entire farm and only time was going to tell when his other mobs started showing

similar signs of disease. What we couldn’t say, however, was exactly how much money had already been lost due to poor

growth rates. These worms hadn’t simply developed overnight, they would have been resident on this farm for some time

cycling in the lambs and growing in numbers on the pasture. What’s also interesting is that egg counts were generally higher

after drenching with a triple combo (e.g. Matrix®) than before, so drenching them was about as effective as putting water

down their throats (very expensive water!).

The point I am trying to make here is that even though you may not necessarily ‘see’ a problem it doesn’t mean it isn’t there;

and the only way to truly get an idea whether a drench is actually working effectively is to do pre- and post- faecal egg counts

(drench check).

Risk factors for developing drench resistance on your farm:

HIGH risk

• Using long-acting drenches (capsules e.g. Bionic® OR injections e.g. Eweguard®) in ewes.

• Grazing lowly contaminated pastures e.g. newly sown pasture, crops, silage/baleage/hay cut pastures, cattle areas and

the “drench and move” policy.

• Buying sheep/lambs with resistance worms – all fattening/finishing operations will be doing this at some point or

another; And remember a triple combo is not an effective quarantine drench against a worm that has triple resistance.

• Using single active drenches.

• Continued use of an INEFFECTIVE product (without a drench check you have no idea whether this one pertains to your

farm).

MODERATE risk

• Drenching ewes post lambing OR any time for that matter.

• Preventative drenching (counting 5-6 drenches) from weaning, and drenching intervals shorter than every 28 days.

If there is anything you do differently this season, please let it be putting a little security in your investment. Drench

resistance is a lot easier to manage when identified early, well before production losses are noticed, daggy bums are dealt

with and lambs start dying.

Drench Resistance

Bovilis® BVD—12 month fetal protection claim It is really pleasing to see drug manufacturers continuing to invest in R and D for their product. MSD has very recently

released their latest claim for Bovilis® BVD:

Following a third dose (i.e the annual vaccination), Bovilis® BVD provides 12 months fetal protection.

Bovilis® BVD provided 90% fetal protection in a study with strong challenge conditions in which heifers

were given a primary two-shot course plus booster vaccination 12 months prior to challenge.

This is really promising as it allows those of you who use Bovilis® BVD to be more flexible with the

timing of you vaccines. The previous claim was only 6 months and that was why the cows needed their

annual boost close to the start of mating.

Remember Bovilis® BVD also has an extended primary dosing interval of 4 weeks to 6 months

between the initial sensitiser and booster, allowing more flexibility with yarding times as well. It can

be given into the muscle or under the skin and unused vaccine is stable for 2 weeks after opening the

vial.