Wet Spring

May has turned out to be a very difficult month this year. It should be the time that the cows recover from the winter and you can leave them out in the fields and concentrate on the silage. Not so this year. Some of you with very long memories can recall other years when it has been very wet in the spring, but it is virtually unheard of to have to get cows back in at this time of the year because it is so wet. I gather that the last time it was so wet in May there were far fewer cows out in the fields. It seems ironic that this has happened when half of the country has been talking about a drought and a hosepipe ban.

Mud and Bugs

Farms particularly badly affected are suckler herds that are calving outside now. Even on hill farms it is difficult to find a dry field, silage and straw tends to run out and it is a struggle to calve the cows inside and provide a clean environment for the calves. Dairy herd have found it difficult because not every one has had sufficient silage left to get the cows back in. On some farms the sheds have been washed and cleaned ready for next year as no one was expecting them to be occupied again quite so soon. Some of you have had problems with cell counts. Under these conditions it is the environmental organisms that come to the fore E coli and Strept uberus seem to be the dominant bacteria involved. We keep learning more and more about Strept uberus.

Sticky Bacteria

We have mentioned before how there are more than 250 different strains of the bacterium recognised as able to cause mastitis. It is now known that most of them have great difficulty getting established in the lactating udder as they get flushed from the gland during milking. It is the sticky ones that there the most troublesome when they get a hold at the start of the dry period, when you are not flushing them out. These infections can persist for the duration of the next lactation. The trick is to keep them out with either a teat sealant or a dry cow tube that will stop them growing and sticking to the lining of the udder. It is also thought that these sticky strains of Strept uberus will stick to the teat liners during milking and can infect other cows that are milked with the cluster. Recent studies have shown that the organism is present on wet grass and can persist in the soil where the cows lay out in the fields.

Wet Sheep

Sheep also have not been able to escape the effect of the wet weather. Coccidiosis has been troublesome on several farms, though it is easier to treat now. Lambs do not thrive on wet grass as it tends to go straight through them and exaggerate any worm problems. It has been noticeable that Orf has been common and has been troublesome on some farms that are usually only mildly affected. It is difficult to treat lame sheep at the moment, their feet are soft and readily become infected some flocks are having to use antibiotics in foot baths to clear up persistent foot infections.

Laminitis

May is always a peak time for horses to get laminitis. Several owners have been caught out this year as animals that are not usually affected go down with the condition. The grass has been held back for such a time that even animals on restricted grazing are getting too much grass to trigger the condition. Laminitis can be a very serious condition for some animals and it is important that you see them moving every day as it comes on slowly sometimes and can be difficult to recognise when animals are walking on soft ground.

Talking to the Boss

I have noticed that David Miliband has a web blog. This is most unusual for a government minister. All that it means is that he keeps a web diary of things that he is doing and it also means that if you were so inclined you could send him your comments on what you think he should be doing. I realise that he gets masses of messages every day and that somebody is filtering them for him, but none the less if you use the web you might like to send him a few comments as some of them might get through. It is a two way process at least there is a way of getting your views heard. It is fairly easy to find out what Mr Milliband has been up to by typing his name into a search engine or you could follow this link to his Web Blog..

Star Gazing Lambs

Every year we see lambs one to three months of age with Listeria. This is the same organism that can cause abortion in older sheep if they are fed baled silage. It is often one of the better lambs in the group that is affected, at first they may be seen to be away from the rest of the lambs, perhaps with their head pressing up against something solid as they keep their eyes out of the sunlight. This is essentially a bacterial meningitis. The bacteria are swallowed from the soil, get into the blood stream and eventually set up an infection in the membranes surrounding the brain. This is a real problem for the lamb, he cannot indicate that he has a head ache, that fluid and inflammation has the effect of squeezing his brain and restricting the function of his eyes as the optic centre is one of the vulnerable areas that readily becomes damaged. It is not easy to treat meningitis, as the brain has a way of filtering out what it sees as harmful drugs and the antibiotics that are most able to penetrate the brain are no longer licensed for food producing animals. Tetracycline will get through to some degree, especially in the acute stages of the disease it is better to give a high dose into a vein at first to get it started and then several days of intra muscular injections. Some animals will not respond even if the drugs are given in the early stages of the disease, but most are able to recover with little or no long term damage to their brain.

New Test for Fluke

The Veterinary Laboratory Agency has developed a new test for fluke in Dairy Cattle. Fluke infestations tend to be a chronic problem for some dairy cows it is seldom that preventative measures are taken  against this disease. Cattle are more able to cope with a mild fluke infection than lambs as they have larger livers. Fluke infestations are often associated with wet ground, but it can be picked up from drinking from streams and ponds. There is a big movement of animals onto some farms, your fields may be grazed in the winter by sheep that have come from fluke prone areas. If you buy in adult dairy cows that could have come from farms that are prone to the infection and they will only show signs of the disease by not milking as well as you would expect or by not carrying very much weight.

When to try it

In the past it was quite difficult and expensive to diagnose a chronic fluke problem in dairy cows, now it is possible to pick up the early signs from a bulk tank milk sample, if it should give a positive result then either you will need to treat all of the herd when they go dry or you might be able to get some faeces samples from suspect cows. This is a completely new test so it is not possible to say how useful it will be, bulk milk monitoring is quick and easy. For fluke it would be best to test once each year when the herd is first housed for the winter or earlier if you have a lot of cows dry in the autumn.

Bird Flu

I am pleased that Bird Flu has gone away again. Not least because I have a small number of ducks and hens and, like many of you would find it difficult to keep them inside. Even though it is now two months since the outbreak in Norfolk with the low pathogenic strain, there has been no definite confirmation as to where it has come from. It must be assumed that there has been some contact with wild birds although it is a little strange that the viral type is has not been found in that area from samples taken from wild birds

Salmonella typhimurium

At the moment, all sorts of birds are being investigated at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and it is noticeable how many garden birds either die from or carry Salmonella organisms in their faeces. In the winter we regularly see cats that catch garden birds with infections and I am sure there must be some connection and implications for farm animals eating contaminated feed.

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