Thinking Ahead

Until now the one single thing that has been responsible for most pregnancy loss in sheep, apart from an undetected infertile ram, has been Toxoplasmosis. The problem with Toxoplasma is that often you will not realise that you have it. I will not affect all of the ewes and it may not affect all of the potential lambs that are developing in the ewes, but it will cause a significant number of infertile ewes and increase the numbers of singles. Toxoplasma is a parasite carried by mainly young cats. The cats in turn seem to pick it up from their hunting activities. Usually it will not make the affected cat ill but they will pass it on in their faeces to affect your ewes. A single gram of feline faeces, this is a very small amount, can infect up to two hundred ewes. Ewes ingest the parasite either when they are grazing; some cats are thought to roam over 200 or more hectares, or by contaminating the winter feed that is intended for the flock. It is difficult to stop this contamination. This year there are ample supplies of the Toxoplasma vaccine. Only one dose is required for each animal, the dose must be given at least one month before the tups are used

Thinking further Ahead.

There is good new about the Bluetongue Vaccine. Intervet are more than a month ahead of schedule with their production lines. It is for DEFRA to decide when it will be available here. It is likely that that will happen sometime this month. It is no surprised that there has been a great deal of interest in the vaccine and our initial order was sent two weeks ago. There is still time for late orders to be taken and we will secure further supplies as and when necessary. The hope is still that we will be able to protect significant numbers before the disease becomes active and starts to spread like it did last year.

Injecting and Forms

Three things to remember about the vaccine, it is a small one ml sub cutaneous dose. It is readily damaged by heat so it is recommended that you have only the bottle that you are using out of the fridge at any one time, or at least keep the rest cool. There will be self declaration forms that we can supply if you are likely to sell any of the animals that you vaccinate. These are quite straight forwards to complete, but it would be wise to do it at the time as you will tend to forget batch numbers and dates. You will be contacted as soon as the vaccine arrives at the surgery.

Fly Strike

Although the midges have not got going yet the blow flies have had a head start and are causing all sorts of problems. You do not need to have animals scouring to get a maggot infection. Try to get the ewes sheared as soon as possible and keep a close eye out for animals that are rubbing at their back ends. Fly infestations are not easy to spot in larger flocks as soon as you see it you should dose the entire group.

Eye Infections

This is the time of the year when we start so see an increase in eye infections in cattle. It is not so likely now that it will be a listeria infection as this tends to occur when bagged silage is being consumed. It is always assumed that flies are involved when cattle get conjunctivitis in the summer. Sometimes they will pass on a mild bacterial infection that will clear up within twenty four hours, if the inflammation continues for longer there is a danger that the bacteria that cause New Forest Disease have become established in the eye. Moroxella bovis has the ability to damage the surface of the eye and cause a painful ulcer, it is a problem because it will cause inflammation and moisture that will attract more insects that will pass the infection onto other animals in the group. The modern eye ointments are efficient because the bind to the surface of the eye and are able to stop the growth of most bacteria for twenty four hours or more. If the eye is very inflamed bright sunlight will aggravate it further. Sometimes it is better to keep the animals that you are treating inside so there is less chance of the infection spreading.

Cancer around the eye

Just occasionally we come across a more serious eye condition in adult cows that will not respond to any treatment. Cows that have white on their face and eyelids will sometime develop a serious cancer that gradually grows around their eye. The actual growth may seem quite innocuous at first, given time it will continue to progress and may eventually encircle the whole of the eye. There is no effective treatment for squamous cell carcinomas when they occur around the eye. This is a very aggressive cancer even when the eye and all of the membranes are removed at the very earliest stage of the disease it will still be able to spread. Fortunately it seems to be older cows that are the most likely to be affected and they should not be kept once they have finished rearing their calf.

Identifying Foals

In March European Member States agreed that from the 1^st July 2009 all foals will have to be micro chipped. For the past six years there has been legislation that all horses are required to have a passport and this has worked fairly well. We have always encouraged horse owners to have their animals micro chipped as it is a fail safe way to identify them. It is surprising how many horses have few or no markings. Many grey horses change their colour as they get older. They will not always look like the sketch in their passport that was done when they were three months of age.

Micro Chips

It has become common practice for dogs, and many cats to be identified by a micro chip. The ones that we use seem to be reliable enough and will continue to work for the life of the animal. Also they are coated in a biological substance that makes them stay in one place so they will not move away from the area where the reader is used to detect them.

The new legislation will not be retrospective so it will not apply to horse born before July nest year. Really it will not come into force until 2010 as it will not be possible to identify any late born foals next year. The current rules are that all horses must have a passport before they are six months of age or before last day of the year in which they were born, which ever comes first. I should imagine that the same age rules will apply to micro chipping.

Dog Wash

Our notice board at the surgery is full of advertisements offering dog grooming and washing service. Recognising that there must be a need to have a smart and clean dog. For one month only we are bringing back our free dog wash. If you canine companion is beginning to look a little bedraggled and starting to smell a little bit too much of your farm yard. Feel free to book him in for our dog wash and see what a difference a bit of clipping and shampooing can make. We will only do this during June so book your appointment today. All dogs are welcome to take part in our Summer Dog Wash.

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