April 2024
Liver Fluke Testing now available in house
We can now test for liver and rumen fluke eggs in house in sheep and cattle faecal samples. Now is a good time to test your ewes and cows for liver fluke to determine if treatment is required before spring turnout. Liver fluke infection can affect protein levels in the blood of affected animals, in turn affecting the colostrum quality of pregnant animals.
SCOPS have warned that the fluke risk occurred much later than normal due to the unusual weather seen in 2023, therefore chronic fluke infections may be present in your herd/flock. Flukicide products do not have persistence of action, so even if you treated in the autumn/winter of 2023, it would be worthwhile checking. Due to increasing reports of resistance with some flukicide products, best practice would be to always test prior to treatment.
For sheep, please collect samples from 10 individuals, keeping them in separate containers. For cattle, please collect 3 pinches from different areas of each pat and keep in individual bags, collecting from 10% of your cows.
#Colostrum Is Gold
Did you know a third of suckler calves do not receive enough good quality colostrum and 1 in 7 suckler calves do not receive any colostrum?
Risk factors for suckler calves not receiving enough good quality colostrum are:
· Poor energy pre-calving diet
· Assisted calving
· Assisted colostrum feeding
· Bull calves
· Being born to a heifer
Twins
Suckler calves must receive 10% of their bodyweight in good quality colostrum within 2 hours of birth, 4 litres for a 40kg calf. The feed should be repeated within 12 hours of birth.
The quality of colostrum can be tested using a Brix refractometer, with a target of 22% for cow colostrum. Colostrum should be collected in a clean and hygienic manner to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination. More information on the collection and storage of colostrum can be found on the AHDB #Colostrum is Gold website.
Nematodirus High Risk in this Area
The SCOPS forecast is alerting a high risk for Nematodirus in this area. Nematodirus is a worm which is spread from lamb crop to lamb crop, causing severe scour, dehydration, sudden death and impacts on growth rates. Disease is seen 10-12 days following infection. Risk factors for the disease:
Grazing the same fields that had ewes and lambs in last year
Lambs aged 6-12 weeks old that are grazing
Correct weather conditions for a hatch (indicated by the forecast on the SCOPS website)
The larvae of the worm can cause disease, therefore faecal samples are not always useful for the diagnosis of Nematodirus but coccidiosis can also cause similar signs in lambs of a similar age, so it is worthwhile collecting a faecal sample to check.
White drench wormers are effective against Nematodirus and should be used for treatment of the lambs.