October 2023
Pneumonia In Youngstock
Calf pneumonia or Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is a complex, multi-factorial disease which results in inflammation and damage to the tissues of the lungs and respiratory tract. It is the most common reason for poor performance and death in growing calves.
Pneumonia Stress Factors
Some pathogens can live in the calf’s respiratory tract without causing disease, but when the calf is stressed or immunocompromised they can become pathogenic, causing pneumonia. Environmental or management factors can cause stress and directly impact the susceptibility of calves to disease as well as its spread and volume.
Factors known to have a significant impact on calf pneumonia:
Sick animals not being isolated
Mixing different age groups of calves
Transport stress
Sudden changes in diet (e.g. weaning)
Exposure to draughts
Overstocking
Inadequate ventilation
Extremes of temperature
Poor hygiene/drainage
Poor access to feed, inadequate amount of feed or sudden changes in feed composition (including weaning)
Too many interventions at once i.e. weaning at the same time as disbudding causing stress
The early signs of pneumonia can be difficult to spot. An elevated temperature (above 39.5°C) is the first sign of pneumonia taking hold, which can occur days before other clinical signs which can include; coughing, weeping eyes, runny nose, breathing difficulties, heavy breathing, not eating, separating themselves from the group, lying down with a tucked up appearance
The aim of pneumonia prevention is to support a calf’s immune system and reduce exposure to stress through good husbandry. While the risk of disease can never be fully eliminated, implementing preventive measures can reduce the impact of disease. Focus areas to increase resistance to pneumonia: good colostrum management, vaccination, low stocking density, low housing humidity, adequate ventilation, avoiding extremes of temperature, Good nutrition, separating age groups, good hygiene, minimising stress when transporting or weaning
Vaccination
Vaccination is a cost-effective tool to help protect against pneumonia by increasing an individual calf’s immunity and reducing the amount of circulating pathogen in the environment.
Many vaccines are available to protect against pneumonia. Give us a call and ask your vet which ones are right for your herd. Selecting the correct vaccine to protect the right age calves against specific pathogens is critical.
If you have an outbreak of pneumonia it is important to act quickly. We can help you implement a treatment and management protocol specific to your farm’s requirements.
Flock lameness & vaccination
Now it looks like we’ve had the best of the summer, the autumn is upon us, which can bring in wet weather - perfect conditions to cause a lameness problem within your flock. The main causes of lameness in sheep could be any of the following; CODD (Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis), Scald, Footrot, Shelly hoof, Toe granuloma.
CODD is caused by Spirochaete bacteria - "Treponemes”. It is identical to Digital Dermatitis in cattle and it can be part of mixed infecting with D. nodosus which causes Footrot. It can happen any time of year. Starting at the coronary band then spreading down. It creates separation at the skin/horn junction whilst lesions progress down the inner hoof wall, causing the hoof wall can fall off. There’s no obvious smell.
The correct diagnoses is essential so ensure you the vet, as antibiotics are required. Make sure you have good bio security and quarantine replacements every 3-6 weeks.
Scald is the inflammation of the skin between the toes. You’ll notice hair loss, moisture between the toes and oozy skin.
Scald thrives off warm, wet conditions which means either out in long grass or housing is ideal for it to spread.
The cause is Dichelobacter Nodosus, the same bacteria as footrot, as Scald is the early stages of footrot.
Having good control is key to stop the spread amongst your flock:
Foot bathing
Putting lime down, especially in gateways and around feeders
Liberal bedding so feet stay dry
Antibiotic sprays
Always ensure your foot bathing technique is carried out in the most effective way. On a dry day, making sure you run the sheep through a water bath initially to clean feet first. Read the packing of your foot bath solution to ensure you have the correct concentration and sufficient contact time. After the process, let the sheep stand on a clean and dry surface before turning them out to fresh, dry pasture that hasn’t been grazed in 2 weeks.
Footrot is the most common cause of lameness. It’s caused by the bacteria Dichelobacter Nodosus. It initially damages the skin between claws (scald). Before penetrating deeper. Any infected sheep will carry and spread the bacteria, through high traffic areas such as water troughs, feeders, gateways. Anyone that has come across footrot will know it by its own characteristic smell.
Vaccinating your sheep with Footvax every 6 months (usually in the spring and again in the autumn) can widely reduce the risk of footrot in your flock, along with the 4 other strategies in MSDs 5 point plan - Cull, Quarantine, Treat & Avoid.
Contact your vet today to discuss using Footvax within your flock.