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Author: paige_soap

Red Tractor Farms: Responsible use of antibiotics.

If you are farm assured with Red Tractor, certain antibiotic products such as kelacyl, cobactan, naxcel, baytril, cevaxcel, marbocyl, are now restricted. If you use these products you could receive a non-conformance at your next Red Tractor inspection. Therefore we now recommend only using this product if there is culture and sensitivity to prove that it’s the only product that works for the health condition.

As of the 1st June 2018 the use of Highest Priority Critically Important antibiotics must be a last resort and their use must be under the direction of a vet, backed up by sensitivity or diagnostic testing.

Please find below further information regarding recent Red Tractor changes…..

DAIRY FARMS

As a Red Tractor dairy farm, you are now required to undertake an annual review of antibiotics with your vet, but what does this involve?….

Medicine records must provide an annual collation of total antibiotic used for the unit

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  • Antibiotics collated by product name;
  • Collation either by your vet from prescription data or completed by farmer from medicine records;

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An annual review of antibiotics used must be undertaken by your vet

Your vet review will…

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  • Include review of medicines and antibiotic purchase and use, including antibiotic collation;
  • Includes discussion on the use of Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs)
  • Include review of any antibiotic failures;
  • Include recommendation for responsible reduction of antibiotic use where possible, in particular, in relation to HP-CIAs
  • Review overall use of dry cow therapy and protocols and where appropriate make recommendations for selective antibiotic use

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Review can form part of the Vet Health and Performance Review.

Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics must only be used as a last resort under veterinary direction

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  • HP-CIAs are defined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and colistin
  • Use is supported by a vet report outlining one or more of the following:
    – Sensitivity testing
    – Diagnostic testing

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BEEF & LAMB FARMS

As a beef or lamb Red Tractor farm, it is now compulsory to have a written annual livestock health and performance review undertaken by your vet.

What does this involve? …

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  • Your vet attends your farm at least annually and sees livestock
  • Annual review to:
    – Identify key issues and make recommendations to improve identified issues
    – Review records and data, including medicine records and prescription data outlining total antibiotic used by product name, making recommendations to responsibly reduce antibiotic usage where appropriate without negatively impacting welfare
    – Review use of Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) and make recommendations for responsible reduction
    – Review prophylactic treatment and make recommendations for alternative disease prevention strategies
    – Consider industry initiatives e.g. BVD Free England

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Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics must only be used as a last resort under veterinary direction

How you will be measured:

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  • HP-CIAs are defined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, and colistin
  • Use is supported by a vet report outlining one or more of the following:
    – Sensitivity testing
    – Diagnostic testing

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As always, if you have any questions our Oakhill Farm Team are happy to discuss: 01772 861300

 

 

 

Fertility in sheep

Fertility in sheep

For those early lambers!

Whether it’s to get the premium Easter prices, utilise the spring grass or produce good lambs for show time and sales, it can be advantageous to lamb early and here are a few options to advance your lambing:

 

Method

 Advanced

Synchronisation
Ram (vasectomised or not) No Can do depending on stage of cycle
Melatonin (manipulating light hours or implant Regulin) Yes No
Prostaglandin No Can do depending on stage of cycle
Progesterone (chronogest sponge or new for this year CIDR- ovis) Yes if used with PMSG (ECG) Yes

Abortion rate from your flock

As the lambing season for most has finished and the focus no doubt moves to growing lambs it is worth just taking 5 minutes to think back to lambing and your flock abortion rate.

Ideally you would want a target of below 2% of the flock either barren or had an abortion. Anything more than this could be due to infectious cause and should be investigated to prevent the same again in future years.

Abortions are costly – recent estimates suggest each case costs £85 per ewe

 

Infectious abortion is common in sheep and 70% of these abortions are associated with 3 infectious agents – Toxoplasmo, Chlamydophila/Enzootic abortion and Campylobacter. We have diagnosed all 3 agents in multiple abortion outbreaks this spring.

Vaccination is advised in flocks with a history of disease and also in those flocks buying in breeding females.

Subsidised lab testing is currently available to help us determine if your flock has been exposed to Toxoplasmo or Enzootic Abortion.

Please contact the practice to discuss the best option for you in terms of testing and vaccination.

For those who use Toxovax and Enzovax please remember to place your order in good time as these products are short dated and are put on a special order.

 

 

Blowfly strike treatment and prevention

Fly treatment

These warmer days, combined with the inevitable rain, provide the perfect habitat for Lucilla sericata more commonly known as the blowfly. We now recognise the blowfly season as being longer with strike seen as early as February and as late as November, so it’s important that our fly prevention adapts to the changing climate too.

94% of farmers admit to being caught out by flystrike

Most will know what a fly struck sheep looks like:

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  • Agitated, itchy, away from flock, smell, wool discoloured and eventually loose wool.
  • This progresses to anaemia, septicaemia & ammonia toxicity causing lethargy and then death.

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Early intervention is important not only to prevent deaths but also to reduce the general fly population.

To create a fly control programme it is important to understand what type of conditions these flies thrive in and also to use your knowledge from previous experiences on your own farm with your own sheep.

Blowflies need the following conditions to successfully complete their lifecycle:

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  • Soil temperature over 9°C
  • Long periods of rainfall (causes fleece to rot)
  • Low wind speeds (allows increased fly mobility)
  • High temperatures and humidity causes microclimate in fleece that is attractive to flies to lay eggs.
  • NADIS now has a blow fly alert web page which will use data from the Met Office to create a local risk for blow flies.

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In perfect conditions fly eggs hatch in 12 hours and once larvae start feeding they release a powerful odour which attracts more flies causing significant damage within 24 to 36 hours of the first egg being laid. This emphasises the need for daily flock checks.

Losses due to fly strike are seen as: death of individuals, reduced lamb growth rate, reduced productivity, down grade wool clip, cost and time of treatment. Elanco has calculated these costs as shown:

Blowfly losses chart

To prevent Blowfly Strike:

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  • Dagging and crutching (start in April and every 4-6 weeks)
  • Keeping breeds of sheep with more open, hairy or self shedding coatsearing (especially thick fleeced breeds)
  • Shearing (especially thick fleeced breeds)
  • Culling ewes with narrow breeches or deformities that result in soiling
  • Tail docking in lowland flocks
  • Reduce incidence of footrot
  • Eliminate scouring issues (for example keep coccidiosis, worm burden and nutrition under control)
  • Frequent flock inspections (at least daily)
  • Appropriate insectide use

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Insecticide use: We recommend starting treatment against flies now to reduce fly populations for the rest of summer. Keep an eye on the NADIS blow fly alert map and ensure your sheep are protected at the high risk times. There are various products you can use to prevent blow fly strike and these are listed in the table below:

Product Drug Length of action Meat withdrawal
Vetrazin Cyromazine (IGR) 10 weeks 28 days
Clik extra Dicyclanil (IGR) 19 weeks 40 days
Clik Dicyclanil (IGR) 16 weeks 40 days
Clik Zin Dicyclanil (IGR) 8 weeks 7 days
Dysect sheep Alpha cypermethrin 8-10 weeks 49 days
Ectofly/ Crovect Cis Cypermethrin 6-8 weeks 8 days
Fly and lice spot on/ Spotinor Deltamethrin 6 weeks 35 days
Paracide 62/ Osmonds
gold fleece dip		 Diazinon dip (Organophosphate)
Cypermethrin		 8-10 weeks 70 days/ 49days
respectively

* IGR products are NOT effective as treatments

To date there has been no resistance of blow flies to any insecticide formally reported.

Is your pet travel ready?

As holiday season begins it’s important to check that your pet is travel ready if you plan to take them abroad this summer.

If you wish to travel outside the UK with your pet, the legal requirements vary depending on the other country involved, so you’ll need to check the Defra website for full information: https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview.

It’s also a good idea to check with your travel company to see if they:

  • will accept your pet for travel – and how many they’ll accept if you have more than one
  • need any proof that your pet is fit and healthy to travel, for example a letter from a vet or certain information in your pet passport

Remember to leave enough time to get all the necessary treatment and paper work in order before you travel. Pet passports are available from our surgeries to allow cats, dogs and ferrets to travel between listed countries without quarantine.

  • Book an appointment with your vet well in advance of travel to get started on the right medication at the right time
  • Check rabies vaccination and pet passport are up to date
  • Ensure microchip is working and reading correctly
  • Speak to your vet about preventive treatment needed to protect your dog against ticks, sandflies, heartworm and tapeworm
  • Talk to your vet if going somewhere hot to discuss prevention of heatstroke and how to recognise signs of the problem in your dog. 

     


    Please contact your Oakhill Veterinary Centre to make an appointment or for further information.

£10 OFF EQUITOP MYOPLAST OFFER IS BACK

During June 2018, you can claim £10 OFF a 1.5kg tub of Equitop Myoplast.

Simply click here to download your voucher and present it at the Oakhill practice when purchasing a 1 x 1.5kg tub of Equitop Myoplast between 1st – 30th June 2018.

Equitop Myoplast® is a unique and natural supplement for horses, packed with 18 key amino acids including 9 essential amino acids. The blend of amino acids in Equitop Myoplast provides the building blocks for efficient lean muscle growth without horses becoming ‘fizzy’ or bulking up on fats and oils.

Terms and conditions on voucher

HEAT STRESS IN DOGS

Overheating and heat stress can be a killer so here are some tips to help your dog have a happy and healthy summer.

 

SYMPTOMS:

  • Panting excessively
  • Drooling
  • Increase in heart rate
  • Reddened/purple gums
  • Vomiting and Diarrhoea
  • Seizures progressing to coma and even death.

TREATMENT:

As soon as possible move your pet to a cooler spot, keep them as quiet and calm as possible. Use wet cool towels to gradually lower the temperature and use a fan if possible. Contact your vet as soon as possible as serious complications may result.

 

PREVENTION:

  • Exercise your dog early morning/late evening to avoid the midday sun.
  • Ensure access to shade in the garden you could even supply a paddling pool!
  • Have fresh cool water available, put ice -cubes in the water if taking some out with you.
  • Be extra careful with either very young or old, overweight or longhaired animals. Some breeds are more likely to suffer including short-nosed breeds such as boxers and pugs etc.
  • NEVER leave your pet in a parked car even on overcast days the temperature can increase dramatically.
  • Clip longhaired breeds.
  • Use a fan in the rooms where you pet likes to settle.