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WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 Livestock MATTERS www.xlvets.ie €3.25 Inside this issue: Suckler cow fertility We explain the key to profitability in suckler farming and how good management and recording can help maximise conception rates on farm. EXCELLENCE IN PRACTICE XLVets - We Excel The members of XLVets have worked hard to create what they see as a model of how practices can work together, sharing the latest ideas and passing on savings and joint expertise to clients. Invest in Health Don’t pay for Disease The group comprises of a number of the foremost farm practices in Ireland. With many years of combined experience, it is able to give expert advice on all areas of farm livestock, health and production. XLVets member practices are dedicated to providing a high quality, cost effective service to their clients, to support long-term growth and future prosperity within the Irish livestock industry. www.xlvets.ie Adare Veterinary Surgery Donal Lynch Veterinary Killenaule Vets Riverview Veterinary Group Adare, Co.Limerick Telephone: 061 396390 Tullamore, Co.Offaly Telephone: 057 9354505 Thurles, Co.Tipperary Telephone: 052 9156065 Bandon, Co.Cork Telephone: 023 8841503 All Creatures Veterinary Clinic Glen Veterinary Clinics Mulcair Veterinary Clinics Sliabh Luachra Veterinary Centre Roscommon Town, Co.Roscommon Telephone: 0906 626898 Tipperary Town, Co.Tipperary Telephone: 062 52992 Cappamore, Co.Limerick Telephone: 061 381209 Rathmore, Co.Kerry Telephone: 064 7758009 Avondale Veterinary Clinics Glenbower Veterinary Group O’Connor Julian Vets Southview Veterinary Hospital Arklow, Co.Wicklow Telephone: 0402 33744 Killeagh, Co.Cork Telephone: 024 95189 Cashel, Co.Tipperary Telephone: 062 61196 Clonmel, Co.Tipperary Telephone: 052 6121429 Clerkin Vets Glenina Veterinary Clinic Old Church Veterinary Hospital The Veterinary Hospital Cootehill, Co.Cavan Telephone: 049 5552777 Galway, Co.Galway Telephone: 091 752 014 Ballyshannon, Co.Donegal Telephone: 071 9851559 Gorey, Co.Wexford Telephone: 053 9421151 Comeragh Veterinary Gortlandroe Veterinary Clinic Ormonde Veterinary Kilmacthomas, Co.Waterford Telephone: 051 294143 Nenagh, Co.Tipperary Telephone: 067 31016 Kilkenny, Co.Kilkenny Telephone: 056 7763630 XLVets is committed to being a part of a healthy future. CONTENTS VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 XLVets is a novel and exciting initiative conceived from within the veterinary profession. We are all independently owned, progressive veterinary practices located throughout Ireland committed to working together for the benefit of our clients. XLVets Ireland Member Practices Adare Veterinary Surgery Station Road, Adare, Co.Limerick All Creatures Veterinary Clinic Lanesboro Street, Roscommon Town, Co.Roscommon Avondale Veterinary Clinics Ferrybank, Arklow, Co.Wicklow Clerkin Vets 90 Bridge Street, Cootehill, Co.Cavan Comeragh Veterinary Main Street, Kilmacthomas, Co.Waterford Donal Lynch Veterinary Killurin Cross, Killeagh, Tullamore Co.Offaly Glen Veterinary Clinics Blind Street, Tipperary Town, Co.Tipperary CONTENTS HERD HEALTH 03 Infectious respiratory disease in calves: Tommy Heffernan, Avondale Veterinary Clinics provides information on how to identify the causes and clinical signs of respiratory disease in calves and the importance of timing when treating the infected calves. SUMMER FEATURE Suckler cow fertility: 05 Karl Darcy, Glenina Veterinary Clinic explains the key to profitability in suckler farming. 07 Johne’s disease: Padraic Kilmartin, Glen Veterinary Clinic focuses on the clinical problems associated with Johne’s disease and outlines basic principles of control. 09 Five ways that animals look at the world differently to humans: Willie Buckley, Riverview Veterinary Clinic reflects on the book ‘Animals in Translation’ from Temple Grandin’s providing some interesting facts and thoughts explaining how animals look and think differently, to humans. Glenbower Veterinary Group Clashdermot East, Killeagh, Co.Cork Glenina Veterinary Clinic 1 Glenina Heights, Galway, Co.Galway Gortlandroe Veterinary Clinic 6 Church Street, Nenagh, Co.Tipperary Killenaule Vets Killenaule, Thurles, Co.Tipperary Mulcair Veterinary Clinics Dromsally, Cappamore, Co.Limerick O’Connor Julian Vets 67 Main Street, Cashel, Co.Tipperary Old Church Veterinary Hospital The Mall, Ballyshannon, Co.Donegal Ormonde Veterinary 14 Barrack Street, Kilkenny, Co.Kilkenny Riverview Veterinary Group Distillery Road, Bandon, Co.Cork Sliabh Luachra Veterinary Centre West End, Rathmore, Co.Kerry Southview Veterinary Hospital Irishtown, Clonmel, Co.Tipperary Prac basedtical, farm train del improivered by veing, ve y ts t and bouur livestooc k perfor siness mance ... LVets: Contact X05 and 061 3815xlvets.ie office@ The Veterinary Hospital Arklow Road, Gorey, Co.Wexford XLVet Ireland Ltd Registered Office at: Dromsally Cappamore County Limerick Tel: 061 381505 © XLVet Ireland No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the publisher. Disclaimer: XLVets does not necessarily share the views of contributors. No responsibility can be accepted for opinions expressed by contributors, or claims made by advertisers within this publication. Training is a vital part of the jigsaw that makes up modern farm business success. But finding the training that’s right for you needn’t be a puzzle. XLVets FarmSkills courses are designed to put the farmer first; finding out what you know now and what you’d like to know to improve your business. Courses are available across Ireland and are open to everyone. Topics catered for include cattle lameness, mastitis and cell count, calf rearing and fertility management. XLVets Skillnet is funded by member companies and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd. funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Education and Skills. RESPIRATORY DISEASE TO M M Y H E F F E R N A N M V B It is important to remember when vaccinating young calves that maternal antibodies are present. So this is why the timing of vaccination programmes and the use of intranasal vaccinations is so important. Infectious respiratory disease in calves Veterinary Surgeon Tommy Heffernan XLVets Practice Avondale Veterinary Clinics, Co.Wicklow Belgian Blues can be even more susceptible to pneumonia as they have smaller lungs due to double muscling 1. Causes 2. Risk factors The main causes of respiratory diseases in calves are viruses and bacteria. Another very important cause of respiratory disease in calves is parasitic however I will mainly deal with the infectious causes in this article. These can reduce calf immunity or increase the infectious pressure, meaning a respiratory infection can be much worse under these conditions. ● Poor colostrum management The main viruses are: ● Malnutrition ● PI3 ● Poor weaning management ● RSV ● ● IBR Contact/shared airspace with older animals ● Coronavirus ● High humidity ● BVD ● High stocking density ● Poor air quality ● Wet bedding The main bacterial causes are: Healthy calf 3 LIVESTOCK MATTERS ● Pasteurella multocida ● Histophilus somni ● Large groups/overcrowding ● Mycoplasma bovis ● Power washing in presence of calves WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... RESPIRATORY DISEASE 3. Recognition - what are the clinical signs to watch for? 1. Elevated respiratory rate (panting) 2. Fever 3. Nasal discharge 4. Depression and inappetance It has been suggested that any animal with a temperature of over 39.7 degrees Celsius is deemed to be febrile. 6. Control vaccination The main control is by reducing risk factors and implementing vaccination strategies. It is also important to remember when vaccinating young calves that maternal antibodies are present. So this is why timing of vaccination programmes and the use of intranasal vaccinations is so important. All vaccination programmes Vaccination timing essential to cover risk period Disease Resistance Period of high susceptibility to pneumonia If any of these symptoms are apparent, then the key to a successful outcome is BEGIN TREATMENT EARLY. 4. Making a diagnosis This is important to isolate the viral cause so you can implement an effective control programme through vaccination. Isolating mycoplasma could also be important as treatment options can be limited and some follow up herd screening may also be important. Samples should be taken early and before treatment begins. Usually this is done by nasal swabbing. Any calves found dead should also have postmortems undertaken to rule out acute pneumonia as a cause. should include the main viruses which are IBR, RSV, PI3, BVD and there is also a vaccination available against Pasteurella pneumonia. A pneumonia vaccination programme should be included as part of your overall herd health plan. Also good management plays an essential role in reducing pneumonia outbreaks. Passive immunity (Colostrum) Active immunity (Calf’s own immune system) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Age of the calf (weeks) 5. Treatments Antibiotics play a key role in the treatments of pneumonia. There is no general rule that one antibiotic is best for treatment. There are many options which your vet can advise you on. There are some golden rules for using antibiotics successfully when treating pneumonia. These are that treatment is started early generally within the first 48hrs of any of the aforementioned clinical signs. Also it is very important that antibiotics are given for the correct duration. This means that every case of calf pneumonia has to be treated for at least three days. Anti-inflammatories also play a key role in treatment and can be given in conjunction with antibiotic at the start of treatment. VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 LIVESTOCK MATTERS 4 Suckler cow fertility SUCKLER COW FERTILITY The key to profitability in suckler farming is to produce the maximum number of calves per cow. The greatest loss of potential earnings arises in most Irish farms from a failure to get cows and heifers in calf in the first place. Farmers should aim to produce one calf per cow per 365 day interval. In most suckler herds a shorter calving and breeding season brings further advantages in terms of reduced labour, production costs, simpler animal management, more calves and fewer and fewer calf health problems. Good management and recording along with suitable veterinary intervention when needed can help maximise conception rates. Cows Any cow that: Cows kept for breeding must be fit, healthy and have sound feet. For maximum fertility correct body condition score (BCS) of cows both at mating and calving is essential. The ideal is a BCS of between 2-3 i.e. ‘fit not fat’. Overly thin cows at calving will be slower to cycle and conceive; overly fat cows are more prone to calving difficulties which in turn frequently lead on to delayed conceptions. Trace element deficiencies can have a major impact on conception rates. Copper, selenium, vitamin E and iodine should be supplemented where necessary. Blood testing along with silage/soil analysis can pinpoint likely deficiencies. Supplementation with trace element boluses, lick or feed additives should start two months before calving, up to at least early pregnancy. Likely problem cows should be recognised and managed on an individual basis. The most obvious candidates to require special care are those cows that had difficulty at or around calving as a cow's womb has only a few weeks to change from holding a full term calf to being ready for conception. had a dead calf/miscarriage retained foetal membranes had a difficult calving had twins should be considered a likely case of endometritis and treated appropriately. Bull The bull is ‘half the herd’. Semen production takes two months so ideally the bull should be in good health and ready to operate two months ahead of the breeding season. A semen quality test should be considered at this time. Even a sub-fertile (rather than completely sterile) bull can wreck a well-planned breeding schedule. Physical soundness is vital, particularly of the reproductive organs and of the feet and legs. A bull should be watched at work to ensure he is serving cows properly, particularly young bulls. Early pregnancy diagnosis is the ultimate guarantee that a bull is fertile. Veterinary Surgeon Karl Darcy XLVets Practice 5 Glenina Veterinary Clinic, Co.Galway LIVESTOCK MATTERS WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... SUCKLER COW FERTILITY Disease control A number of common diseases impact on suckler cow conception rates. These include BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea), IBR (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis), leptospirosis, salmonella and neosporosis. Where repeat services are higher than expected, blood testing should be initiated. Where a disease problem is diagnosed, a herd health plan that encompasses a vaccination programme, replacement policy and quarantine procedures for new stock should be drawn up in consultation with the farm vet. K A R L DA R C Y M V B The most obvious candidates to require special care are those cows that had difficulty at or around calving as a cow's womb has only a few weeks to change from holding a full term calf to being ready for conception. Existing vaccination programmes should be tailored to fit around the critical and delicate breeding stage. A shorter breeding season will facilitate this. Artificial insemination and heat detection Where AI is used either in part or in full good heat detection is critical. Twenty minutes of alert observation at least three times daily is a good rule of thumb. Artificial heat detection aids such as tail paint or scratch cards can be helpful. Most accurate of all is an active vasectomised bull with a chin ball. Synchronisation Synchronisation of heat in suckler cows is useful for a variety of reasons: ● It can help dramatically tighten the calving period. ● It can be used in cows that are not coming into heat (more common in suckler cows because of the maternal bond). ● It reduces time spent observing for heat. ● It allows for fixed time AI, removing a lot of guesswork. ● Done correctly in suitable cows/heifers, conception rates can be as high as 75 per cent. Cows should be at least 40 days calved and heifers at least 15 months old before synchronisation is attempted. A number of different protocols exist. All drugs used are prescription only medicine (POM). In general, a combination of a progesterone releasing device with GnRH and prostaglandin injections works well for cows not yet seen in heat, while prostaglandin injections alone can be used successfully in heifers. Pregnancy detection Ideally pregnancy detection should occur early on in pregnancy with a view both to ensuring both bull and cow fertility and to diagnose animals failing to conceive that this may be rectified. Ultrasound scanning can be performed from as early as four VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 weeks. Early detection of a poor or low conception rate allows for earlier intervention and investigation and a better chance of avoiding having to feed a herd of empty cows! LIVESTOCK MATTERS 6 JOHNE’S DISEASE PA D R A I C K I L M A RT I N M V B Johne’s disease Diagnosis of cattle showing clinical signs is not difficult but finding the subclinically affected animals is more challenging. Johne's disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). It manifests clinically as chronic diarrhoea without loss of appetite and results in progressive emaciation. Once clinical signs occur animals rarely survive more than a year. There is no cure for this disease. Veterinary Surgeon Padraic Kilmartin XLVets Practice Glen Veterinary Clinic, Co.Tipperary Bottle jaw may be as a result of Johne's Disease Infection is acquired as calves via the faeco-oral route. MAP can survive in the environment for up to one year and only multiplies in a host animal. Not all animals infected become clinical cases some are affected subclinically but these animals shed MAP intermittently in their faeces. Risk factors for contracting clinical Johne's disease include age and infectious dose. The younger the calf at the time of exposure and the greater the infectious load increases the risk of developing clinical Johne's 7 LIVESTOCK MATTERS disease. Clinical cases of Johne's disease are rarely seen in animals less than two years of age. Johne's disease causes granulomatous enteritis. Early in the disease process no clinical signs are evident, these animals are termed subclinically infected animals. As the disease advances subclinical animals progress to clinical cases, these animals have intractable diarrhoea and an inability to absorb plasma proteins causing weight loss and eventual emaciation. WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... JOHNE’S DISEASE Diagnosis Diagnosis of cattle showing clinical signs is not difficult but finding the subclinically affected animals is more challenging. There are two types of tests available. Taking a faecal sample and culturing it and/or looking for antibodies in the milk and/or blood. Type of Test Advantages Disadvantages Faecal sampling ● ● Accurate ● ● Serology ● Faster results ● A. Milk (Dairy) ● Easily performed ● B. Blood (Dairy and Beef) Min 16 weeks to culture MAP Labour intensive Expensive Poor sensitivity. (High % of infected animals missed) Repeat testing required Control Basic principles of control are: 1 New infections prevented 2 Infected animals identified and removed from herd 3 Disinfection/Hygiene and Husbandry A classification system in Holland was used to reduce the level of Johne's on affected farms. Due to the poor sensitivity of the blood and milk sampling, repeat sampling (every 3 months) is needed. Animals were classified as low risk or high risk. Persistent scour may be as a result of Johne's Disease Risk Level Classification Johne's infection group Definition Low Green J0 Minimum two negative tests Low Green J1 Negative but only one test performed Low Green J2 Negative but one positive in more than three tests High Yellow J3 Positive/Negative interchanging High Yellow J4 Positive but all other tests negative High Red J5 Two positive tests ● Yellow and red animals should be calved in an isolation pen away from green animals and calves should be removed immediately after birth. ● Calves should only be fed colostrum from green cows. ● Colostrum should never be pooled. ● ● Pens should be disinfected between calving to reduce the level of exposure. Red cows should be culled at the end of their lactation. Poor condition may be as a result of Johne's Disease VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 LIVESTOCK MATTERS 8 A N I M A L B E H AV I O U R ARTICLE BY: WILLIE BUCKLEY MVB River view Veterinar y Clinic, Co.Cork Five ways that animals look at the world differently to humans From Temple Grandin’s “Animals in Translation” Temple Grandin is an associate professor at Colorado State University. She lectures worldwide on both animal science and autism. She serves as a role model for animal lovers and people with autism. She is best known for being a passionate and effective animal advocate, and for explaining how animals think, to humans. There are many interesting thoughts in this book and here are just a few. 1. Ability to see colour Veterinary Surgeon Willie Buckley XLVets Practice Riverview Veterinary Clinic, Co.Cork The ability to see colours varies between animals. Birds see four basic colours, ultra-violet, blue, green and red. People and some primates see blue, green and red. Most other mammals just see blue and green. ‘Red rag to a bull’. Not Possible. 2. Sound In nature any novel high pitched sound will cause a cow to baulk. It activates the part of the animal's brain that responds to distress. Reflex makes it think that maybe its calf is in distress or a herd mate in trouble. An animal is more upset by a high pitched sound that is intermittent and random. It can't relax because nature has programmed the animal to always look towards the direction of a distressed sound and it is instinctively waiting for the next sound so it can't relax. The animal has to make a conscious decision about what to do with the sound. If she is a predator, does she need to chase something? If she is a prey animal, should she run? With our animals the less noise the better. Air hissing in a parlour can mimic the high pitched distress sound. Crush gates that rattle too much or metal chains clanging, all cause cows to move slower or unpredictably. 9 LIVESTOCK MATTERS WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... A N I M A L B E H AV I O U R I see some farmers leave cows out the side gate of the crush when testing. The cows empty easier and the next cows load better because there is less noise. 3. Ability to see contrast Most of our commercial animals were prey in the wild before they were domesticated; they depended on noticing any unusual flick of a shrub, as it could have made the difference between life and death by predator. Animals perceive more detail than humans (who are predators) in order to stay alive. Also animals' night vision is much better than ours, so again they see more intense contrasts of light and dark. Cattle grids work because cattle perceive the contrast between the bright at the top and the dark at the bottom of the pit so sharply, that they think it is a bottomless pit and will not cross. In some countries they just paint a series of very bright lines on entrances to prevent cattle from entering roads. During the war the Allies recruited totally colour blind people to interpret satellite spy photos. They could see camouflage netting draped over a tank much clearer than people with normal sight. Contrast is better seen without colour. Shadows are much clearer in black and white. In fact Temple Grandin always takes black and white photographs, to try to see what the animals see. Strong changes in light are also very distracting for cattle. Cows will baulk at a shadow on the ground. Getting cattle to go from either a brightly lit area to a dark area or vice versa always causes trouble to farmers. We need to prevent strong reflections or shadows along a cow's path. Moving shadows or reflections are even scarier to a cow. We need to have more consistent levels of brightness when moving animals from different areas. Changes of texture from one floor to the next also upset cows. VOLUME 3 EDITION 2 4. Ability to deal with the new Humans are blind to anything they are not paying attention to. Humans have evolved to see what they are expecting to see. Cows are at the other end of the spectrum and notice everything. There have been studies done where people have been interviewed by people holding a banana rather than a microphone and most people don't even see the banana. Humans focus on the end-point or goal i.e. getting to the other side of the field. If there is something novel in our path, our more advanced brains can process the new item out of our minds. The human brain tries to recognise it, compare it to other ‘like’ things that we have seen in the past, analyses the threat it may possess and it makes the decision that it will not affect us achieving our goal. All this happens without us consciously being aware of these decisions. If a cow was to see the same novel object in its path its brain does things differently. If something is novel or has changed in any way, they notice and they need to think about it before proceeding. The cow does not have the processing ability of the human and they will fear it more. It may be a new predator and may not take the chance of passing the object as they don't know what it will do. Any object or image in a cow's visual field will get her notice, but if they are used to seeing it every day, it does not cause fear. If it is the first time seeing it i.e. it is a novelty, you can't be sure how she will respond. 5. Pain and suffering Prey animals hide their pain. In the wild, an animal that shows pain is liable to be finished off by a predator, so they have to act as if nothing has happened. A predator might howl like a big baby when in pain. They don't need to worry about being heard. Prey animals in severe pain can still function. An animal in a state of panic cannot function at all. A prey animal has to start running before the lion starts running in order to survive. That means it has to be hyper-alert all the time keeping an eye out for danger. All animals feel pain. But the fear of pain to a cow is worse than actual pain. The single worst thing you can do to a prey animal is to make it feel afraid. If you gave a choice to a human to choose between pain and intense fear, most people would pick fear. Humans have a lot more power to control fear than animals do. Animals are more punished by fear than pain and it is the opposite for humans. Animals also have a very long memory for fear. Animals may never unlearn a bad fear. Nature has made fear learning permanent. Our brain remembers better where we were on 9/11 than our leaving cert poems. I believe when a lame animal shows pain, we need to also consider the level of un-expressed pain. Maybe we should use a lot more pain relief medication and not just antibiotics to help our cows heal themselves. There are many other aspects of animal behaviour that Temple Grandin has strong views on. It is very hard to do a book like this justice, in a short piece like this. It is hard to think like a cow but it would be a great help to us and them if we did. Temple Grandin's book ‘Animals in Translation’ is available in Easons and many other book retailers nationwide. LIVESTOCK MATTERS 10 NUMBER 11 ENTER WeXLVlcetsoreamdeers’ TODAY to the competition... YOUR CHANCE TO WIN... We have an XLVets fleece to give away to the first correct entry drawn at random after the competition closes. To enter, simply answer the three questions below GOOD LUCK... and complete your details on the entry form. All the answers can be found in the articles in this issue of the magazine. Details of where to send your entry can be found below. A winner will be chosen from all the correct entries received before the closing date, Friday 23rd August 2013. The winner will be revealed in the next issue of XLVets Ireland Livestock Matters. one... two... My details Name three... Address List three viral causes of pneumonia in calves What is the main clinical sign of Johne’s disease? List three diseases that affect suckler cow fertility Daytime Telephone Number The editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The actual fleece supplied may differ slightly from the one pictured. Email XLVets Practice Name Fleece size (please circle) S M L XL I would like to receive further information from XLVets by e-mail I do not wish to receive further information from XLVets Send your completed entry to: Farm Competition No.11 XLVets Ireland, Dromsally, Cappamore, Co.Limerick Spring 2013 Livestock Matters competition winner: Mary B Tierney, Lanespark, Killenaule, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. (client of Killenaule Veterinary) XLVets Ireland Our primary aims are 4 fold: 1. To be a primary source of on-farm advice and the central co-ordinating consultant for other farm services for our clients. 2. To be committed to the sharing of current best practice advice to our clients through direct XLVets newsletters and client training, associated with our own high levels of Continuing Professional Development (CPD). 3. To be highly competitive in the health and medicines market with not just prescription only medicines but also re-establishing the vet as a primary source for other on-farm medicinal and consumable products supported by impartial professional advice. 4. To improve our own efficiencies and reduce our costs by economies of scale over a wide range of practice needs and requirements.