Scour Vaccination:

With spring calving just around the corner, some thoughtful planning can sometimes make things easier. Calf scour can cause a lot of stress to both man and beast at calving. Where there has been a history of calf scour on the farm, it may be worth considering using a vaccine. Cost should also be taken into account, as these vaccines can often cost close to €10 per dose.

Vaccines (usually one dose) should be given to the cow or heifer from 12 to three weeks prior to calving. It is important to follow the administration guidelines accurately. Vaccinating the cow prior to calving will allow her to produce antibodies against the main scour-causing bacteria and viruses. As these antibodies do not pass from the cow to the calf prior to birth, the vaccine will be wasted if the calf does not acquire colostrum from its mother after birth. Ideally, the calf should get about three litres of colostrum within two hours of birth.

As the effectiveness of the vaccine will depend on the passive transfer of antibodies from the mother, the calf should remain on the mother’s milk for at least 10 to 21 days for full effectiveness of the vaccine. Where calves are bought in, management and cleanliness may be more effective at reducing the prevalence of scour.

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine available for cryptosporidium and clean calving pens and adequate colostrum are absolutely essential for preventing this disease taking over at calving time.

Tightening Calving Spread:

The easiest way to tighten the calving spread to between 10 and 12 weeks is to remove the bull or stop AI. Cows calved in August and September should be served by now. If breeding stops on 10 December and allowing for a 289-day gestation, cows bred this week will calve by 25 September 2017. If breeding started on 1 October, cows will have had 11 weeks to go in calf. Cows calved in late September should have cycled twice by now and have had a good opportunity to go in calf. Take note of heat activity after breeding finishes.

Scanning can be completed 30 days after breeding stops and empty cows shouldn’t be allowed slip into spring. They should be finished or sold before turnout in spring. These animals drag down herd output and should be culled and replaced with heifers. Late-calving cows don’t have a role to play in any system.

Grazing Kale:

It has been near perfect weather for grazing kale crops over the past few weeks. Farmers are reporting excellent utilisation with good ground conditions. Take note of how fast you are proceeding through the crop. It needs to be finished being grazed by 17 March 2017 (before flowering) so increase the stocking rate if you won’t hit this target. Don’t forget to feed a fibre source (baled silage or straw) when grazing kale and make sure animals receive adequate minerals as kale is deficient in trace elements. Many will bolus animals before starting to graze kale.