Abortion vaccination

The time frame for administering vaccinations for the two main common abortion causing agents, toxoplasmosis and enzootic or chlamydial abortion, is reducing fast. The vaccinations need to be ordered in many cases by your vet so you need to move quickly if planning to use them. Toxovax, the vaccine for toxoplasmosis, needs to be administered at least three weeks before the start of breeding while Enzovax, the vaccine for enzootic abortion, must be administered at least four weeks pre-breeding. Both can be given at the same time. The vaccines should be administered on the back of an accurate diagnosis this spring or as part of a flock health plan developed in consultation with your vet.

Dipping options

Farmers purchasing product for sheep dipping have one less product to temporarily choose from with the non-organophosphate dip Cyperguard unavailable until 2019.

Farmers are left with a number of organophosphate-based dips to choose from and should take note to adhere to manufacturer’s guidelines and safety concerns when dipping.

Plunge dipping remains the complete treatment for all external parasites, that is provided sheep spend the recommended time of 60 seconds in the dipping tub and are immersed at least once.

If progressing down an alternative treatment route for external parasites, remember there is no other option that will provide complete protection.

Therefore, it is important to identify the route of the problem or target treatment before potentially undertaking unnecessary labour or expense.

Ration formulation

The rising cost of concentrate ingredients and tight supply of rolled barley has witnessed many feed merchants tweaking the makeup of rations in order to remain competitive in the market.

Some farmers at the Ploughing voiced concerns about some mixes containing a higher proportion of lower feed value or poorer-quality ingredients. While many merchants are slow to divulge the exact breakdown of the feed, they should still provide an overall energy and protein content along with an inclusion list of ingredients in descending order, if requested.

This should allow you to make an informed decision on whether or not the feed formulation is good value for money, as opposed to making decisions based solely on price, which can be a false economy.

A high energy feed should have an energy rating in excess of 12.5 MJ ME/kg.

Tag orders: There is a week left for farmers who wish to order conventional or slaughter tags with the option of purchasing these tags ceasing at the end of next week.

From 1 October 2018, tag suppliers will only be able to supply farmers with electronic tag sets, a single electronic tag for animals going direct from the farm of origin to slaughter, or a conventional tag to replace lost tags from an EID tag set.

It is worth carefully assessing the number of tags on hand and the number of conventional or slaughter tags that are likely to be required between now and 1 June 2019 as after this date any unused stocks of tags cannot be applied.