Newsletter
December 2018
In this edition... • • • •
Dairy Talk - Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis VetTech Tails - Have you clipped your cattle? Beef Bulletin - Get that itch! Ewes News - Frustrating Fluke
www.lambertleonardmay.co.uk 1
Contents • • • • • • • •
News..............................................................................................4-5 Upcoming Events & Training Courses...........................................6 -7 Dairy Talk - Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis.....................8 Ewes News - Frustrating Fluke......................................................10 Beef Bulletin - Get that itch!...........................................................12 VetTech Tails - Have you clipped your cattle?................................13 Spot the difference.........................................................................14 Classifieds......................................................................................14
LLM Farm Vets Contacts Whitchurch...........01948 663000 Eccleshall.............01785 472211 Wrexham..............01978 280580 Pharmacy.............01948 302424 Accounts..............01948 663059 LLM Vet Team Bill May 07968 318493 Simon King 07973 271754 Tom Wright 07590 183804 Dan Stevenson 07894 586233 Den Leonard 07970 267494 Mike Christie 07775 561820 Mark Hickinson 07841 919223 Sarah Gibbs 07711 593783 Rob Hall 07889 408092 Claire Whittle 07841 775695 2
Tom Jackson 07837 291097 Amy Glanvill 07590 183803 Tom Downes 07703 189224 Hannah Batty 07841 919227
Lancashire Vets Ian Cure 07590 225284 Rob Howe 07590 225283 Matt Hylands 07584 684919 Alun Beckett 07850 326432 Roland Millar 07894 406225
Lancashire...........01772 866014 Clitheroe...............01200 545456 Bakewell...............01629 691692 Derbyshire Vets
UKET Team
Andrew Henderson 07841 675549
UKET Office 01948 663124
Katie Fitzgerald 07765 644909
Spike Newman 07921 374036
VetTech Team Natalie Parker 07841 775697 Emily Hallett 07845 817070 Rachel Cooper 07834 547832 Danielle Davies 07841 501655 Bertie Martin 07711 593780 Steph Cowgill 07505 443231 Joe Wheeler 07849 835379
Stan Matthews 07971 118909
TB Team Janka Zaleska 07894 586231 Alberto Alaman 07720 737872 Des Leonard 07811 342289 Cristina San-Agustin 07850 326433 Teodor Zus 07730 765543 Vinko Marjanovic 07849 835375 Simion Tiberiu Piticariu 07720 740881
Welcome to the December edition of your newsletter! With the change in the weather now undeniable, I’ve had to invest in a new hat. Despite a lot of stock remaining out longer than usual, this year has turned out to be a story of the haves and the have nots, at least where forage is concerned. Clearly making the most of what you’ve got is going to be particularly critical this year as well as minimising any losses and accurately complimenting what stocks you do have. Losses through concurrent disease can have a big effect on feed utilisation and this month we discuss both internal and external parasites as well as Johne’s Disease to help in this respect. We are always keen to get involved with our clients and their other advisors on nutritional issues and their impact on overall health and this year, more than ever, this will be of benefit.
have called Charlie off the bench over the past month and it’s been good to see that all his veterinary skills have not become too rusty. We hope that we will be able to share a drink with as many of you as possible over the coming weeks at our Christmas drinks. These are a highlight of this time of year for our team and it’s great to be able catch up with everyone, thank you all for your continued support and an opportunity for many of our support team to be unleashed from the office. Wishing you all the best over the festive period and New Year from everyone at LLM.
Some practice updates for anyone concerned they may miss Charlie; this month has provided some reassurance. If there has been anything to be moved, levelled, unloaded or generally supervised then Charlie has been about. There has even been some talk of him being considered for an apprenticeship role with our chief site and maintenance officers Des and Eddie - though I’m not sure the practice is quite ready for that combination. We
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News
YOU'RE INVITED TO OUR YOU'RE INVITED TO OUR
7:30pm start 7:30pm start
Monday 10th December Monday 10th December The Golden Lion, Rossett, LL12 0HN The Golden Lion, Rossett, LL12 0HN Wednesday 12th December Wednesday 12th December The Falcon, Hinstock, TF9 2TA The Falcon, Hinstock, TF9 2TA As I’m sure you’re all aware, Friday 16th November was Children in Need Day! We did our part by joining in the fun, raising money and taking part in the nationwide duck race!!! 20 rubber duckys took part in a race through treacherous rapids and sharp cliff drops! ‘James Pond’ came in 1st place, followed by ‘Lucky Ducky’ and ‘Fowl Play’. A massive congratulations to Michelle, Giulia and Emma who all chose ‘James Pond’ and each won a bottle of wine sponsored by LLM! We had a variety of delicious cakes on sale throughout the day, kindly made by Simon, Hazel, Jess, Emma and Clare, which bumped our total amount raised to £137.29!!! Thanks to everyone for taking part and raising money for such a great cause! The overall BBC Appeal raised a whopping £50.5 million!!!! Its now a farewell from me, and I wish all of our LLM clients a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Shan 4
Monday 17th December Monday 17th December TheRoyal Royal Oak, Eccleshall, ST21 6BW The Oak, Eccleshall, ST21 6BW Wednesday 19th December Wednesday 19th December TheBeer BeerEmporium, Emporium, Holmes Chapel, CW4 7AJ The Holmes Chapel, CW4 7AJ Friday 21st December Friday 21st December Bhurtpore, Aston, CW5 8DQ Bhurtpore, Aston, CW5 8DQ
Wednesday 12th December Wednesday 12th December Waddington Arms, Clitheroe Waddington Arms, Clitheroe Wednesday 19th December Wednesday 19th December Owd Nells, Guys Thatched Hamlet Owd Nells, Guys Thatched Hamlet
Thursday 13th December Thursday 13th December The Crispin Inn, Great Longstone The Crispin Inn, Great Longstone 5
Training Courses
Wrexham Meeting Series
Training Course
Date
Time
Location
Artificial Insemination
30th January - 1st February 2019
9:30am 3:00pm
LLM Whitchurch, SY13 4AQ
Join us for our Wrexham meeting series in the new year in conjunction with Farming Connect. We will aim to show you how to put things into action that will benefit you.
Practical Foot Trimming
6th and 7th January
10:00am 3:00pm
Reaseheath College, Cheshire
Fertility Focus - Action Planning
Whitchurch - please call 01948 663000 to book onto the above courses
Date: Tuesday 15th January Time: 7.30pm Address: The Golden Lion, Rossett, LL12 0HN
Upcoming Events
This meeting will focus on all things fertility based - do you have an action plan in place? We will take a look at how an action plan will benefit you, plus how to use one practically on farm.
BVD Meeting - Bakewell
Magnificent Udders Date: Wednesday 13th February Time: 7.30pm Address: The Golden Lion, Rossett, LL12 0HN With the change in antibiotic use, focus has increasingly turned to SDCT - a daunting area for some. We’ll discuss the relative benefits, the do’s (and don’ts!), plus discuss the outcomes of some trial work we’ve done on farm. We’ll also touch on how to minimise mastitis and cell count.
Youngstock - Battling the Bugs Date: Tuesday 19th March Time: 7.30pm Address: The Golden Lion, Rossett, LL12 0HN
If FREE BVD sampling and FREE veterinary time doesn’t tempt you – how about the chance to join the discussion at Thornbridge brewery where lunch, beer and a tour of the brewery will all be thrown in! If you want to come along, give us a call at the practice on 01629 691692 or drop us an email at derbys@llmvets.co.uk 6
The calf shed is a crucial area on farm. We will look at some more tips in this area including vaccination, routine procedures and group rearing (this includes rearing in pairs)
Please call the practice on 01948 663000 to book your place. 7
Clinical perception
Dairy Talk
Actual herd problem
Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis ...also known as the bacteria which causes Johne’s Disease. This small bacterium was first described in the late 19th century and initially it was believed cattle were the sole hosts but we now know MAP infects a range of other species including sheep and goats. Many of you will be familiar with the signs encountered in the later stages of this untreatable disease. These signs are usually seen in cattle around three to five years old but are not limited to cattle of this age. At this point, profound irreversible damage has occurred through a combination of the activity of MAP invading the lining of the intestine and the associated host’s immune response to this microbial invasion. As a result, the intestine becomes leaky and the animal loses large amounts of protein and water resulting in severe diarrhoea. As the diarrhoea becomes chronic, it is followed by dehydration, weakness and weight loss to the degree that euthanasia is the only option. Despite these severe clinical signs, infected animals do not tend to show the typical signs we associate with bacterial infection such as them going off their feed or having high temperatures, but owing to severe diarrhoeic fluid loss they can drink excessively. Symptoms To reach the point at which severe symptoms are apparent, the disease has progressed through a number of 8
stages over a typical period of two to four years. Based on the long lag period, the pattern of disease progression has been described as the ‘iceberg effect’. This refers to the undetected presence of an estimated twenty infected animals that are yet to display clinical signs for each clinical case observed. Infection occurs most commonly in calves and youngstock through ingestion of faeces containing MAP. Newborns are particularly susceptible to infection and just tiny amounts of faeces are capable of transmitting disease. This is of particular concern as newborns can easily ingest these levels of infective material during calving, from the environment, or probably most importantly through feeding contaminated colostrum. For this reason feeding of pooled colostrum should be avoided. Whilst faeco-oral contamination of the newborn is the predominant method of disease transmission, it has been reported that there is a small but nonetheless significant risk of transmission to the calf during pregnancy. We should be worried about the presence of Johne’s in our herds for a number of reasons, many of which are interlinked. Johne’s infection has a negative impact on a range of factors including milk production, feed conversion, cull value, somatic cell count and fertility, as well as more broad factors such as general health and longevity.
Rate of spread Considered alongside the silent nature of this disease, the potential rate of spread means uncontrolled Johne’s infection within a herd is a huge risk to it’s future viability. More recently, however, MAP has come into the spotlight from a public health point of view with a number of reports associating the organism with Crohn’s disease in humans. Not surprisingly food processors are therefore showing greater interest in the potential role MAP could play in Crohn’s! Estimations suggest two-thirds of UK herds are infected with MAP. This may well be an underestimation, however, and if your herd is lucky enough to have avoided infection to date, the message is simple – keep it out. Ensure strict biosecurity policies are in place and all bought-in animals (including bulls) are sourced from low risk herds and keep monitoring through routine testing. The National Johne’s Management Plan (NJMP) Strategies You will now have had a Johne’s review as part of your health plan and we will have gone through the six NJMP strategies with you.
Optimal Johne’s control strategies will be specific for each herd. However, in general terms both surveillance testing and improved farm management must be adopted together. A range of relatively cheap but effective diagnostic tools are available that can be used to monitor the infection in both individuals and across the herd as a whole. These can be carried out using a number of sample types including blood, faeces and milk. Furthermore, these can easily be applied to samples taken at routine milk recording and can be used to not only identify but to track disease progression in individuals infected with MAP, thus providing a greater understanding of the herd status. High-risk animals identified in these screens can then be closely managed to control further spread within the herd. The prevalence of this condition can be controlled and a number of resources are available with the national Action Group on Johne’s providing good general advice (www. actionjohnesuk.org).
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Table 2: Efficacy of flukicides available for use in sheep in the UK against susceptible fluke populations
Ewes News
Frustrating Fluke
Flukicide
We’re into the problem period for Fluke in sheep - late Autumn to Winter, and due to its financial implications including body condition deterioration and death, it’s a disease most sheep producers are tuned in to. However, it’s now commonly suspected that resistance is building against the most effective treatment. Alun gives us more...
Several factors need to be taken into consideration when selecting the correct treatment for fluke infestation. The time of year and thus the current stage of the flukes life cycle is vital to the choice. Different flukicides target different stages in the life cycle, and using different treatments over the year prevents repeat exposure to the same drug, and reduces the rate of resistance development (please see table 1).
Triclabendazole can kill liver fluke from just two weeks of age, making it the most popular choice for farmers. However, inappropriate use of this treatment is leading to the development of resistance in the fluke population in the UK. Triclabendazole has its place in the management of fluke in sheep, but must be used appropriately to preserve it for future use.
The most common indicator that resistance is developing is the apparent failure of the product to kill the immature fluke, resulting in re-infestation appearing sooner than anticipated. If no action was to be taken at this point then the resistance would continue to develop and ultimately adult fluke will develop resistance. In any situation where resistance is suspected a different flukicide should be used taking into account the spectrum of activity.
Table 1: Fluke life cycle and different treatments
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Disease type Time of the year Fluke present
Treatment
Acute
Mainly Immature
Use a Triclabendazole based product to treat all sheep and then move to a low risk (drier) pasture.
July to December
Sub Acute
October to January
Adults and Immature
Treat with a fasciolicide active against mature and immature fluke; re-treat after 6-8 weeks if movement to low risk grazing is not possible.
Chronic
January to April
Adults
All treatments are active against adult fluke, treat and move to low risk pasture.
Age of Fluke (weeks) 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Albendazole
5070%
Oxyclozanide Nitroxynil
50-90%
Closantel Triclabendazole
10 11 12 13 14
90-99%
80-99%
91-99%
99-99.9% Table adapted from SCOPS
There are several easy steps which can be taken to prevent the development of resistance to flukicides. The strategic use and rotation of nitroxynil, closantel and triclabendazole should be considered, although additional treatments may be needed in the years when triclabendazole isn’t used. As well as ensuring that all dosing equipment is calibrated correctly and that the correct dose for the sheep’s weight is being administered. The incorrect selection of an adulticide treatment during autumn when there is the highest burden of immature fluke will result in a large number of untreated fluke remaining in the liver. These will
then continue to progress through their life cycle, causing disease and giving the appearance of a failed treatment and the early stages of resistance developing. Another scenario in which it may appear that resistance is developing is, the continual grazing of heavily contaminated pastures, resulting in rapid reinfection despite the correct treatment. If you are concerned that resistance may be developing on your farm we can perform a fluke egg count reduction test to determine if this is the case. Faecal samples from 10 individual animals need to be collected on the day of treatment, and sent away for a fluke egg count. Three weeks post treatment faecal samples from the same 10 animals need collecting, in cases where there is no resistance you would expect to see a decrease of greater than 90% in the numbers of eggs seen. Please do not hesitate contacting a member of the team if you need any additional help. 11
tails
Beef Bulletin
Get that itch!
Now we are entering the depths of winter, most herds have brought their cattle in, and with this comes the risk of lice infestation, also known as ‘Pediculosis’. Lice populations exist in low numbers amongst healthy cattle but certain risk factors can allow the population to increase rapidly such as housing, cooler weather and poor health. Amy tells us more. Lice are ‘host-dependent’ meaning they cannot survive for long off their host and are spread by direct contact between cattle. Therefore, the tighter the stocking (i.e. at housing) the easier they can spread. Unsurprisingly, as winter continues the population increases more and more and so clinical signs are most commonly seen during late winter and early spring. Pediculosis is a disease of poor health; more prevalent in animals suffering from malnutrition or chronic disease. It is important to consider why your cattle are presenting with lice as well as looking at treatment. Clinical signs include: - Itching leading to self trauma (hair loss and redness) usually of the shoulders and neck - Loss of production due to reduced feed intake, irritation and restlessness - Anaemia (blood loss) can be seen in cattle infested with sucking lice 12
- You can see the lice eggs by parting the hair along the midline and looking for white specs which look like coarse powder. Your vet can take samples if necessary for further diagnosis.
Have you clipped your cattle?! Backing up what Amy discussed earlier, Rach Cooper gives us an insight into the benefits of clipping and how the VetTechs can help. We all know that British winters can be unusually warm and unpredictable making a lot of housed cattle uncomfortable. Here we discuss the benefits of clipping to improve comfort and reduce risk of disease.
Image source: NADIS
Control: •
Thick winter coats provide the perfect home for lice – this is another reason to clip your cattle at housing
•
Continual monitoring of cattle health including body condition
•
Any new animals should be quarantined and treated for lice
•
Treatment can be provided in the form of a pour-on medication
•
Cattle will usually recover from pediculosis on turn out when their winter coats are shed and stocking density reduces
Beef animals that will be housed in straw yards will be especially at risk, as these animals can become very sweaty due to their thick hair and muscle mass. Fortunately, a large proportion of UK farmers realise the benefits they gain from keeping their cattle cool- therefore clipping has become a common trend in the industry.
If an animal becomes too hot, they waste their energy by sweating and trying to cool themselves down. If their backs are clipped it helps them keep cool so energy that would have been wasted, will be utilised in other ways including increase in dry matter intake. It can also reduce the risk of pneumonia as a sweaty coat that cools will chill an animal. However, it’s not just back clipping that is beneficial at this time of year. Whilst clipping their backs, it may be worth tail clipping to help keep them clean. To help reduce the risk of mastitis and improve udder hygiene, it is advisable to clip milking cows tails too. Pre- housing for winter is a good time to prepare and ensure the welfare management of your stock is up to date. Clipping is an ideal opportunity, to carry out any other routine management tasks. If you would like to enquire about the Vet Tech services available or have any questions, please ask your vet or Vet Tech.
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Spot the Difference! Can you find the ten subtle changes in this festive stunner of Rob and Claire?
First one to get them all, gets a free pint at the Christmas drinks!!
Classifieds Weekend milker required. To work alternate weekends. Dairy herd near Middlewich. Milking approx 180 cows. 30 point Rotary parlour. Duties include milking feeding calves. Phone Andrew 07831 764985 or email Highergreenfarm@gmail.com 14
Kelpie x Hunterway x Collie puppies for sale. Please call Andrew Stevens for more information 07801545262
Have you ever been unable to sell a tank of milk due to it being too warm, high SCC or high water content? If you are ever in this predicament, this can be legitimately collected and paid for. Phone Rob on 07967 565264.
Two 4 year old grazing type bulls for sale. Please call Richard for more information 07973115908 15
Midlands Whitchurch Old Woodhouses, Broughall, Whitchurch, SY13 4AQ 01948 663000 Eccleshall Unit 19A Raleigh Hall Ind Est, Eccleshall, Staffordshire, ST21 6JL 01785 472211 North Wales Wrexham Unit 24, The Bridgeway Centre, Wrexham Ind Est, LL13 9QS 01978 280580 Lancashire Preston 136 Whittingham Lane, Broughton, Preston, PR3 5DD 01772 866014 Clitheroe Unit 2 Deanfield Court, Link 59 Business Park, Clitheroe, BB7 1QS 01200 545456 Derbyshire Bakewell Riverside Business Park, Buxton Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1GS 01629 691692
www.lambertleonardmay.co.uk info@llmvets.co.uk To unsubscribe from our newsletter, please email info@llmvets.co.uk