Are you stuck on where to start with managing your calves before and during the weaning process? What drench should I be using? What is the most cost-effective and practical way to provide trace elements? Who should I talk to about all of this? To answer all of these questions and more, read on…..
Parasitism
Being young and naïve, calves are the most susceptible animals on farm to parasitism. Worms can decrease growth rates, cause diarrhoea, anemia and ill-thrift. With this in mind, you should look at drenching before leaving them to battle on their own over summer.
To break it down, we recommend using the oral Turbo Initial as the first drench, because it contains a coccidiostat- diclazuril- and will therefore be effective in the prevention of coccidiosis, a disease which calves are particularly susceptible too (as many of you know all too well). Our fabulous retail team has crunched the numbers, and works out cheaper than drenching and dosing separately with a coccidiostat (such as Baycox). Following on from this initial drench, you can use a dual active drench such as Corporal, every 28 days over the period where worms are more likely to be around (summer). Corporal is a great option as it contains two anthelmintics and is available as an oral drench. An alternative would be the slightly more expensive Turbo Triple Minidose, which is a triple active that also contains several trace elements to optimize calf growth. Pop into the clinic and we are more than happy to assist you with your decision making around drenches.
If oral drenches aren’t your style, we also have several injectable or pour on options, which are always a good choice to ensure that the calves are protected. A good injectable option is Dectomax V, which is a double active and can be used in calves as young as three months. As for pour ons, we stock Turbo Pour On, which is a great option for younger animals.
We are also happy to run faecal egg counts for you if you are concerned about worm burdens in your young stock.
Trace elements
There are a multitude of trace elements that can have a bearing on growth rates in your calves. The most relevant include copper, selenium and cobalt/B12. Being deficient in any of these may limit growth rates and predispose your calves to secondary diseases. We are more than happy to assist you with TE monitoring if you are concerned about deficiency in your calves. If you are looking for an effective supplement, we suggest Multimin. At around $2 per 100kg calf, Multimin is proven to increase growth rates and provide immune support. We also stock All Trace boluses, which contain a variety of minerals and vitamins, and can cover calves for up to eight months (over 150kgs).
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