We visited some farms in the last number of years to examine calves that were near weaning or weaned but were scouring and losing weight. These calves were suffering from ‘’Summer Scour syndrome’’ or ‘’calf to grass syndrome’’. These calves had to be taken off grass and put back on milk and a fibre source.
Scour is one of the main contributors to calf mortality in Ireland. It results from a badly damaged gut, leading to a loss of function of the intestines, which leads to watery faeces. Damage to the intestines results in nutrients not being absorbed properly. There are a number of infectious agents that cause scour: Parasites:
As of the 1st of June 2022, worming products and other anti-parasitic drugs will no longer be readily available for farmers to purchase over the counter without a prescription. Why are these implications coming in? These measures have been introduced as a result of the overuse of worming products throughout the year. Antiparasitic resistance is
Canine cough is a highly infectious and transmissible upper respiratory infection of dogs. It was previously known as kennel cough with the misconception that it can only be caught by dogs boarding in kennels. However, canine cough can affect any dogs mixing with others i.e. in the local park, at the groomers, puppy classes etc.
Looking after the dental health of your pet is very important. By the young age of three most dogs and cats have some degree of dental disease. Unfortunately, this is not noticed by many pet owners until later in their lives as pets tend to hide signs of discomfort a little bit better than we
If you are going to start AI on May 1 then April is the month for preparation. In simple terms Pregnancy rate is Submission rate x Conception rate. In Irish terms submission rate is the amount of cows that are available for service (calved >42 days) that have been bulled in the first 3weeks of
Most definitely! If your dog or cat gets injured or sick, pet insurance will protect you from unexpected bills that you had not budgeted for. It can make diagnostic and treatment decisions easier for you and your veterinary surgeon, and it will ensure the best possible outcome for your pet. In general, most policies will
Successful transition from the dry period into lactation is one of the most important moments in a dairy cow’s lactation. It will have a direct impact on milk production, cow health and reproductive performance during the subsequent lactation. Therefore, it is important to get mineral nutrition correct in the dry period. Dry cows should
