Winter accommodation is now full with the bulling heifers returning home last Thursday. This week saw the stock bulls mixed for the winter and the beginning of the winter vaccination program. All breeding stock will get a BVD booster this week and I await results of blood samples to make further decisions on vaccines. They will also be treated for fluke, worms and lice.

Last December while putting together a herd health plan with our vet the possibility of rumen fluke being present came up. I’d never seen any incidence of it through the years so it didn’t feature in the plan. Two months later and a loss of thrive in some young cows and calving difficulties with heifers resulted in dung samples being sent to the lab. The problems seemed to be confined to the stock that had spent the summer on ground that had been flooded in June. So samples from those animals and a control in the form of cows from the home block were analyzed. The heifers had high rumen fluke infestation while the cows had none. A dosing program of Zanil got the situation under control.

The floods of June 2012 seem to have a lingering effect on the out farm and a totally different health regime is required for stock that will be grazed on it. Despite taking dung samples and getting a dose of zanil this issue seems to have continued during the summer with stock on this land. Heifers have performed poorer than expected and only 12 out of 17 went in calf. Empties are currently reaching the final stages of their finishing period. The purchase of a weighing scales proved useful in showing the improved performance of the first calvers following their treatment. The first calvers at home averaged 127kg heavier than those in the fluke area when weighed in September and following treatment they had an ADG of 1.41kg/day 63 days after dosing.

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Bloods were taken from three heifers that were on the out farm and again a control of three cows were taken. Three samples each were taken, to test for mineral levels, liver function and the presence of IBR,schmallenberg and lepto. When results are back next week we will create a new health plan to counter our new challenges of rumen fluke, rotavirus and whatever shows up from blood results. I’d much rather sit down and plan ahead preventative measures with a vet than have him call out on fire brigade duty when things go wrong at calving time. The 2013 health plan worked for what I set out to control but I discovered nature doesn’t like a vacuum and that was certainly proven here this year.