Alongside Seán’s sporting career, he operates a successful dairy calf-to-beef finishing system and a spring-calving herd of suckler cows on his farm in Carlow.

For him, ensuring his cattle are free of parasites is critical to herd performance and he credits pour-on solutions Doramex and Moxodex for their role in maintaining a healthy and productive herd.

In addition to damaging the respiratory system, lungworm infections weaken immunity, increase susceptibility to other diseases and ultimately reduce appetite and growth rates in cattle.

Seán understands that an effective animal health plan at housing is key to preventing these issues and ensuring optimal performance.

Each year, Seán purchases 30 dairy calves from local dairy farmers and doses them with Doramex four to five weeks before housing. This treatment covers biting and sucking lice, clears out worms, including resistant strains, and allows the lungs to heal from any potential damage caused by lungworms.

“Since I started using a pre-housing dose in autumn, I’ve noticed the cattle have a much better appetite and gain weight more consistently,” Seán explains. “There’s also less chance of pneumonia, which can really set animals back.”

Seán’s vet Arthur Donald adds: “Administering a pneumonia booster vaccine at the same time as the pre-housing dose provides an extra layer of protection. Given five weeks before housing, there’s no need for another worm dose.”

Seán finishes around 40 heifers each year from mid-October onwards. Since he's under pressure to finish these animals within 18 months, preventing setbacks such as lung or stomach worms is crucial to maintaining their daily liveweight gain target of 1kg.

For this group, Moxodex pour-on is the clear choice. With a short withdrawal period of just 14 days, it's a highly effective and convenient way to control parasites.

The dose provides persistent protection against lung and stomach worms, keeping animals safeguarded for six weeks and eliminating the need for re-worming or faecal egg count testing (which checks for parasite eggs in manure) for eight to 10 weeks.

In Seán’s suckler enterprise, his goal is to improve herd genetics by producing high-quality calves. His herd consists of Belgian Blue, Limousin and Shorthorn cows - and he’s been using artificial insemination, including sexed semen, in recent years to maximise his breeding potential.

“Whether it’s sport or farming, you’ve got to be adaptable,” the rugby star reflects. “This year, we had to bring in the suckler cows and calves early due to poor grass quality and bad weather. As a result, I couldn’t give a pre-housing dose.”

However, Seán finds that Doramex pour-on is equally effective when used at housing.

"Doramex clears resistant worms and provides five to seven weeks of cover for sucking and biting lice. Over the years, I’ve focused heavily on my animal health plan and using Doramex and Moxodex pour-on has led to prolonged parasite cover, reduced resistance and an overall healthier herd."

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