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D A I R Y F E A T U R E
D
evon farmer Charles Sampson has not needed to worm his dairy
youngstock for the past two summers thanks to taking a proactive
and preventative approach to parasite control, and monitoring egg
counts through the grazing season, all with the help of his vet Stuart
Gough of Calweton Vet Practice.
Veterinary Surgeon
Stuart Gough
XLVets Practice
Calweton Veterinary
Group, Cornwall
At Hartshole Farm near Tavistock, Charles
Sampson and his wife Sarah run a 140-cow
pedigree Holstein Friesian herd, with average
yields of around 9000 litre/cow. They are
visited every two weeks by Calweton
Veterinary Practice's Stuart Gough to carry
out routine fertility checks. During these visits,
and in-between times by phone, aspects of
herd health are discussed on an informal and
ongoing basis. As part of the herd's disease
prevention strategy, animals are vaccinated
against leptospirosis, BVD, IBR and Bluetongue.
Charles is increasing the size of his herd
by breeding his own heifer replacements.
‘I simply don't want other people's cattle's
diseases,’ explains Charles. ‘I've had my
fingers burnt in the past - bringing in a
sweeper bull with Campylobacter.’
So, attention to calf growth and health in the
first 14 months is an important focus. Heifers
are calved down between 1 August and
mid-December. Calves are then fed pooled
colostrum before moving onto a milk powder
mix and concentrates. They are housed in
groups of five and weaned at 5-6 weeks
of age.
Charles has been working with his vet
Stuart Gough for many years, and they have
devised a finely tuned intervention plan: ‘If
there is any incident of scours or pneumonia,
or any illness, then tests are carried out.
We never just give antibiotics, because
there's always a reason for the problem.’
explains Charles.
Stuart adds: ‘There has been a rumbling
cryptosporidiosis problem at Hartshole Farm.
So Charles, and his staff, have to take extra
hygiene measures. Sheds are cleaned and
pressure washed in between calf groups, as
it's only physical cleaning that will get rid of
the cryptosporidiosis oocysts.’
Charles aims for calves to be 60% of their
adult bodyweight at serving, and around 14
months of age. ‘We don't bother weighing
them but use a 51” height at the withers as
our guide. Also, the group have to perform
as a group - we don't want heifers calving
when too big and old.
‘In fact, anything calving over 580kg as
a heifer tends not to perform as well after
the first lactation, as too much condition is
lost, and so they don't get back in calf. Then
they are stale for too long and we lose out
on performance.’
Parasite
Control
in youngstock avoids
the need to drench...
A P ROACT I V E A P P ROACH TO
5
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...