Love on the farm: Birthdays, bulls and breeding prep for our Vet on the Moove
Good overall health is essential for ensuring the fertility of the bull, as any rise in temperature or use of certain medications such as steroids can affect their fertility.
Valentine’s Day is an extremely important day in our house, as it’s my wonderful Dad’s birthday. Every year, the house is decked in love heart balloons, and for a day Dad is made the centre of attention.
It is always a very busy time on the farm, but we make a huge effort to always celebrate (I better give him a quick 'Happy Birthday' while we're on the topic), and now post-Covid, it feels more important than ever to mark every occasion. I usually avoid restaurants as it’s a little awkward third-wheeling your parents on Valentine’s Day!
But it's not just a busy time for hospitality, life on the farm must go on, and the calves are coming steadily, and we are adjusting to the heightened pace of spring. We vaccinated the later calving cows with their scour vaccine to make sure they fell within the three to 12-week window pre-calving for optimal efficacy.
There is lots of love being shown to the calves, lots of colostrum measuring, bedding changes and making sure BVD sampling is up to date. We are just waiting for our annual Valentine's calf with a lovely heart-shaped blaze to appear - it is only a matter of time.
At the moment, they are enjoying some downtime. However, they must not be forgotten, as April will soon be upon us, and they will be very busy.
Keeping their body condition score around 3.5 will ensure that they will be flying fit for their “recoupling”, as fans of Love Island would say. Their feet are extremely important to keep right also, so make sure to footbath regularly and seek veterinary attention if required.
Good overall health is essential for ensuring the fertility of the bull, as any rise in temperature or use of certain medications such as steroids can affect their fertility.
If you are thinking of booster vaccinating the cows for the likes of leptospirosis and BVD this spring, don’t forget about the bulls, as they are also susceptible to these diseases. We gave a lice pour to all the animals on the farm last week and our bull “Scott” was not forgotten about. This will be repeated in six weeks again.
Lice can be very uncomfortable for cattle and can affect performance, such as growth rates. Make sure to treat all the animals on the same day and take note of the date for re-treatment.
One of my colleagues in Highfield, Peter Fagan is gearing up for the bull breeding soundness exam season. It’s really important to fertility test your stock bull annually, as things can change from year to year.
Studies show that one-third of the bulls which are fertility tested are classified as sub-fertile, highlighting the importance of regular testing.
The process takes roughly about 45 minutes on farm, and the results are known once the sample is examined back in the practice. Already this year, Peter has found fertility issues with bulls he has tested which just shows how important it is to speak to your vet about advice for overall bull health and fertility testing before you find out there has been a problem too late.
Making sure the cows are also ready for love this spring is all about remembering the basics, such as milk fever prevention which ensures good uterine health.
Last week, I took transition cow profile bloods on a farm to make sure transition cow management was going well overall, looking at ketones, calcium and magnesium levels.
These were precautionary bloods to make sure there was no subclinical milk fever or ketosis is occurring on the farm, which can all have an impact on fertility.
I know the breeding season is a distant thought at the moment, but ensuring good practices with animal health are put into place early this spring can make it all the more successful.
