scour vaccine timing

[gcreekrch]

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a thread about mineral.

Yes you did!

It's your favourite subject. :wink:

Very true, and I think deep down we all must admit mineral does apply to the topic. :wink:

IMO, when dealing with scours all factors including immunization, environment, and nutrition must be considered. Neglect any one of these and you could potentially have serious trouble.

Our mineral program has been "a workin' progress" for a long time. I believe FH shed light on a lot of issues we were either ignoring or were not completely aware of during their visit here this fall. We will be in contact with her and her "people" once our feed analysis comes back for this year's crop.
I agree with your "all factors" statement John.

 

[Clarencen]

Just from my experience, I would say stick with vaccinating a few weeks before calving. If your calving season lasts more then 60 days, maybe a second shot is in order. for replacements that have not yet been vaccinated the first shot can be given in the fall.

I haven't vaccinated for scours the last couple of years since I have cut my herd down real small and mostly work alone, but if your prgram works don't change it. Here we had some terrible wrecks with scours.

I think 10 or 12 years ago some research was done and it was discoverd that certain trace minerals helped the imune system. Most minerals today include more of them, so don't skimp mineral.

It appears that the orginisims that cause scours may live in the soil for 2 or 3 years, so just one or two years of vaccinating may not altogether eliminate scours. I believe the germs are carried in the droplets of moisture. Closed sheds with high condensation is bad. Keep calving cows away from wet areas, melting snow drifts, and especially from areas where there is runoff from feedlots or corrals.

 

[jodywy]

I also vcalve in March usually on 30 pluse inches of snow,,, bugs don't seem to live on packed snow

 

[jillaroo]

Can someone tell me more about the Biomoss mineral blend?
Is is available in Canada? Price?
I completely agree about scours being a management issue. However, the ranch where I work calves cows out in a feedlot situation. While I don't fully agree with this, this is how they want it done.
On a side note, I have had very good luck treating scours with Excede.

 

[burnt]

Can someone tell me more about the Biomoss mineral blend?
Is is available in Canada? Price?
I completely agree about scours being a management issue. However, the ranch where I work calves cows out in a feedlot situation. While I don't fully agree with this, this is how they want it done.
On a side note, I have had very good luck treating scours with Excede.

It is available here in Ontario through our local Master Feeds dealer. I don't know the price at present, but when I checked it out it was considerably higher than the regular Beef Cow mineral the I use.

 

[Faster horses]

burnt, you will find it is higher, but it is very effective and you only
need to use it for a window of time. It isn't something you have to feed
all year long. If I recall correctly (and recalling correctly is getting harder for me to do :wink: )
you start feeding it a couple of weeks before calving
and feed it through calving. I don't sell it here because we have
pretty much eliminated scours around here, but it is very popular up
by Augusta, Mt. and in that area where it eliminated scours that were of epidemic propotions.
I can find out how long you feed it for sure, but it's not all that long.