Vaccines

[Nicky]

What are you all using at branding?

 

[webfoot]

Ultrabac 8, Bova Sheild, and Nasalgen PHK. Sometimes Calvary 8 instead of the Ultrabac 8 if there are some bulls becoming steers involved.

 

[jodywy]

Nasalgen, oil based ALPHA C&D at tagging, 7-way and Pyramid 5 + Presponse at branding . The last 2 preconditioning

 

[Nicky]

Nasalgen, oil based ALPHA C&D at tagging, 7-way and Pyramid 5 + Presponse at branding . The last 2 preconditioning

Does the Pyramid seem hard on the calves? Some say yes, some say no. Of course that is true of all vaccines.

 

[jodywy]

Does the Pyramid seem hard on the calves? Some say yes, some say no. Of course that is true of all vaccines.

we used to use all the Phyfer now Zotis , but vet cline here get in the products, I haven't noticed any problem with the calves. We use their one that like preg Garud 10 can't remember the name on cows when we brand

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

We went to the Nasalgen and 7way with Somnus at branding and quit Pyramid 5+Presponse until weaning with the 7 way HS booster.
We do our cows at branding with a pre breeding modified live

 

[Nicky]

We went to the Nasalgen and 7way with Somnus at branding and quit Pyramid 5+Presponse until weaning with the 7 way HS booster.
We do our cows at branding with a pre breeding modified live

We always used somnus at branding, but the vet just told me that it doesn't do any good in small calves, he doesn't use it til preconditioning. For what that's worth...
Why did you switch? and which nasalgen do you use?

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

The one that leaves the Blue around the nostrils.
We figured we were vaccinating to young with the Pyramid 5 Presponse.
Had pretty good luck last fall although I was sick for two weeks at weaning.

 

[Nicky]

The one that leaves the Blue around the nostrils.
We figured we were vaccinating to young with the Pyramid 5 Presponse.
Had pretty good luck last fall although I was sick for two weeks at weaning.

Interesting. One vet here uses Pyramid, and we are friends with a rep for B.I. He said the adjuvant in it allows you to use in very young calves. Another vet said it is harder on the young calves. Hard to know what to do.

 

[jodywy]

Interesting. One vet here uses Pyramid, and we are friends with a rep for B.I. He said the adjuvant in it allows you to use in very young calves. Another vet said it is harder on the young calves. Hard to know what to do.

used cattle master before we moved, have used Pyramid ever since we moved here so 5 years and no problems. Know some don't Like Alpha C&D or their 7 way, but it worked for us now for many years. usually use vision 7 at branding and preconditioning.

 

[Texan]

We use Vision 8 Somnus and BoviShield Gold 5 at branding. At weaning they get another Vision 8 Somnus and a BoviShield Gold One Shot, along with a pinkeye shot of some kind going into winter or spring. Cows are on BoviShield Gold VL5, but if they weren't on an MLV, I'd use a ViraShield instead.

I always keep some Virashield 6 for the oddball one or two head of leftover calves at branding that aren't worth mixing up a ten dose vial of BoviShield, and frequently I'll use the Virashield 6 on the occasional babies that happen to get caught up in the branding.

I use the Vision on calves as young as a few days old and never have noticed any additional stress problem. Is it a perfect immune response? Certainly not, but I just try to get something in them, hoping that along with maternal antibodies from cows that have had the same vaccine it stimulates enough response for the weaning shot to be an effective booster.

I also use it on highly-stressed sale barn calves that usually get their first dose after one day of rest, then I try not to touch them again for at least 30 days. Again, is that perfect or recommended practice? No, but we don't have any issues that have made me quit.

Everything involves a trade-off, and we can't always do things at the perfect time for every individual. Even if a calf is the 'perfect' age and mom at the stage of lactation to be set up for a 'perfect' immune response, if he's a little off on branding day - a little virus, feeling bad, etc. - he's not getting the 'perfect' response. Just do the best we can for the average, and recognize that some will fall below that.

I like to get vaccine in cattle so they can start getting over it and developing an immune response. If we were able to do everything required to please our vets, please the drug companies, and conform to all the practices recommended in the slick magazines, we'd never get caught up and never have any money left over for ourselves.

Every year I read about some new disease or condition and coincidentally, Zoetis or Merck or Boehringer already has a new vaccine for it. I'm sold on the virals and clostridials and a pinkeye shot of some kind at weaning, but at some point we just have to say no.

 

[Faster horses]

Being on a good year-round mineral program helps with herd heath, helps the vaccines to work better, too. I sat in on a veterinarian forum where one of the drug companies was the guest speaker. He spent 45 minutes talking about immune response and how a good mineral program helps the immune system AND helps the vaccines to work the best.

We quit giving anything but Blackleg shots at branding, I think we used Vision 7 for that. Veterinarian said the calves are too young for the other vaccines to provide immunity. So we quit everything but the Blackleg shot and we never noticed one bit of difference. The mineral helped us to have a heathy herd. Very seldom did we have to give anything an antibiotic. Some years we never gave one antibiotic shot. We went through hell with sickness in our calves, 8 years of it. Long story, short, adding a year-round mineral program was the solution.
I'm not saying for those reading this to not vaccinate your calves at branding, but we found we did not need to. Of course, we did give preconditioning shots in the fall.

 

[jodywy]

Being on a good year-round mineral program helps with herd heath, helps the vaccines to work better, too. I sat in on a veterinarian forum where one of the drug companies was the guest speaker. He spent 45 minutes talking about immune response and how a good mineral program helps the immune system AND helps the vaccines to work the best.

We quit giving anything but Blackleg shots at branding, I think we used Vision 7 for that. Veterinarian said the calves are too young for the other vaccines to provide immunity. So we quit everything but the Blackleg shot and we never noticed one bit of difference. The mineral helped us to have a heathy herd. Very seldom did we have to give anything an antibiotic. Some years we never gave one antibiotic shot. We went through hell with sickness in our calves, 8 years of it. Long story, short, adding a year-round mineral program was the solution.
I'm not saying for those reading this to not vaccinate your calves at branding, but we found we did not need to. Of course, we did give preconditioning shots in the fall.

well we get calves before branding with purple gut, -over eating-endotoxcimia. the oil-based C&D shots have sure cut that problem out. We give lambs a C&D, tetanus shot. when we dock them at 3 days and then they all get a round about 30 days.

 

[Peach]

Have any of you found a branding vaccine that works against summer (heat induced) sickness? Did you doctor calves for pneumonia after only giving a 7-way?

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

Have any of you found a branding vaccine that works against summer (heat induced) sickness? Did you doctor calves for pneumonia after only giving a 7-way?

I hope the Nasalgen would help with. That was also what we thought we were using the Pyramd5 with Presponse helped but were told our calves were to young when we did most of them.

 

[Big Muddy rancher]

P

Have any of you found a branding vaccine that works against summer (heat induced) sickness? Did you doctor calves for pneumonia after only giving a 7-way?

Peach your user handle is a name that has a history on here.
Is that you?

 

[Peach]

I hope the Nasalgen would help with. That was also what we thought we were using the Pyramd5 with Presponse helped but were told our calves were to young when we did most of them.

We've been trying to wait until they are 6 weeks old, use Nasalgen and have mineral in front of them. 🤷‍♀️
Still a lot of droopy ears and doctoring in July. FH what is your mineral program. I suppose the soil, grass and location conditions make a huge difference.

 

[Peach]

P

Peach your user handle is a name that has a history on here.
Is that you?

Yes, I am sitting in the house, while it's a blizzard outside, trying to remember this winter WILL END.

 

[Faster horses]

well we get calves before branding with purple gut, -over eating-endotoxcimia. the oil-based C&D shots have sure cut that problem out. We give lambs a C&D, tetanus shot. when we dock them at 3 days and then they all get a round about 30 days.

C&D is included in Vision 7. We used to have a problem with it so I'm very familiar with it. That was before we got on a year round mineral program. We used to have too much navel ill pneumonia, scours, you name it. We actually moved across the state because our calves got sick for 8 years. They got the same symptoms at the new ranch and we were ready to quit. Then we found out it was caused from copper deficiency. (copper deficiency lowers the immune system). This was in 1994. We took care of that and we didn't have any more health problems. We sold our calves on Superior Video one year. A storm hit the feedlot where they were in Kansas and things were a mess there. The manager called to talk to us because our calves were the only ones they didn't to doctor. That manager came to Montana to talk to us and he bought all the heifer calves we had for sale.

 

[Faster horses]

We've been trying to wait until they are 6 weeks old, use Nasalgen and have mineral in front of them. 🤷‍♀️
Still a lot of droopy ears and doctoring in July. FH what is your mineral program. I suppose the soil, grass and location conditions make a huge difference.

Hi Peach! I'll send you a private message so check your mailbox. Probably tomorrow morning.
I hear you about winter. We have snowdrifts on top of snowdrifts here. They have turned hard from trying to melt, then getting cold again and more snow. We have drifts 7 ft tall in many places. It's really taking a toll on the wildlife, let alone livestock. 10 miles south, going to Buffalo, they don't have near the snow we do. I'm glad for them.
This winter has been hard on bulls. I've heard some producers have lost 80% of their bulls.
We will all be glad when it's over, but here, there will be massive flooding.