Sheep

Relevant Links

National Animal Disease Information Service

Sustainable Control of Parasites in sheep (SCOPS) and worming strategies designed to delay the onset of wormer resistance.

Intervet created the ResPig® Farm Audit and Economic Simulator tools as an aid for veterinarians to analyze PRDC related farm problems and make decisions on the control of swine respiratory disease. In addition to the online tools, this web site also contains information on PRDC and Intervet pig vaccines.

FarmSpeak Archive

Date	Description
30 Jun 2008	Cephaguard LC will soon be called Cobactan MC As a result of the recent amalgamation of Intervet and Schering-Plough to form Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, the new company has announced that Cephaguard LC will change its name to Cobactan ...
30 Jun 2008	Focusing on fertility can improve milk yields and reduce costs Dairy farmers pushing for increased milk yields should pay close attention to fertility levels and calving intervals. Increased herd sizes and a shortage of farm labour are resulting in a decline in ...
30 Jun 2008	Millions of lambs lost every year... A report in a veterinary trade journal earlier this year estimated that the UK sheep flock is losing around one in six of its lamb crop in the period leading up to, and immediately after birth. This ...
30 Jun 2008	Phew what a scorcher! A summer heat wave may still be just around the corner, but heat stress has become a year round problem for high yielding dairy cows housed full-time. Stocking density, poor ventilation and new buildings ...
30 May 2008	Bovilis® Huskvac - Last batch announcement for 2008 season Lungworm, or husk, is something to be mindful of as cattle go out to pasture, but don't overlook your adult animals and only check first season grazers. Recent seasons show that around three quarters ...
30 May 2008	Jump start recovery from disease We all know when we feel under the weather with a cold or fever, taking anti-inflammatories such as paracetamol or aspirin can soon make us feel better. The same applies with livestock. Anti-inflammatory ...
30 May 2008	Plan lamb vaccination timings now The makers of the bluetongue vaccine Bovilis® BTV8, Intervet, is urging sheep farmers to plan routine sheep and lamb vaccination programmes as to ensure lambs receive their bluetongue vaccine as soon ...
30 May 2008	Pregnancy rates increased by up to 30% - read on for more... Statistics show that 25% of dairy cow pregnancies result in early embryonic death (embryo dying within the first three weeks), and 7% result in what is termed 'foetal loss' - an unsuccessful pregnancy ...
30 Apr 2008	Break free from the pain of footrot Footrot is the most common cause of lameness amongst sheep and is one of the most important health and welfare issues facing British sheep farmers. The disease, which can result in reduced mobility, ...
30 Apr 2008	Check your Flocks Finding out the cause of this year's lambing losses and taking action now will help to reduce losses next year. Intervet's annual subsidised blood testing service FlockCheck was recently launched for ...
30 Apr 2008	Early use pays later dividends The early bird may get the worm, but the early farmer gets a smaller fly population and less hassle at milking. It only takes a few days of summer sunshine for the fly population to explode: at 24oC ...
30 Apr 2008	Plan now for effective bluetongue vaccination strategies Bluetongue disease is the hot topic amongst all livestock producers, as we head towards warmer days. EU and Defra guidelines stipulate that only livestock in a designated Protection Zone (PZ) can be ...
31 Mar 2008	An itchy problem... Scratching an itch may take just a few seconds, but when it's a continual irritation, time spent rubbing irritated skin can soon add up to a lot of time away from the feed fence. The upshot is less time ...
31 Mar 2008	Are you simply the best? If you believe you could be the most promisiing dairy farmer for the future, why not consider entering a Farmers Guardian/Dairy Farmer competition, which could see you winning a top prize of £1,500 and ...
31 Mar 2008	Perennial problem Orf is a common viral condition that causes significant welfare and economic problems in UK sheep flocks. Orf can affect sheep of all ages, sexes and breeds. Animals can also carry the disease without ...
31 Mar 2008	Sustaining profitable production in the modern dairy cow There's plenty of incentive for modern dairy cows to produce increasingly high yields, particularly with milk prices currently looking more favourable than they have for many years. But what does this ...
29 Feb 2008	Protecting heifers before turnout Now's the time to make sure your high value dairy heifers are fully protected against bovine leptospirosis. Turnout often heralds the mixing of cattle for the first time and the disease spreads easily ...
29 Feb 2008	Salmonella-caused scours need not be a problem Scours are one of the main health problems for young calves, and statistics show that salmonella remains a significant cause of this nasty condition. Some producers overlook the fact that vaccinating ...
29 Feb 2008	Test upgrade offers chance to identify Persistently Infected animals Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is a notoriously difficult disease to control. While eradication is regularly discussed in the media, this is not a viable route for most UK producers due to cattle population ...
29 Feb 2008	Use the pre-midge season wisely to minimise the bluetongue threat The threat of Bluetongue and all that goes with that - from movement restrictions to vaccination strategy and from contingency plans for dealing with sick animals to how midges spread the virus - is at ...
31 Jan 2008	Getting to grips with flock performance Do you really know how your flock is performing? Does productivity (lambing percentage. growth rate, barrenness, abortions, etc) fluctuate between years? Do you think that there is room for improving ...
31 Jan 2008	Milk testing scheme shows main mastitis bacteria Herds struggling with persistent high cell counts and repeat cases of mastitis should test milk samples to see which pathogen is the cause. Bacteria such as Strep. uberis is a notoriously hard-to-shift ...
31 Jan 2008	Preparing for turnout With turnout in some parts of the country looking promising for this month, it is worth taking a few moments to consider the options for protecting cattle against lungworm. Where there is a known problem ...
31 Jan 2008	Small parasite, big problem The costs of a scour problem can add up significantly and aren't just associated with the sick calf. The effect of gut damage on the calf often results in a reduced growth rate also. To read full newsletter, ...
23 Dec 2007	Intervene now to stem lamb losses Scanning results which shows more single lambs or barren ewes than expected are worrying because no-one can afford to have a low lambing percentage or bear the cost of carrying barren ewes in the flock.To ...
23 Dec 2007	Plan pneumonia booster timings ahead of stress periods Now is the time to discuss with the practice when to give vaccinated calves their booster dose of Bovilis® Bovipast RSP. This pneumonia vaccine uniquely protects against both viral and bacterial causes ...
23 Dec 2007	Protect lambs with Heptavac-P Plus booster for ewes Giving ewes their pasteurella and clostridial booster of Heptavac-P® Plus 4-6 weeks before lambing not only continues their protection against these killer bacteria, but also ensures that lambs are protected ...
23 Dec 2007	Rain, rain go away, the lungworm larvae came out to play Britain's wettest summer on record has also been a bumper year for the lungworm parasite, Dictyocaulus viviparus. Latest NADIS data shows a significant increase in outbreaks reported for October - 25% ...
30 Nov 2007	BVD - don't overlook heifers BVD is a disease classified as 'endemic' in the UK dairy herd, with experts estimating that in excess of 90% of cattle have been exposed to the virus. The losses are signifiant, although they can be ...
30 Nov 2007	Calf scour worries as winter progresses Laboratory statistics now show that Cryptosporidium parvum is the number one diagnosed cause of calf scours (VIDA data, 2006) and, given that it is a zoonotic disease (which means it can be passed to ...
30 Nov 2007	Don't work in the dark - get a diagnosis The definition of an endemic disease is one that affects a significant proportion of the population, frequently subclinically, causing hard-to-measure losses that can go unnoticed in herds or flocks. ...
30 Nov 2007	E.coli mastitis a threat as cows are housed for winter Although NADIS (national veterinary surveillance service) reports fewer cases of toxic mastitis at the moment compared with previous years, the risk period for E.coli mastitis is here. Between October ...
31 Oct 2007	IBR - The hidden threat Tempting though it is to cut back on head IBR vaccinations and save cash, it can turn out to be false economy. Once infected with IBR, animals are carriers for life and it only takes a stressful situation ...
31 Oct 2007	National survey reveals widespread nature of BVD virus Infertility, abortion, respiratory disease and diarrhoea have led 243 herds to send bulk milk samples for BVD testing under Intervet's subsidised DairyCheck programme. Some 73% of the herds showed current ...
31 Oct 2007	Plan now for healthier lambs in the spring Your annual pre-lambing pasteurella and clostridial disease booster might provide you with more benefits than you imagine. In addition to the ongoing protection it gives to pregnant ewes against a broad ...
31 Oct 2007	Salmonella threat in young calves Calf scours is a numbers game - about 89% of dairy units had incidents last year and on 63% the conditon was fatal. Worryingly, in 80% of those events the farmers didn't seek veterinary advice - a decision ...
30 Sep 2007	Help control midges that spread bluetongue with Butox® SWISH With the first case of bluetongue now confirmed in the UK, it is important to choose a fly control product that is effective against the virus-carrying midges. Intervet's large animal veterinary manager, ...
30 Sep 2007	New milking cow mastitis tube launched September saw the launch of Intervet's Mastiplan® LC, a brand new lactating cow mastitis tube with a unique antibiotic component combined with an anti-inflammatory agent, from Intervet, a company already experts ...
30 Sep 2007	Reduce the threat of pneumonia Pneumonia is a disease that vets usually refer to as 'multi-factorial'. This simply means that there is no one factor behind it - sometimes it is related to mixing of animals, other times poor housing ...
30 Sep 2007	Stamp on Strep. uberis mastitis problems Strep. uberis is fast becoming the problem bug on the dairy farm. Recent results from Intervet's Cephaguard® diagnostic scheme - a subsidised milk testing programme examining samples from farms all over ...
31 Aug 2007	Ask the Experts Farmers are being invited to attend an ‘Ask the Experts’ panel at the Dairy Event on 19th and 20th September at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry by Cephaguard® DC manufacturers, Intervet, Farmers Weekly ...
31 Aug 2007	IBR incidence levels – a concern for all Once infected with IBR, animals are carriers for life – and recent research has shown that the extent of the damage is far reaching.To read full newsletter, click the download below
31 Aug 2007	Plan now for spring calving success First lactation heifers and high yielding cows can be given a bit of help to get back in calf this autumn by using GnRH. It’s effective when used at insemination, particularly on farms where conception ...
31 Aug 2007	Vaccinate in-calf animals for added protection Respiratory disease is widely recognised as a problem in calves and younger animals but an increasing number of vet practices throughout the country are reporting cases in adult animals around calving. ...
31 Jul 2007	BVD could be costing you as much as mastitis People are a major source of spreading BVD among dairy herds and the average economic losses associated with infection are often the same as for mastitis. To read full newsletter, click the download ...
31 Jul 2007	Could we be heading for a fly explosion? With the past two months seeing unseasonably high rainfall across the whole of the country and below average temperatures, farmers have seen a generally lower fly challenge relative to previous years. ...
31 Jul 2007	Protect your whole flock against pasteurella and clostridial diseases this autumn with Heptavac-P Plus® The importance of vaccinating your replacements at this time of year for protection against pasteurella and clostridial diseases cannot be over emphasised. All new replacement ewe lambs introduced into ...
31 Jul 2007	Summer cell count anomaly Rising summer cell counts are usually linked to cows camping out under trees to escape the heat, but this year it’s more likely that cows are trying to shelter from heavy downpours!To read full newsletter, ...
29 Jun 2007	Farmer survey shows magnitude of lamb loss in UK flocks Intervet has just released its Toxowise results showing that farmers across the UK are losing up to nine per cent of their lambs as a result of diseases picked up before and during pregnancy. This represents ...
29 Jun 2007	Plan now to protect calves and youngstock A paper published earlier this year reported that Mannheimia haemolytica (formerly known as Pasteurella) was found in 90% of lung samples taken from calves suffering from pneumonia. But what does this ...
29 Jun 2007	Sheep disease management post-lambing With lambing all but over and the new crop of lambs growing steadily, providing your flock with continued protection against diseases should still be a priority.To read full newsletter, click the download ...
29 Jun 2007	Why do we manage dry cows as we do, as we always have, and will that remain the same in the future? If research and farm experience indicates a potential performance and economic benefit of shorter dry periods, would you ignore that? An increasing number of farmers are taking an interest in shorter ...
31 May 2007	Help control midges that spread bluetongue with Butox SWISH With the threat of bluetongue reaching the UK this summer, choosing the correct fly control product could be a critical decision. Intervet’s large animal veterinary manager, Alasdair King, says that ...
31 May 2007	The At-Risk approach - a way for farmers and vets to work together Recently reported statistics show that cows ‘not in calf’ or ‘repeat breeders’ now account for a quarter of all culled cows. Managing cows in order to get them back in calf seems a constant challenge. ...
31 May 2007	The simple life? Dry cow management is a notoriously under-researched subject area. The majority of farms manage their dry cows the same now as they did 10 or even 20 years ago. Admittedly, advances have been made in ...
31 May 2007	Understanding toxoplasmosis There are two main causes of abortion in ewes – toxoplasmosis and enzootic abortion (EAE). Annual surveys (FlockCheck and EweCheck) carried out by Intervet have been used to calculate the number of ewes ...
30 Apr 2007	Choose the right product for fly control this season With the unseasonably warm weather experienced earlier this month, some farmers may have already seen populations of biting and nuisance flies in herds of dairy and beef cattle they’d normally associate ...
30 Apr 2007	Don't overlook health management of replacements IBR (Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis) is commonly regarded as an endemic disease in the UK cattle population, although incidence levels and outbreaks are affected by geography and herd management. ...
30 Apr 2007	Intervet launches toxoplasmosis awareness campaign Findings from Intervet’s annual FlockCheck surveys have prompted the company to launch Toxowise - a national toxoplasmosis awareness campaign. Toxowise starts in May and aims to highlight to the prevalence ...
30 Apr 2007	Mastitis in the dry period Dry cow management is notoriously under-researched and, frequently a neglected part of herd management. For example, what happens in the dry period to make the cow so susceptible to mastitis at this ...
30 Mar 2007	Cryptoquick test for calf scours One of the more poorly understood causes of calf scours is Cryptosporidium parvum. The parasite that causes this disease thrives in damp bedding and in calf houses that are not cleaned regularly with ...
30 Mar 2007	Information is power Knowing which diseases are likely to be a problem in your sheep before they occur will put you one step closer to ensuring you don't encounter any unwanted and avoidable losses - particularly at this ...
30 Mar 2007	New approach to dry cow management A revision to the datasheet for Cephaguard® DC, which was launched in March 2005, has been announced by manufacturers Intervet which could lead to increased flexibility and choice when it comes to planning ...
30 Mar 2007	Order vaccine now for coming season Bovilis® Huskvac orders should be placed now to guarantee sufficient time between dosing and turnout, when cattle can be exposed to lungworm larvae. This year's mild winter could mean higher the average ...
28 Feb 2007	Colostrum quality – a simple guide Colostrum management and intake is a key part of producing a successful and healthy calf. Too many calves still fail to drink enough, so making them vulnerable to disease and infection, particularly ...
28 Feb 2007	Get your lambs off to a flying start Ranked as one of the most important activities at lambing time is providing your new crop of lambs with adequate disease protection as soon as they are born. Getting colostrum into them immediately, ...
28 Feb 2007	Prepare now to avoid husk this season As we approach spring following one of the mildest winters on record, it is important to remember the threat posed by lungworm which thrives in above average temperatures and wet conditions.Historically, ...
28 Feb 2007	Watch now for signs of pneumonia and plan to prevent outbreaks in 2007 As winter draws on and the Met Office forecasts more cold and wet weather during March, pneumonia outbreaks will doubtless continue to occur (see attached NADIS graph). The impact of an outbreak can ...
31 Jan 2007	Act now to prevent lungworm problems later this season Reports in the vet press have highlighted an above average incidence rate of husk (lungworm) outbreaks and infection in the last few months, possibly due to the relatively warm and wet weather during ...
31 Jan 2007	Difficult to diagnose scour problem Cryptosporidium is the second most commonly diagnosed cause of calf scour. Symptoms include watery diarrhoea, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal discomfort, abdominal tension, nausea and a mild fever. ...
31 Jan 2007	Dry cow therapy planning pays off with better success rates For some people, dry cow management and therapy is the same now as it was five, or even 10 years ago. The reasons for drying cows off remain the same, as do the challenges that the cow faces at this ...
31 Jan 2007	Toxoplasmosis facts Toxoplasmosis is not restricted to your sheep. The disease is zoonotic, which means it can be passed to humans. In humans it can cause acute, life-threatening illness, and infection of a pregnant woman ...
31 Dec 2006	Colostrum key to lambing success With the lambing period just around the corner, there are a number of measures to put in place now to ensure its success and to ensure the longer term health and vitality of your new arrivals. Of the ...
31 Dec 2006	New diagnostic service from Intervet pinpoints lambing losses From January 2007, sheep farmers will be able to benefit from a new diagnostic service from Intervet. Barren EweCheck is designed to help farmers determine the cause or causes of barrenness and reduce ...
31 Dec 2006	Prepare now to avoid being hit with lungworm outbreaks next season Summer and autumn 2006 were good for lungworm, with nice warm conditions, followed by wet weather and extended above average temperatures. As a result, national levels of lungworm infection, otherwise ...
31 Dec 2006	Preventing calf scours as winter progresses and threat worsens All too often, calves suffer ill health within their first few weeks of life, always checking their growth and sometimes ending in death. One of the early problems is scours, and the most appropriate ...
30 Nov 2006	Can overworked staff affect dairy fertility rates? With the ever increasing pressure on farm resources, not least labour, it is hardly surprising that the amount of time farmers devote to observing cattle for signs of bulling is becoming harder to find ...
30 Nov 2006	Endometritis – the hidden enemy Recent investigations into endometritis, fertility and possible treatment methods have shown that early diagnosis combined with treatment can offer significant improvements in reproductive performance. ...
30 Nov 2006	Prepare for the annual pneumonia challenge As temperatures continue to fall and autumn develops into winter, cattle face the annual pneumonia threat. As probably the most significant disease of calves and youngstock, pneumonia is a complex disease ...
30 Nov 2006	Winter lice season just around the corner With many cows already housed for the winter, now is the ideal time to plan how to best control the parasites you might find over the coming few months. Many farmers are reporting that infestations of ...
31 Oct 2006	Combating clostridial diseases in sheep Blackleg, pulpy kidney, struck, tetanus black disease and clostridial mastitis are but a few of the clostridial diseases that can affect unvaccinated sheep. Clostridial infections of sheep have been ...
31 Oct 2006	Don’t assume anything, when it comes to calf scour Calf scour – at whatever level – could be a warning sign of a poor or unhygienic environment. Putting up with it could pave the way for problems and disease as the animals grow. A general rule of thumb ...
31 Oct 2006	IBR – controlling it could be easier than you thought Estimates put the prevalence of IBR in the UK’s dairy herd as being between 50% and 60%. Work from Holland suggests that an infected animal will produce around 179kg less milk per annum than a disease-free ...
31 Oct 2006	Time to consider a mastitis review? As we enter winter 'proper' with the majority of milking cows housed, it is worth spending a few minutes considering mastitis expectations for the coming period, and casting your mind back to last winter. To ...