Antibiotics.

[Sid]

I've been told precisely the same.

Spectam will be removed from the armoury if use is not cut drastically. We all know clots who dose every lamb.

Supply to everyone will be stopped beyond small quantities for use in lambs that genuinely need it.

And then you get the ostriches that bury their heads in the sand and want it in blood that its causing and issue rather than look closely at themselves!

I am thinking now that if I have an animal needs a treatment, as she has been treated the same way as the rest of the group do I actually want it here as it is a cost to my business?

 

[Nithsdale]

I am thinking now that if I have an animal needs a treatment, as she has been treated the same way as the rest of the group do I actually want it here as it is a cost to my business?

Cull. And cull hard.

But it only really works on closed flocks... because all the sh*t you get rid of, you'll just buy back in with the replacements

 

[Norfolk Hill Farmer]

When their needed their needed...
You don’t go to the doctor for antibiotics for a common cold or a sore head so why use them on livestock at any available opportunity? I’d never heard of zactran or draxxin or spectrum until I’d seen it on here.

@Norfolk Hill Farmer you should never let animals stand in formalin!

I don't , but sometimes they go through the bath like an express train, I wonder if the product is going to get a chance to work. Usually stagger some hurdles at the exit to slow the que down and make them walk slowly through the bath.

 

[Al R]

I don't , but sometimes they go through the bath like an express train, I wonder if the product is going to get a chance to work. Usually stagger some hurdles at the exit to slow the que down and make them walk slowly through the bath.

Mine is 35’ long and even running through as fast as they can go single file it improves them, I always know how many lame I’ve got on the farm and where they are at one time, most ewes on turnips at the moment and I know I have 3 that are holding a foot or walking oddly, formalin on Monday will sort them, using formalin every time they come in from weaning to lambing means you don’t get issues building up and it’s always single figures over the whole farm, saying that I do have 450 ewes a few miles away which have never seen a footbath...

@Nithsdale Farmer I’m closed on one farm and the other farm only buys in from another closed flock.Btw, what was the “wow” to when I said I used 8-9 bottles of antibiotics I’m not sure if it’s a lot or not for 1400 ewes plus lambs..

 

[le bon paysan]

unfortunately some people do go to doctor for ABs with sore throats and colds. Hence why human AB resistance is rising.

A good Dr wouldn't just prescribe ABs.
Case in point yesterday , daughter at Drs, sore throat 39 temp. Throat swab and blood test done at lab across road. ABs prescribed for tonsillitis.
Wife sick today , temp and sore throat, same Dr, rang lab for the girls results. Examined wife. No ABs , take paracetamol cough medicine .

 

[Nithsdale]

Mine is 35’ long and even running through as fast as they can go single file it improves them, I always know how many lame I’ve got on the farm and where they are at one time, most ewes on turnips at the moment and I know I have 3 that are holding a foot or walking oddly, formalin on Monday will sort them, using formalin every time they come in from weaning to lambing means you don’t get issues building up and it’s always single figures over the whole farm, saying that I do have 450 ewes a few miles away which have never seen a footbath...

@Nithsdale Farmer I’m closed on one farm and the other farm only buys in from another closed flock.Btw, what was the “wow” to when I said I used 8-9 bottles of antibiotics I’m not sure if it’s a lot or not for 1400 ewes plus lambs..

Bugger, that was supposed to be a like! (I'll leave it so this convo doesn't look odd)

8-9 bottles on that number of ewes (and resulting lamb crop) will be low-average AB usage, I'd like to think!

600 ewes and their lambs, last year I used 2 bottles Pen&Strep at lambing, 1 bottle Betamox (bad outbreak of joint ill) and then 1 bottle of Alamycin for lame feet. So 4 bottles of AB's.

I hope not to need the Alamycin or Betamox this year, but time will tell.




Another +1 for Formalin. It alone has transformed my flock re. lameness. My footbath is only 12' long by 3' wide but works grand. Just let them run through it nice and steady.
I've not used it for a few years, because of the wet weather pattern we are going through... I had reduced lameness down to 0 in the ewes for a handful years but I've currently got 1.5% with a sore foot. Intentions are to cull them all.

 

[unlacedgecko]

A good Dr wouldn't just prescribe ABs.
Case in point yesterday , daughter at Drs, sore throat 39 temp. Throat swab and blood test done at lab across road. ABs prescribed for tonsillitis.
Wife sick today , temp and sore throat, same Dr, rang lab for the girls results. Examined wife. No ABs , take paracetamol cough medicine .

just like a good vet. But some patients/customers can be very forceful. And not all medical professionals have the required moral courage.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Cull. And cull hard.

But it only really works on closed flocks... because all the sh*t you get rid of, you'll just buy back in with the replacements

reason no. 329 why I don’t like mules.

 

[SteveHants]

reason no. 329 why I don’t like mules.

I see that entire system as a massive disease football that is kicked around the industry.

 

[milkloss]

Some bloody nutters out their no wonder they want to send you on courses ffs , I be lucky if I use 1 bottle of anti biotic a yeAr , learn to farm
Properly before we get rules regs galor

Makes me shudder this talk of bottles. Give a cow a c-section and see your bottle count go through the roof! Even one lame cow could see 1/2 bottle Alamycin in the very best case scenario, nearly a whole bottle pen&strep with a section or a case of the whites.

 

[Hilly]

Makes me shudder this talk of bottles. Give a cow a c-section and see your bottle count go through the roof! Even one lame cow could see 1/2 bottle Alamycin in the very best case scenario, nearly a whole bottle pen&strep with a section or a case of the whites.

I’ve only had one c section out of 200 in 30 year and that was a freak shitsuella reflexia can’t spell it . Know what you mean though lame bull can use a bottle every injection , but this blanket treating is madness ,

 

[Al R]

Bugger, that was supposed to be a like! (I'll leave it so this convo doesn't look odd)

8-9 bottles on that number of ewes (and resulting lamb crop) will be low-average AB usage, I'd like to think!

600 ewes and their lambs, last year I used 2 bottles Pen&Strep at lambing, 1 bottle Betamox (bad outbreak of joint ill) and then 1 bottle of Alamycin for lame feet. So 4 bottles of AB's.

I hope not to need the Alamycin or Betamox this year, but time will tell.




Another +1 for Formalin. It alone has transformed my flock re. lameness. My footbath is only 12' long by 3' wide but works grand. Just let them run through it nice and steady.
I've not used it for a few years, because of the wet weather pattern we are going through... I had reduced lameness down to 0 in the ewes for a handful years but I've currently got 1.5% with a sore foot. Intentions are to cull them all.

Wow that’s good then re antibiotics!

the problem is is when you get a bunch in you won’t see the lame ones years ago a paintball gun had crossed my mind for targeting the lame ones so they could be tagged for culling when next in.

 

[Al R]

reason no. 329 why I don’t like mules.

People should breed their own

 

[livestock 1]

Anyone else not able to get Betamox la? My vets can’t get hold of it..

ive never used anything Down the throat or injected anything for e-coli so I doubt very much I’d have resistance but after losing 40+ lambs last year in the shed I have started using a probiotic called panatec protect lamb this year only for the lambs that go near the shed.

I use more Ultrapen LA than Betamox.
I do have a fair bit of success with both but like the Ultrapen. When I asked one of the vets for Ultrapen they said that they didn’t have any but had Betamox. Sounds the opposite of what you are experiencing.

 

[Nithsdale]

Wow that’s good then re antibiotics!

the problem is is when you get a bunch in you won’t see the lame ones years ago a paintball gun had crossed my mind for targeting the lame ones so they could be tagged for culling when next in.

I should be roughly in line with you - i've half the sheep of you, and used half the amount of ABs as you


Maybe frowned upon, but I give ewes the chance to sort themselves out... I don't bring them in just to do feet. Dad used to say if you can't see them as they walk past you in the pens, then they don't need done

I also used to fall foul of Bovine on this issue as I'm against leaving the foot alone and only using ABs to cure lameness. I've always gotten on much better with gently pairing of the foot and a liberal spraying of Bactakill and no ABs. I hold back ABs for feet which just won't get better

 

[livestock 1]

Lamb outside in May.

I lambed a big percentage of my sheep towards the end of April for 20 years or so. The plus sides to it-
Possibility of more grass to turn ewes and lambs onto so less cake after lambing and less missmothering
Possibility of lambing in better weather

The minus sides
20% less lambs impregnated due to tips working in poorer weather only getting chance of one cycle ewes gone off the boil so less likely to twin after only seeing tips after ewes being on their 2nd or 3rd cycle
Ewes tupped on poorer grass due to time of year = less lambs
Ewes and lambs in ground designated for silage instead of being turned out to hill consequently having a negative effect on forage value quantity and aftermath quantities
A lot of small lambs hard to or cost money to get to market at a decent value
I often hit worse weather around the 25 of April than what had been the previous 6 weeks even snow!
Winter feeding period dragged on for longer than the early lambers as ewes had seen bad weather/poor grass for a long time so needed feeding the same so they might as well have been lambed a month earlier

Moral of the story

I now lamb in the beginning of April

ps I still had watery mouth lambing outside in May

 

[will6910]

One of the best sheep farmers in the country,. Sorry it's a photo,can't get it scanned on this morning

I know Isaac quite well and not to far from me and can confirm one of the best sheep farmers around. What happens when it doesn’t suit farm to lamb April and May time? I lamb all inside and will still need a few injections no matter how clean things are

 

[tepapa]

I know Isaac quite well and not to far from me and can confirm one of the best sheep farmers around. What happens when it doesn’t suit farm to lamb April and May time? I lamb all inside and will still need a few injections no matter how clean things are

It's still fine to use injections if required.
It's the blanket use for every lamb born etc which is creating resistance that needs addressing.

 

[primmiemoo]

just like a good vet. But some patients/customers can be very forceful. And not all medical professionals have the required moral courage.

The Vet who told me about Spectam wasn't relishing the prospect of breaking the news to some other clients. Animals are straightforward. It's owners who can be unnecessarily difficult.

 

[czechmate]

A good Dr wouldn't just prescribe ABs.
Case in point yesterday , daughter at Drs, sore throat 39 temp. Throat swab and blood test done at lab across road. ABs prescribed for tonsillitis.
Wife sick today , temp and sore throat, same Dr, rang lab for the girls results. Examined wife. No ABs , take paracetamol cough medicine .

coronaviras ?