Getting on top of mastitis

[cowgirl95]

Baytril always works well on Ecoli for me give a good initial dose 50 ml sub cut plus some metacam at the same time

 

[farmideas]

I don't think the following is confidential:

To be a MCP deliverer you do a 2 day course that updates on mastitis and takes delegates through how the plan works. Get a copy of the plan and a licence. Go away and do the plan and data analysis on 1 farm.

Come back a few months later and present the plan in a group. Talk through decision making process etc. Learn from each other, work out programme glitches. Bit more mastitis CPD

Then need to do some further approved mastitis CPD in 12 months and then every 2 years.

To remain active there must be a minimum of 3 plans on the system (can be new plans, or update existing plans).​

Funny how some of us still think a vet is a vet is a vet - their training prepares them for everything. I am sure their advice would be very different if they supplied vetmeds at cost - making no profit on them. Their reputation would be built on how few drugs were needed, and how well they instructed and advised their farming client on other management actions.

On backflushing... I can't see how it can be a waste of time. When I first started milking I remember thinking that the second cow was going to have the germs from the first cow all round her teats. Washing them away can't be bad, even if it's not the complete answer.

 

[bovine]

Funny how some of us still think a vet is a vet is a vet - their training prepares them for everything. I am sure their advice would be very different if they supplied vetmeds at cost - making no profit on them. Their reputation would be built on how few drugs were needed, and how well they instructed and advised their farming client on other management actions.

There will always be some vets better at some things than others. Some with a special interest etc. I personally think a pence per litre contract is the ultimate system for charging vet services as the better you do the better the vet does. With the traditional system of charging for what you use, the more disease you have the better the vet does.

By far the biggest issue is people not following advice rather than bad advice. Some farms I have the same conversation year on year with health plan reviews, and they never get any better. For most farms an average farm vet will still be able to give good advice to improve health and production. It's when things get more technical or benefits more marginal that you need someone really good.

What we really need is a better system of referral in farm animal medicine, but there are too many people out their claiming to be experts in things they aren't and people behaving badly trying to acquire clients by any means possible.

 

[Clay52]

There will always be some vets better at some things than others. Some with a special interest etc. I personally think a pence per litre contract is the ultimate system for charging vet services as the better you do the better the vet does. With the traditional system of charging for what you use, the more disease you have the better the vet does.

By far the biggest issue is people not following advice rather than bad advice. Some farms I have the same conversation year on year with health plan reviews, and they never get any better. For most farms an average farm vet will still be able to give good advice to improve health and production. It's when things get more technical or benefits more marginal that you need someone really good.

What we really need is a better system of referral in farm animal medicine, but there are too many people out their claiming to be experts in things they aren't and people behaving badly trying to acquire clients by any means possible.

Paying for the vet on pence per liter. Wouldn't you end up with farmers demanding a lot of treatment for cows that should have been culled long ago if constant treatment isn't costing them money.

 

[bovine]

Paying for the vet on pence per liter. Wouldn't you end up with farmers demanding a lot of treatment for cows that should have been culled long ago if constant treatment isn't costing them money.

The contract would have to be drawn up well. I've not got anyone working on this basis - it gets too complicated. Really the only way it can work is if you are prepared to hand over the management of animal health and welfare to the vet and do what you are advised. It's not in my interest flogging stale cows, I want to maximise your production so you sell more milk and I make more money.

Puts the boot on the other foot when I am the one paying for the vaccines etc.

I think a lot of cows would have a much better outcome if seen sooner by the vet, with various ailments. There are a lot of potential benefits to this, but it won't work if you aren't willing to change. I'm not giving you loads of tubes to treat mastitis cases that I can prevent if you do what I say.

 

[Clay52]

The contract would have to be drawn up well. I've not got anyone working on this basis - it gets too complicated. Really the only way it can work is if you are prepared to hand over the management of animal health and welfare to the vet and do what you are advised. It's not in my interest flogging stale cows, I want to maximise your production so you sell more milk and I make more money.

Puts the boot on the other foot when I am the one paying for the vaccines etc.

I think a lot of cows would have a much better outcome if seen sooner by the vet, with various ailments. There are a lot of potential benefits to this, but it won't work if you aren't willing to change. I'm not giving you loads of tubes to treat mastitis cases that I can prevent if you do what I say.

So if the farmer diagnoses and treats a cow himself does he send you the bill? Milk fever? Ect. If things go bad are you then liable.

I see what you are getting at but it's going to get complicated pretty quick. I don't know any ideal way to do it. I'm happy sticking with the standard way and work on not having the vet have to come to my farm.

Also handing over health management to the vets would scare the crap out of me. The clinic (the do have some great vets) seems happy to send out new vets that are scared of cows and not even strong enough to operate a almost new cattle crush.

 

[bovine]

Simply the farmer would need to treat very little himself, he can ring the vet to treat the cow with milk fever. This would be great for the younger vets getting on farm and doing what they used to. Find their feet and build their confidence.

I think herd health decisions would have to be made by a senior vet in conjunction with the farmer. I'm not suggesting any random new graduate altering your milking routine and calf rearing programme on a whim.

I take your point about some of the younger vets, seemingly very fragile. I think we all have to get used to girls, male vets are dying out.

 

[jimmer]

if you want more vets on farm more for the ''minor'' ailments , then lower your rates or have more set price operations and callouts
through all this last two years of farm incomes dropping i know of several practises whose rates have gone up , there is £30/hour difference between three local practises , and the cheapest is still doing well
i wonder what a management consultant would say about the running of many vet practises , boot on the other foot type scenario

 

[Clay52]

Simply the farmer would need to treat very little himself, he can ring the vet to treat the cow with milk fever. This would be great for the younger vets getting on farm and doing what they used to. Find their feet and build their confidence.

I think herd health decisions would have to be made by a senior vet in conjunction with the farmer. I'm not suggesting any random new graduate altering your milking routine and calf rearing programme on a whim.

I take your point about some of the younger vets, seemingly very fragile. I think we all have to get used to girls, male vets are dying out.

Being a large animal vet can be a physical job at times. Someone at vet school needs to mention that if you are 5 foot tall and 45kg being a large animal vet is probably not for them. Why are clinics hireing them.

Its not even a women thing, I have had some very good female vets.

I had one vet that managed to jam two cows in the crush because she couldn't close it properly before I realized what was going on. Then when looking at two lame cows. She said they just had bruised feet. From what I could see she wasn't strong enough to even trim the hoof. The result, two cows with infections tracked up into the leg.

Two visits resulted in 4 wrecked cows and I'm the bad guy for asking the clinic not to send that person out again.

 

[farmideas]

There will always be some vets better at some things than others. Some with a special interest etc. I personally think a pence per litre contract is the ultimate system for charging vet services as the better you do the better the vet does. With the traditional system of charging for what you use, the more disease you have the better the vet does.

By far the biggest issue is people not following advice rather than bad advice. Some farms I have the same conversation year on year with health plan reviews, and they never get any better. For most farms an average farm vet will still be able to give good advice to improve health and production. It's when things get more technical or benefits more marginal that you need someone really good.

What we really need is a better system of referral in farm animal medicine, but there are too many people out their claiming to be experts in things they aren't and people behaving badly trying to acquire clients by any means possible.

I had a very good relationship with my vet, who charged per visit and for supplies. I bought wormers from the co-op as their price was less. I wish he'd said "you'll always have trouble rearing calves like this" and then explain why and what he would recommend. The 25 years I've been doing Prac Farm Ideas have shown me just how many fundamental mistakes I made, yet my farming was considered to be pretty good. Today I can see them as plain as a pikestaff. But when the routine occupies most of every day it is easy to delude oneself thinking you're doing it okay. Everyone gets bouts of mastitis, foot problems, calf issues. Having seen so many great ideas I wish he had told me to move the calves to another shed, and totted up the cost of not doing so. The job would have been done next day. A few years ago I visited a dairy farm with calves in an adapted shed, and it looked so good. They'd made a false ceiling for the pen and the calves kept warm with air moving in the pen. I've only seen it the once and wrote it up in issue 18-2.

 

[Princess Pooper]

I wish he'd said "you'll always have trouble rearing calves like this" and then explain why and what he would recommend. .

That should be part of the herd health plan discussion and reviewed every year. If we get a change of vet within the practice as our 'go-to vet' we do a v quick tour of the buildings as part of the health plan review so that they know that they are not dealing with cow palaces at our place.