Heptavac lambs

Agri

Member
Livestock Farmer
How long after lambing do you leave lambs till they get their first heptavac injection. Thanks.
 

Longlowdog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
3 weeks is the minimum age. I do mine when the youngest in a batch reaches 3 weeks, oldest usually only a few days older as the ewes are synchronised. Next is at 7 weeks. I give Tolracol for cocci at first Hep and a white wormer at 2nd Hep as this usually coincides with increasingly nice weather promoting nemmo and I've had a cocci outbreak before.
Hope this helps and of course others will come in along with different views, no-one is absolutely right and no-one dead wrong.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
As soon as the oldest lamb hits 6 weeks, I do everything down as young as 3 week old. Then, a fortnight later I do the rest of the lambs (that gives me enough for five weeks of lambing). Second jab can then be done all together a month later, when oldest have had 6 week gap between jabs and youngest have had four week gap.
 

Longlowdog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
Everyone from my 6 stone mum to my 20 stone mates get the same covid vaccine. My wee Beltex get the same as stonking great Suff's next door. It seems a wee bit penny pinching to try to short circuit all the science involved in producing a vaccine that would in all likelihood have stated 'use ?ml of vaccine/kg ' if that was a suitable way to dose lambs (and who can judge a lambs weight in the hand when even in groups of a similar age some weigh more than others). Then no doubt next year someone would come along and say 'why don't we try 1/2 ?ml/kg....' . Then no doubt there would be a thread about vaccines being worthless. It's a downward spiral and we'd all end up being American and claiming they put tracking chips in our lambs. Then we'd blame the Russians for the downward trend in lamb prices that can only end up with us on the verge of nuclear war and fuel at 3 quid a litre all because someone wanted to save a few pence on a vaccine for lambs.
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
Everyone from my 6 stone mum to my 20 stone mates get the same covid vaccine. My wee Beltex get the same as stonking great Suff's next door. It seems a wee bit penny pinching to try to short circuit all the science involved in producing a vaccine that would in all likelihood have stated 'use ?ml of vaccine/kg ' if that was a suitable way to dose lambs (and who can judge a lambs weight in the hand when even in groups of a similar age some weigh more than others). Then no doubt next year someone would come along and say 'why don't we try 1/2 ?ml/kg....' . Then no doubt there would be a thread about vaccines being worthless. It's a downward spiral and we'd all end up being American and claiming they put tracking chips in our lambs. Then we'd blame the Russians for the downward trend in lamb prices that can only end up with us on the verge of nuclear war and fuel at 3 quid a litre all because someone wanted to save a few pence on a vaccine for lambs.
Someone couldn't find the ketchup for his lunchtime bacon sarnie I suspect.... ;)
 

Macsky

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Highland
Everyone from my 6 stone mum to my 20 stone mates get the same covid vaccine. My wee Beltex get the same as stonking great Suff's next door. It seems a wee bit penny pinching to try to short circuit all the science involved in producing a vaccine that would in all likelihood have stated 'use ?ml of vaccine/kg ' if that was a suitable way to dose lambs (and who can judge a lambs weight in the hand when even in groups of a similar age some weigh more than others). Then no doubt next year someone would come along and say 'why don't we try 1/2 ?ml/kg....' . Then no doubt there would be a thread about vaccines being worthless. It's a downward spiral and we'd all end up being American and claiming they put tracking chips in our lambs. Then we'd blame the Russians for the downward trend in lamb prices that can only end up with us on the verge of nuclear war and fuel at 3 quid a litre all because someone wanted to save a few pence on a vaccine for lambs.
I’d give a 3 week old lamb a half rate, without a doubt, I never thought I was responsible for all this mess tho! 😯
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
@steveR at the risk of starting WW3 thank goodness you said ketchup for a bacon sarnie and not that horrible brown sauce.
Are we still allowed to call it brown sauce, I heard the Americans renamed brown sugar 'golden yellow sugar?
Well personally, I prefer Hellmans to ketchup... As for "brown sauce".... Yech!

I loved (and still do) soft, brown sugar made by Whitworths, nothing else will do. Lidl do something that is almost there for putting on porridge though. As for American;s, well what do they know... making cakes with vegetable oil... Truly yech!!
 
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Allsorts

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Worcestershire
3 weeks is the minimum age. I do mine when the youngest in a batch reaches 3 weeks, oldest usually only a few days older as the ewes are synchronised. Next is at 7 weeks. I give Tolracol for cocci at first Hep and a white wormer at 2nd Hep as this usually coincides with increasingly nice weather promoting nemmo and I've had a cocci outbreak before.
Hope this helps and of course others will come in along with different views, no-one is absolutely right and no-one dead wrong.
Do your ewes have Hep pre lambing or just the lambs? Thinking of stopping jabbing the ewes, don't know if it's coincidence but always seem to have problems a week after doing the ewes.
 

Longlowdog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
My ewes are done 6 weeks before lambing and I can't say it has ever presented a problem. I like that day to be a quick m.o.t, check for long toes, feel backs for condition and if necessary remove the oldest girls in my flock out for a bit of extra attention. I personally never see ewes or lambs bothered by the vaccine but I understand that other folk do. I don't know if it is a breed thing or a timing thing but I know mine are done by the book and believe the science of maternal antibodies from colostrum covering the first weeks after birth so will continue to do so. Having said that, I have a flock of pedigree sheep, treated to vaccines, coccidiostats, wormers as required in their formative months and very regular checking and monitoring of feet and condition etc because I am around them a lot of my day. My ewes know me, follow my voice and are handled quietly and slowly without any of the stresses of commercial need for efficiency. I concede they are given everything to ensure they thrive almost without regard to cost as they are my pride and joy. Commercial necessity and individual experience will dictate others adopt practises that reflect their aims and desired outcomes. The only person who can decide what is best for their system is the system operator.
 

HarryB97

Member
Mixed Farmer
I lamb at the start of April then give them their first heptavac in the first week of may and then their second jab in the middle of June with Clik applied. The Clik withdrawal then runs out before weaning at the start of August.
 

d-wales

Member
Location
Wales
Heard today of someone who heptavacs there ewes at tipping instead of before lambing, would this make any difference to antibodies in the colostrum at lambing?
Yeah.......there won't be much if any ! 🤣
All they are doing is protecting the ewe for the year.

You can probably go a little bit outside the 4-6 weeks timelime before lambing and still get sufficient protection but 5 months it's pushing it
 

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