exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Marital harmony and continued cake supply is probably enough to justify the extra vaccine cost.
It was after one of her suffolks died and she was quite upset
Heptavac P
- Thread starter Six Dogs
- Start date
It was after one of her suffolks died and she was quite upset
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
3x the cost, last time I compared, with the biggest bottle sizes.
My crossbred ewes are all on Bravoxin now as I’m unconvinced of the effectiveness of the P element. All their lambs had a full course of Ovivac P, because I’m convinced of the effectiveness of the P element…
Certainly no more ewe losses here since I changed over. I took the view that lambs are worth so much now that they justified the extra cost, if anything did.
I’ve spoken with quite a few vets with sheep flocks and most do the young ewes with Heptavac, then the main flock with Bravoxin.
Job to know what to do,
It was nearly all older ewes lost to pneumonia last year.
Don't jab the lambs but do record all the deaths and try to work out if Ovi P would be worth it or not, its always close but not quite there.
farmerm
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
some of which will end up getting a 500ml and putting it back in the fridge for a year...
- Location
- N.Lincs
I'd be interested to see some independant results of using Heptavac that had been kept in a fridge after being opened (not thinking of keeping it a year though
)I'm cynical enough to think a bit of that 'use within 8 hours of opening' bit on the leaflet is a scare tactic to make you throw it away.
- Location
- Ledbury, Herefordshire
Which is the cheapest one that has that P element? I used Bravoxin but timed a heptavac dose for when I felt that pasturella was most likely (autumn in my case). No boosters in either case.3x the cost, last time I compared, with the biggest bottle sizes.
My crossbred ewes are all on Bravoxin now as I’m unconvinced of the effectiveness of the P element. All their lambs had a full course of Ovivac P, because I’m convinced of the effectiveness of the P element…
Certainly no more ewe losses here since I changed over. I took the view that lambs are worth so much now that they justified the extra cost, if anything did.
I’ve spoken with quite a few vets with sheep flocks and most do the young ewes with Heptavac, then the main flock with Bravoxin.
- Location
- West Wales
I use footvax from 1 year to the next and have no problems, heptavac last week did 990 1 day and then 40 the next day with what was left. It was out of the fridge for 20 minutes and then back in, I can’t see how it can deteriorate that muchI'd be interested to see some independant results of using Heptavac that had been kept in a fridge after being opened (not thinking of keeping it a year though
I'm cynical enough to think a bit of that 'use within 8 hours of opening' bit on the leaflet is a scare tactic to make you throw it away.
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
tell me about it , just done it , was getting a few pneumonia deaths in 2 week -month old lambs end of last year , very quick infection a few lambs struggling to breathe , quickly sorted with oxytet if caught early , vet said might be lacking cover from colostrum as i was using bravoxin , not sure any pasturella cover in colostrum though . Thanks for heads up OPWent over to Bravoxin 10 quite a few years ago, but pneumonia deaths in ewes have been creeping up the last few years, with 2021 spring being fairly bad, so reluctantly we've gone back to Hep P to see if the vast extra expense of the pasturella cover is worth it.
Putting the whole flock back on hep P is painful £££££
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Iirc the P cover from passive immunity via colostrum only last 3 weeks.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
I'd be interested to see some independant results of using Heptavac that had been kept in a fridge after being opened (not thinking of keeping it a year though
I'm cynical enough to think a bit of that 'use within 8 hours of opening' bit on the leaflet is a scare tactic to make you throw it away.
Since they made it P+, which has a reduced shelf life compared to the old Heptavac P, it no longer contains a preservative. That means that any bacterial contamination that gets in multiplies up, potentially into a toxic soup. That contamination could get in from a dirty needle or even from the air that bleeds in through the vented tube.
Using it after storing an open bottle is also in contravention of the label too, so Farm Assurance will get upset, as well as being technically illegal I suppose.
I’m not sure I know of anyone that doesn’t stretch it a bit though…
farmerm
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
Interesting. Without a preservative how do they eliminate any possibility of bacteria entering during production? What it one used a sterile 200ml syringe and drew off 200ml to use or would even that single break of the seal pose too high a risk of contamination?
- Location
- N.Lincs
Good question.
If I ever run short by a couple of doses, I 'steal' two or three out of a new bottle with a clean syringe and needle, tape up the top and bung it back in the fridge.
- Location
- N.Lincs
Somebody once told me that the carrier was egg based and that's why they reckoned it wouldn't keep.
No idea if there's any truth in it or not
Y Fan Wen
Member
- Location
- N W Snowdonia
When I go for my flu jab, always get asked if I'm allergic to eggs.Somebody once told me that the carrier was egg based and that's why they reckoned it wouldn't keep.
No idea if there's any truth in it or not
primmiemoo
Member
- Location
- Devon
Nothing new under the sun...
thefarmingforum.co.uk
Ark 'ee ~~
www.noahcompendium.co.uk
Using up Heptavac P question
Two weeks ago I Heptavac'd all the first batch of ewes we have to lamb. I finished with 17 doses left in a bottle which I left on the gun and put in the fridge. I know the manufacturer says to discard it (and so would I if my business was selling heptavac) but would you use it? I have to give...
thefarmingforum.co.uk
Ark 'ee ~~
Clinical particulars - Heptavac® P Plus
exmoor dave
Member
- Location
- exmoor, uk
Ok that's interesting- we've been finding similar in lambs, but only up to 2 wks old,
Like you say if you catch them quicky you can save them quite easily, but IMO we've found that those lambs mostly end up dying later on.
Not sure if this is a stupid question....we've always used Heptavac P, but if we wanted to swifch the ewes onto for example Bravoxin, can the Bravoxin be simply offered as a booster to the original Hep P programme or do you have to start a brand new programme with 2 doses of Bravoxin?
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
If you just gave one dose of Bravoxin then you would only boost the clostridial cover that they have in common. To get the full cover from everything covered by Bravoxin then you would need to give them 2 doses to get them onto it.
I’ve gone to jabbing ewe lambs with Heptavac P (x2), then a single shot of Bravoxin as shearlings, when they are running with the main flock. I did originally draft them out and give a primary dose in January, but it’s another job & another cost, just to cover the extra spurious clostridials that aren’t generally an issue.
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
problem is you dont know the damage to a young lung , giving issues later in a wet cold winter , i did try and mark lambs had some of them in at weaning and finished them, just in case , some have slipped through net so cross fingers
Last edited:
- Location
- Mendips Somerset
be about right ! all infections were 2-4 weeks, i asked vet as i assumed it might be birth fluid on lung but he didnt think so considering numbers infected , not huge but noticeable
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
We were told ‘3 weeks cover’ by the vaccine manufacturer years ago, when we got the vet involved to investigate losses in 3-4 week old lambs. When we suggested that their product wasn’t any good, their response was to ask how many lambs we might have lost if we hadn’t vaccinated….
