Heptavac P

[PTF]

Is there an optimum time to jag hoggets with heptavac?
These would have been bought around last Sep/Oct approx 6/7 months old.
They are being run over to be sold again this Aug/Sep time for breeding.
Majority bought would be "in the system" but I generally always jag them twice as can't always go by what you're told at the market.
Generally they would get their first jag around now whilst I am doing the booster for the in-lamb ewes but just wondering is there a better time to be doing this or maybe looking at it unnecessarily?
Thanks

 

[Longlowdog]

@PTF if one were to assume your hoggets were to be sold reasonably locally might it be prudent to jag them one year less six weeks before the typical lambing date for your area? Thus the new owner vaccinating them 6 weeks before lambing with their annual booster would be almost bang on time? I hope this makes sense.

 

[Highland Mule]

Is there an optimum time to jag hoggets with heptavac?
These would have been bought around last Sep/Oct approx 6/7 months old.
They are being run over to be sold again this Aug/Sep time for breeding.
Majority bought would be "in the system" but I generally always jag them twice as can't always go by what you're told at the market.
Generally they would get their first jag around now whilst I am doing the booster for the in-lamb ewes but just wondering is there a better time to be doing this or maybe looking at it unnecessarily?
Thanks

If I’d bought in Sept/Oct and wasn’t 100% sure on status, I’d be jabbing them Sept/ Oct, not holding them for six months without any protection.

 

[primmiemoo]

Used to jab stores in the pen at market before loading for home at one time. Jab, worm, home to the yard on hay for a few days. It saved stressing them further later in the day.

 

[PTF]

Yes I would dose them straight from the market but never thought about jagging at the time too. Will try that next year.
Thanks for the replies @Longlowdog @highlandmule @primmiemoo

 

[z.man]

Jagged lambs with their second heptavac yesterday they were well of colour last night but improving again now ....bloody horrible stuff only the pure ewes and lambs get it here cross ewes all on brovoxin lambs all get ovivac some will get done 3 times

 

[neilo]

Jagged lambs with their second heptavac yesterday they were well of colour last night but improving again now ....bloody horrible stuff only the pure ewes and lambs get it here cross ewes all on brovoxin lambs all get ovivac some will get done 3 times

I do the same here, but I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed anything being particularly off colour after Heptavac, as many seem to report.

 

[Nithsdale]

HepP can give them a fair knock! Between that and losing ewes to Pneumonia - which were correctly on the system - is why we dropped it about 14 years ago!

Ewes are all on Bravoxin10 now.

We stopped vaccinating lambs with OvivacP/plus in 2004 or 2005. We've never felt we lose any more lambs than when we spent all this extra money.


We did have a cock up in a score of bought in ewes once, which I believe were on no system when I bought them. Their first lambing here, the losses of good lambs at 10 days - 3/4 weeks old was noticeable. That group of ewes were double jagged onto Covexin8 (as I was using at the time) for the next lambing, and the losses disappeared

 

[andybk]

Was getting a pneumonia in month old lambs almost like they hadnt coughed up birth fluids properly the last few years,some lambs panting really bad maybe half dozen a year after i changed to bravoxin , oxytet sorted it if caught early .
i have now gone back to ovivac p , luckily the 2t were already on it (30% of the flock ) , so now double dosing later older ewes ,im halfway through lambing now , not one case this year so far touch wood ,

 

[Bwcho]

Same here Dave. I used to religiously vaccinate all the ewes and lambs with Heptavac P (to the letter of the manufacturer's usage guidance) for a number of years. In 2016 and 2017, I found myself share grazing two groups of 150 lambs in total, together on the same ground with a 48/52 mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated lambs. In both years, losses were higher in the vaccinated group than the unvaccinated. The tipping point for me were the deaths of 3 seemingly healthy cracking 2 month old lambs within 3 days of being vaccinated. The lambs weren't PM'd and I cannot categorically attribute the vaccine to the deaths. Stress or any other variety of causes could have been the cause but I'm convinced that the Heptavac P did knock a lot of the lambs for a few days.

However, as crude, unscientific and anecdotal this 'trial' was, it was enough to persuade me to chance dropping the Heptavac P. I have no regrets so far, but I'm still nervous about getting caught out - which I suspect I will at some point, but touch wood, I haven't had healthy looking 30+kg lambs just drop dead on me since.

I could be swayed in the future to Ovivac P the lambs and Bravoxin 10 the ewes, but I'd be hard pressed to go back to using Heptavac P again.

Update: I must have jinxed things by posting this. After more lamb losses than I care to count due to clostridial (pulpy kidney), I've now been forced the hard way to vaccinate once again. After 5 years of 'winging it', my luck is well and truly up and I've started everything on the Bravoxin 10 system.

 

[Highland Mule]

Any update on availability ? I see Farmacy are showing out of stock but hopefully that’s not across the board.

 

[Highland Mule]

Any update on availability ? I see Farmacy are showing out of stock but hopefully that’s not across the board.

Answering my own question here. Seems to be limited availability of Hep P and only in 500ml bottle sizes.

Looks like I'm going to have to go with Bravoxin/ Covexin or Ovivac.

 

[Nithsdale]

Answering my own question here. Seems to be limited availability of Hep P and only in 500ml bottle sizes.

Looks like I'm going to have to go with Bravoxin/ Covexin or Ovivac.

I'd go with Bravoxin - it's the cheapest over 2 doses (Covexin8 is the cheapest per ml, but initial dose is 5ml, Bravoxin is 1ml both times), it covers more diseases than any other (10) then Covexin (8) then Heptavac and Ovivac only do 7 - the 8th is the P+ for pasteurella

 

[Highland Mule]

I'd go with Bravoxin - it's the cheapest over 2 doses (Covexin8 is the cheapest per ml, but initial dose is 5ml, Bravoxin is 1ml both times), it covers more diseases than any other (10) then Covexin (8) then Heptavac and Ovivac only do 7 - the 8th is the P+ for pasteurella

Interesting. I was leaning towards buying Ovivac for the stores and using up my little stash of Hep P on the candidates for replacement females.

 

[Nithsdale]

Interesting. I was leaning towards buying Ovivac for the stores and using up my little stash of Hep P on the candidates for replacement females.

Depends how much importance you place on Pasteurella cover.

I personally gone off it as there's so many strains, you can still lose stock to pneumonia - even if you've jagged them onto the system... the 60p+ cost (I'm sure Heptavac is more now!) cost isn't worth it compared to 30p- something for Bravoxin or in the teens of pennies for Covexin (for the 2ml injection)

 

[Highland Mule]

Depends how much importance you place on Pasteurella cover.

I personally gone off it as there's so many strains, you can still lose stock to pneumonia - even if you've jagged them onto the system... the 60p+ cost (I'm sure Heptavac is more now!) cost isn't worth it compared to 30p- something for Bravoxin or in the teens of pennies for Covexin (for the 2ml injection)

I might as well keep the ewe lambs on Hep, since it's in the fridge anyway. Just working out what for the rest - to last until November I guess, maybe sooner if the grass doesn't do well and I sell away as stores.

Bravoxin the best of the rest for coverage?

 

[Nithsdale]

I might as well keep the ewe lambs on Hep, since it's in the fridge anyway. Just working out what for the rest - to last until November I guess, maybe sooner if the grass doesn't do well and I sell away as stores.

Bravoxin the best of the rest for coverage?

It covers the most things. 1ml injection both jags. I put my ewes onto it maybe 5yrs ago and happy enough...

I don't do my lambs though, haven't done then since about 2004

 

[Highland Mule]

I don't do my lambs though, haven't done then since about 2004

I think that's a step too far for me for this year...

 

[Al R]

Depends how much importance you place on Pasteurella cover.

I personally gone off it as there's so many strains, you can still lose stock to pneumonia - even if you've jagged them onto the system... the 60p+ cost (I'm sure Heptavac is more now!) cost isn't worth it compared to 30p- something for Bravoxin or in the teens of pennies for Covexin (for the 2ml injection)

70p/ ewe a dose working on £175 for 500ml of Hep P+

 

[neilo]

70p/ ewe a dose working on £175 for 500ml of Hep P+

I think it’s a good bit dearer than £175 since the April 1st hike isn’t it?