Low copper texel x ewes what to use

[Farmer_Joe]

Got some eves which were failing to thrive mostly shearlings which have lambed year before with low copper (vet said limit is 6 one below and some just above)

tricky as i hear Texel's are susceptible to copper toxicity, but the one with very low copper is shite so nothing to loose there!

what do people treat them with is there a mixed bolous with copper and some other stuff?

 

[Nithsdale]

If you're dosing your ewes anyway (fluke and/or wormer) we used to get capsules which were filled full of copper needles. You put a rubber 'boot' onto the end of the dosing gun, pop a capsule in and dose the ewe as normal. Can't remember the name of them, haven't used them for years but any decent ag store should supply them

You do get boluses with added copper too - Mayo 5-in-1 for example...



Years ago we used to do Blackies pre lambing with copper to stop swayback in the lambs (was an injection, it came in bottles just like Heptavac) but I don't know if you can still get that. The name coming to me was Sway-vac or something like that...

 

[Nithsdale]

A quick Google finds this

Veticop 20mg/ml Suspension for Injection

What is Veticop 20mg/ml Suspension for Injection? Veticop 20mg/ml Suspension for Injection is the only copper injection in the UK which is licensed for use in sheep. Indications For the prevention and treatment of copper deficiency (hypocuprosis) in sheep and for the prevention of swayback in...

www.bimeda.co.uk

It isn't what we used (20-30yr ago) but will be today's equivalent

 

[ISCO]

Based on vet advice we use cosicure bolus with selenium, cobalt, iodine and copper twice a year on texel cross ewes without any problems.

 

[Ysgythan]

We give our Texel x Mules copper boluses.

 

[neilo]

Most bolus manufacturers do a version with copper included, or supply a 4G copper capsule to give alongside.
If you don’t have to supplement anything else then you can buy those copper capsules off the shelf quite easily, which will supplement copper for 6 months.

Plenty round here (high molybdenum levels) just let their sheep have cattle mineral buckets, giving copper that way.

 

[ritchiekirkland]

If you're dosing your ewes anyway (fluke and/or wormer) we used to get capsules which were filled full of copper needles. You put a rubber 'boot' onto the end of the dosing gun, pop a capsule in and dose the ewe as normal. Can't remember the name of them, haven't used them for years but any decent ag store should supply them

You do get boluses with added copper too - Mayo 5-in-1 for example...



Years ago we used to do Blackies pre lambing with copper to stop swayback in the lambs (was an injection, it came in bottles just like Heptavac) but I don't know if you can still get that. The name coming to me was Sway-vac or something like that...

Swaycop it was

 

[Woolless]

Mayo do two ewe boluses, one with 4 grams copper, one with two, if that was any good. Or as above, you could use a smaller lamb copper capsule if you were worried about overdosing.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Based on vet advice we use cosicure bolus with selenium, cobalt, iodine and copper twice a year on texel cross ewes without any problems.

I should have been more specific, my ewes are first crossed out of mules to pure texel tups so the ewes I have are texel x, good to hear your using these with no problems. Where do you get them from?

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Most bolus manufacturers do a version with copper included, or supply a 4G copper capsule to give alongside.
If you don’t have to supplement anything else then you can buy those copper capsules off the shelf quite easily, which will supplement copper for 6 months.

Plenty round here (high molybdenum levels) just let their sheep have cattle mineral buckets, giving copper that way.

They have access to mineral buckets nearly all year round, I have to get a half pellet min for the buckets I get with deccox in, I have loads spare so throw them out and they get them most of year.

I was considering bolous this year but decided against it, I think a broad spectrum of minerals would be good as above, I was worried with them being texel cross but everyone seem to be ok with them

 

[Nithsdale]

I was worried with them being texel cross but everyone seem to be ok with them

You need to know your own land/soil, don't just go by other people.

We can get away with giving some copper to Texel crosses, but I know 2 farms locally - 1 lost ewes (Scotch Mules) and the other lost lambs (Texel crosses) by overdosing copper.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

You need to know your own land/soil, don't just go by other people.

We can get away with giving some copper to Texel crosses, but I know 2 farms locally - 1 lost ewes (Scotch Mules) and the other lost lambs (Texel crosses) by overdosing copper.

I THINK ITS BEEN LURKING FOR AGES, ops caps! hence my getting bloods this time on the 'low thrift ewes' and considering bolousing last back end.

Im confident its the right thing to do especially with the tests, but glad to hear how many people with texel cross on here are doing the same.

Thanks to everone who contributed, really is helpful to hear what other are doing/using.

 

[Nithsdale]

I THINK ITS BEEN LURKING FOR AGES, ops caps! hence my getting bloods this time on the 'low thrift ewes' and considering bolousing last back end.

Im confident its the right thing to do especially with the tests, but glad to hear how many people with texel cross on here are doing the same.

Thanks to everone who contributed, really is helpful to hear what other are doing/using.

Our land is high in Iron - which locks up copper and shows as a deficiency, despite Copper levels being OK...

Since going away from the Blackies and Mules to Lleyns, Cheviots and Texels I don't give copper other than the residual copper in Distillers grains which is where most of the protein comes from in my feed rations


If your ewes are 'pining' then I would suspect moving to bolusing every 6 months will probably cure it


Does it affect most of the flock, eventually or a small %?.. I wonder if culling the poor doers and retaining daughters from the best doing ewes would breed out the copper dependency. That's just some blue sky thinking as I'm not really sure it's something that could be bred for (and even if you could it may take many years to see a real difference)

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Most bolus manufacturers do a version with copper included, or supply a 4G copper capsule to give alongside.
If you don’t have to supplement anything else then you can buy those copper capsules off the shelf quite easily, which will supplement copper for 6 months.

Plenty round here (high molybdenum levels) just let their sheep have cattle mineral buckets, giving copper that way.

years and years ago, the Welsh Assembly arranged sheep feeding talks, I went to one in Llandovery. They said, the amount of cake a ewe will eat, will not give it too much copper, so just feed cattle cake to them (the cattle cake has extra copper in it).

I have spread trace element services trace element powder on the fields in the past, I think I put on 3kg/acre, and that had copper in it.

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Our land is high in Iron - which locks up copper and shows as a deficiency, despite Copper levels being OK...

Since going away from the Blackies and Mules to Lleyns, Cheviots and Texels I don't give copper other than the residual copper in Distillers grains which is where most of the protein comes from in my feed rations


If your ewes are 'pining' then I would suspect moving to bolusing every 6 months will probably cure it


Does it affect most of the flock, eventually or a small %?.. I wonder if culling the poor doers and retaining daughters from the best doing ewes would breed out the copper dependency. That's just some blue sky thinking as I'm not really sure it's something that could be bred for (and even if you could it may take many years to see a real difference)

i like your thinking!

im pretty harsh cull wise and cull shearlings if they dont cut the mustard, or have not grown as expected, do same for gimmers.

its just a handfull of older ones and especially this year shearlings.

I plan on bolousing all shearlings pre tupping and anything a bit lack luster pre tupping, see how that goes.

 

[Nithsdale]

i like your thinking!

im pretty harsh cull wise and cull shearlings if they dont cut the mustard, or have not grown as expected, do same for gimmers.

its just a handfull of older ones and especially this year shearlings.

I plan on bolousing all shearlings pre tupping and anything a bit lack luster pre tupping, see how that goes.

If it's only some older ewes and younger ones... and not a high % I'd be tempted to cull them, and breed replacements from the best of each age group (just double check the best are not the best because they were all rearing singles)

 

[sandywil90]

If you're dosing your ewes anyway (fluke and/or wormer) we used to get capsules which were filled full of copper needles. You put a rubber 'boot' onto the end of the dosing gun, pop a capsule in and dose the ewe as normal. Can't remember the name of them, haven't used them for years but any decent ag store should supply them

You do get boluses with added copper too - Mayo 5-in-1 for example...



Years ago we used to do Blackies pre lambing with copper to stop swayback in the lambs (was an injection, it came in bottles just like Heptavac) but I don't know if you can still get that. The name coming to me was Sway-vac or something like that...

I work for Mayo healthcare and we do a 5in1 ewe bolus with either 4g or 2g option.

if you need any more info, feel free to give me a ring on 07340338982