Metrichecking
- Thread starter Devon lad
- Start date
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
What is it ?
buffalo_soldier
Member
- Location
- cumbria
You shove a plunger in a cow to check for whites.
Don't know about NZ but it will be a vet only procedure over here. May as well scan them.
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
I know a few farmers in my discussion group in the uk that did it themselves. Probably buy 1 online.
More to life
Member
- Location
- Somerset
Best I don't get involved in pre service checks
Normally not done by vet in nz, they would generally do the whole herd
Irish NZ
Member
- Location
- The mighty Waikato NZ
Done it the last few years. Simple as this the better transitioned and looked after your cows the less you need it.
Plus if you do it early enough you'll do all your cows
Plus if you do it early enough you'll do all your cows
Kiss
Member
- Location
- North west
We reduced the amount we did this year used to do the whole herd just did the high risk cows, I even question if they were my own whether I'd do it at all I have seen a herd with no met checking get good results
I think it's a lot of work
We have improved our 6wk ic rate this year
I think it's a lot of work
We have improved our 6wk ic rate this year
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
Vet only to metricheck ??? What a scam.
I don't do it anyway. Leave healthy cows alone.
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
This. Almost all cows are dirty 10 days or so after calving. Healthy, well transitioned cows clean on their own. It's a nice money maker for the vets, funny in a time when we are supposed to be using less antiobotics.
Kiss
Member
- Location
- North west
Iv done a course with the vet with met checking not with the device, it's the same as putting a glove on and scooping as you pull out any competent stockman should be able to I'd do it to any cow before calling the vet as a standard protocol
buffalo_soldier
Member
- Location
- cumbria
Was only speculating, don't know for sure.
Pretty sure it would be classed as invasive. So vet only.
Guess you know who will clarify later.
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
You can buy one of Kiwikit .done own cows for last 4/5 years after being trained by a vet .we mark cows 1/2/3 depending on how clean/dirty they are.i take what @Clay52 says with a pinch of salt as I've found cows what look clean and healthy on the outside dirty inside and cows what you expect to be dirty to be clean inside
multi power
Member
- Location
- pembrokeshire
Totally agree, treat the problem, not the symptoms
I have stopped doing anything this year, 4%Mt with cows quite dirty after calving as was in and out because of the weather, think if you calf a high % of the herd by week 3 they have time on their side and will cycle themselves clean, but still premate paint herd to check for non cycling cows , but didn't didn't do anything with them and most were got by the bulls.
I have one somewhere. Clearly it works as a means of scooping out a sample from the vagina but I stopped using it. It's almost impossible to keep clean on farm (I was using 2 buckets one with warm detergent and one with a disinfectant solution). They are really expensive (I imported mine from NZ, but you can get them in the UK now).
There have been anecdotal reports of them spreading infection between cows (some bacteria, mycoplasma and even a strain of IBR can cause endometritis and could be spread from vagina to vagina).
I scan post calving check cows and find some with puss in the vagina and a clean uterus. You find other cows with no vaginal discharge and puss in the uterus. You over-treat the first group and miss infected cows in the second group using such a device. It's crude and not very sensitive at identifying cows in need of treatment (a bit like the CMT). That doesn't mean its useless, some studies have found a higher % found 'infected' compared to other methods (false positives?).
I would encourage a risk based approach where higher risk cows are presented to the vet for a vaginal examination and a scan. The scan is just as important (if not more so). If you have high endometritis rates then you may need to check all cows, it takes seconds and uses 1 glove. Not looking and identifying infected cows doesn't mean you don't have a problem, just that you are unaware of it. It's another piece of data that can feedback on transition management, nutrition etc.
I wouldn't check anything less than 21 days after calving, as discharge to that point is normal (but it shouldn't smell and the cow shouldn't have a temperature). If it does she has metritis.
In a block calving herd you don't have time to let cows self cure (which I agree many will)
There have been anecdotal reports of them spreading infection between cows (some bacteria, mycoplasma and even a strain of IBR can cause endometritis and could be spread from vagina to vagina).
I scan post calving check cows and find some with puss in the vagina and a clean uterus. You find other cows with no vaginal discharge and puss in the uterus. You over-treat the first group and miss infected cows in the second group using such a device. It's crude and not very sensitive at identifying cows in need of treatment (a bit like the CMT). That doesn't mean its useless, some studies have found a higher % found 'infected' compared to other methods (false positives?).
I would encourage a risk based approach where higher risk cows are presented to the vet for a vaginal examination and a scan. The scan is just as important (if not more so). If you have high endometritis rates then you may need to check all cows, it takes seconds and uses 1 glove. Not looking and identifying infected cows doesn't mean you don't have a problem, just that you are unaware of it. It's another piece of data that can feedback on transition management, nutrition etc.
I wouldn't check anything less than 21 days after calving, as discharge to that point is normal (but it shouldn't smell and the cow shouldn't have a temperature). If it does she has metritis.
In a block calving herd you don't have time to let cows self cure (which I agree many will)
Clay52
Member
- Location
- Outer Space
We have all found those cows.
Healthy cows that are dirty can still get pregnant with pretty good fertility. They don't need to be treated. If you have so many dirty cows that its really effecting overall ferility you have already lost the battle.
Also if healthy cows need intervention to get pregnant I don't want to breed from them anyway.
- Location
- Pembrokeshire
So why on a previous thread do you turn round and say that you get from your vet fertility drugs for your breeding aims.my fertility here is excellent 10 cows treated for being dirty last year 10wks worth of serving 6% empty ,bulls were put back in for a couple more months and ended up with 10 empty cows (500+ cow herd) and all with no estrumate or any other fertility drugs or vet intervention