Smart shot

[gatepost]

I tried several years ago but my vets wouldn't entertain it, worried about supplying something that wasn't strictly licenced in this country.

 

[GTB]

I know we’re opposite ends of the country but my vet would like to speak to another practice who are managing to getting hold of it/using it. Would that be at all possible?

I will pm you later.

 

[Downtrodden Dad]

Got mine from our vet,they are members of xl vets, another practice within the group must be bringing it in.

 

[ISCO]

We used it last year and were very pleased with results. Gave lambs half ml in June which is when cobalt deficiency affected our lambs which lasted 3 months. Will use it again this year.

 

[Old Tip]

Be very interested in this as we have a big problem with cobolt deficiency, can you sell it to anyone @bovine or do we have to use your practice

 

[Bob the beef]

The questions about smartshot came up on another thread a couple of months back.
The QMS monitor farm in Dumfriesshire ran a trial last year on various groups of lambs and the results were very good. Worked out at around 30% return on the investment in product.
I was not aware of any trouble sourcing smartshot though, thought it was fairly readily available

 

[Downton_shep]

Talking to the vet about this yesterday. Certainly no issue getting hold of it here.
From feedback so far giving 1ml is much more effective than the half dose. Might try some this year and give them a cheap multi vit drench once a month to cover selenium.

 

[bovine]

Be very interested in this as we have a big problem with cobolt deficiency, can you sell it to anyone @bovine or do we have to use your practice

It needs to be prescribed by the farm vet. They need to have evidence that the product is needed despite usual treatments been exhausted (they don't often follow up on that but sometimes do, I guess they are justifying their existence to a degree).

The product is already in the UK but still need the correct paperwork to use it. Works well

 

[ISCO]

It needs to be prescribed by the farm vet. They need to have evidence that the product is needed despite usual treatments been exhausted (they don't often follow up on that but sometimes do, I guess they are justifying their existence to a degree).

The product is already in the UK but still need the correct paperwork to use it. Works well

We had no trouble getting it through XLvets.
Half ml lasts 3 months , 1 ml lasts 6 months.
Would have done gimmer lambs with 1 ml but did not have enough spare

 

[beardface]

How much does it work out a lamb? currently bolus around 8-10 weeks as they need copper. Might be cheaper to do smart shot and then drench every time we handle them post weaning, I.e once a month for drafting

 

[ISCO]

Around

How much does it work out a lamb? currently bolus around 8-10 weeks as they need copper. Might be cheaper to do smart shot and then drench every time we handle them post weaning, I.e once a month for drafting

Around £1 per ml last year

 

[EBF]

Not sure if this will work but can I resurrect this thread?

I tried the B12 smartshot product in 2019 and, despite being fairly experienced in injecting lambs, following the smart shot instructions to the letter AND buying and using their own recommended injector (same as my own Zoetis one as it turned out) the product kept on "clumping" and blocking in the pack, the draw off spike and the tube. To get it "flowing" again required taking the whole lot apart and cleaning the draw off spike, which wasted a fair few ml each time at £1/1ml - ouch... I tried numerous different spikes/tubes/injectors to no avail and it took most of a day to inject a few hundred lambs, which was stressful to put it mildly.

Friends who use smart shot have never experienced this problem so I took it up with the supplier (via my vets) and the supplier immediately (and based on no evidence at all as they hadn't even looked at my pack) said it was my fault for handling it incorrectly/using it on a cold day (it was 12 deg C)/using it on a cloudy day/using it at altitude/boiling it on a stove etc etc. Basically they made up all kinds of cr*p to suggest that it was anything but their problem.

Fortunately for me my vet buys a LOT of drugs from the importer and they were eventually able to bully the importer into getting me a refund, which I would not have received otherwise.

I like the idea of the product but based on this experience I wouldn't rush to try it again. Has anyone else had any more recent good/bad experience with it? Dare I try it again?!

cheers

 

[LAMBCHOPS]

Not sure if this will work but can I resurrect this thread?

I tried the B12 smartshot product in 2019 and, despite being fairly experienced in injecting lambs, following the smart shot instructions to the letter AND buying and using their own recommended injector (same as my own Zoetis one as it turned out) the product kept on "clumping" and blocking in the pack, the draw off spike and the tube. To get it "flowing" again required taking the whole lot apart and cleaning the draw off spike, which wasted a fair few ml each time at £1/1ml - ouch... I tried numerous different spikes/tubes/injectors to no avail and it took most of a day to inject a few hundred lambs, which was stressful to put it mildly.

Friends who use smart shot have never experienced this problem so I took it up with the supplier (via my vets) and the supplier immediately (and based on no evidence at all as they hadn't even looked at my pack) said it was my fault for handling it incorrectly/using it on a cold day (it was 12 deg C)/using it on a cloudy day/using it at altitude/boiling it on a stove etc etc. Basically they made up all kinds of cr*p to suggest that it was anything but their problem.

Fortunately for me my vet buys a LOT of drugs from the importer and they were eventually able to bully the importer into getting me a refund, which I would not have received otherwise.

I like the idea of the product but based on this experience I wouldn't rush to try it again. Has anyone else had any more recent good/bad experience with it? Dare I try it again?!

cheers

I have moved on to an Australian injectable called Troy which is a fraction of the price of smartshot for B12. It's a product you can use on young lambs and ewes . Combined with with a self mix drench for iodine bought off ebay we have seen the best vigour at lambing time ever. Will be injecting lambs at young age too .Highly recommended bought via vets.

 

[ISCO]

We have used Smartshot for a number of years without the problems you mention.
Last year we used both Smartshot andTroy which, as said by @LAMBCHOPS, is a fraction of the price. There did not seem to be any difference in lamb performance.
The only drawback with Troy is that, from memory, it does not persist for as long as Smartshot, I think 2 months as against 3 for half ml Smartshot.

 

[Bob the beef]

Never had any issues. Used it for several years, just warm it up in some lukewarm water after bringing out of the fridge.

 

[exmoor dave]

Not sure if this will work but can I resurrect this thread?

I tried the B12 smartshot product in 2019 and, despite being fairly experienced in injecting lambs, following the smart shot instructions to the letter AND buying and using their own recommended injector (same as my own Zoetis one as it turned out) the product kept on "clumping" and blocking in the pack, the draw off spike and the tube. To get it "flowing" again required taking the whole lot apart and cleaning the draw off spike, which wasted a fair few ml each time at £1/1ml - ouch... I tried numerous different spikes/tubes/injectors to no avail and it took most of a day to inject a few hundred lambs, which was stressful to put it mildly.

Friends who use smart shot have never experienced this problem so I took it up with the supplier (via my vets) and the supplier immediately (and based on no evidence at all as they hadn't even looked at my pack) said it was my fault for handling it incorrectly/using it on a cold day (it was 12 deg C)/using it on a cloudy day/using it at altitude/boiling it on a stove etc etc. Basically they made up all kinds of cr*p to suggest that it was anything but their problem.

Fortunately for me my vet buys a LOT of drugs from the importer and they were eventually able to bully the importer into getting me a refund, which I would not have received otherwise.

I like the idea of the product but based on this experience I wouldn't rush to try it again. Has anyone else had any more recent good/bad experience with it? Dare I try it again?!

cheers

The granules will settle in the neck of the bottle reasonably quickly so I make a habit of turning the bottle up for a good few seconds at the end of each race load of sheep jabbed.

My vets couldn't get the proper gun and my usual vaccine guns didn't like smartshot at all.
But a dectomax 'push' style gun worked a treat plus had dial-a-dose for the rates needed

 

[EBF]

Thanks all, most helpful.

Based on your comments I could probably get Smartshot to work but I'm not sure I want to give them my business given the way they behaved last time round.

Troy looks an interesting option so will see if my vet can source it. Many thanks for the info.