The lump lottery

[Monty]

Ok so we've just failed our Tb test today 2 reactors and 4 inconclusives. Roughly 70% of the cows had small lumps the vast majority with both avian and bovine lumps. Both reactors are 1st calf heifers and I think all the inconclusives are too if not 2nd calvers.
Similar story last year over half with small lumps 5 inconclusives which all passed a retest but again all young milking cows/heifers.
What on earth is causing all the lumps?

It's the same story most years with small lumps everywhere. We used to have a lot of pigeons but they've all been shot/buggered off last winter. They all seem to be very random which is the most annoying part, one cow was inconclusive a few years ago but we've taken notice and she hasn't had any lumps whatsoever in the last 3 or 4 tests.

We've never had any lesions in any barrens or reactors, about 1/4 or 1/3 of the heifers have lumps too but we've not had a reactor/inconclusive heifer yet. Whats going on?

 

[jade35]

@matthew

 

[matthew]

My guess is that you've got an ongoing, low level of m.bovis exposure. In the case of the reactors, that has bubbled into more than just 'two lumps'.

We went two years with this sort of problem. In fact on one test we had 39 inconclusives and lumps on many more cattle. TB was not 'confirmed' here until about the 15th 60 day test.
Which got MAFF a tad concerned.
But not our DVM - who'd seen it all before. Many times.

In our case, it got worse in the winter when cattle were housed.
And despite having gates sheeted to the floor on the feed passage, the barstewards were coming in under cubicle doors, across a covered yard and into the equivalent of 'badger Mac Donalds'. Or TMR feed to you and me.

You could try some black flash night vision cameras. You may be surprised. We were..

I'm sure you know that the skin test shows exposure to the bacteria which may go one to cause TB, not necessarily the disease itself. About half the reactors in GB are slaughtered way ahead of any VL or culture.

And like you, it seemed to hit the young cattle more than older ones. When we sold the dairy herd, after 5 years of restriction, the heart had been ripped out of it. We had heifers, in calf heifers and then a gap to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th calvers. The rest - all gone.

 

[multi power]

Most reactors here are young cows as well

 

[gone up the hill]

What the OP is experiencing is like hundreds of other farms in the UK..

What it basically means is that the herd has been exposed to the TB bacteria and this herd will keep getting IRs/ Reactors test after test ( thou you will get the odd clear test now and again ) unless something is done about the badgers in the locality..

 

[s line]

Been helping with tb testing last week and they went clear. The local population is................!