Vaccine availability

[canoetrpr]

I apologize in advance for the rant but I need to rant somewhere.

I don't quite follow why it is so hard for me to purchase vaccines over the counter somewhere. I can purchase antibiotics at the local TSC store or feed store. None of them carry vaccines. I talked to one store owner today who told me it was getting harder and harder for them to carry pour on wormer.

I've been looking around for a large animal vet in the area to introduce myself and my animals to so that I am not making an introduction in case of an emergency. It has been impossible to find one that will travel to me. I am in equine country so there are lots of equine vets available but they won't take on a hobby cattle farm. We found only one and they would not sell us any vaccine over the counter and wanted to have us pay for the vet to administer the vaccine at the farm. My friends in the more rural areas around here have none of this problem.

It is looking like I'm going to have to order vaccines over the internet from the only one place I have found in Canada that will sell them over the internet. Just a pain that I'd like to do some vaccinating today and can't pick them up from anywhere.

It seems like vets / veterinary associations around here are starting to exert some pressure to prevent the sale of vaccines and so on over the counter directly to farmers.

 

[Howdyjabo]

I am afraid its only going to get worse.
Most new vets want the money in meds tied up for them to get a bigger cut of - what really bites is they don't want to do the dirty work for a market based rate .
My target is $20/head profit, theres not a whole lot there for a vet to get a cut of and keep me in business. And they certainly aren't going to come do the work for me--- for what I get paid.

 

[tsmaxx47]

i don't know if they can ship to canada or not but i use vally vet and jeffers livestock over the internet. i'm thinking you want to walk into a store and buy the vaccine otc. can't help you there. we have the same problem down here with farm calls so don't feel like the lone ranger. not really free enterprise is it?

 

[milkmaid]

Last time I checked vaccinations weren't prescription meds - as long as we're talking about 8-way, 5-way, tetanus, BVD, etc, that type of vaccine. Should be able to order them from Valley Vet or any other similar online company no problem.

 

[TexasBred]

Last time I checked vaccinations weren't prescription meds - as long as we're talking about 8-way, 5-way, tetanus, BVD, etc, that type of vaccine. Should be able to order them from Valley Vet or any other similar online company no problem.

True....you should be able to buy everything over the counter except bruscellosis which I'm sure is controlled by the state and has to be given by a vet...

And Tractor Supply nor any of the other big box stores is the place to look for vaccines. They carry a little bit of feed but seldom have anyone in the store that knows the diffence between stock, dog food or range cubes.

 

[piedmontese]

Last time I checked vaccinations weren't prescription meds - as long as we're talking about 8-way, 5-way, tetanus, BVD, etc, that type of vaccine. Should be able to order them from Valley Vet or any other similar online company no problem.

True....you should be able to buy everything over the counter except bruscellosis which I'm sure is controlled by the state and has to be given by a vet...

And Tractor Supply nor any of the other big box stores is the place to look for vaccines. They carry a little bit of feed but seldom have anyone in the store that knows the diffence between stock, dog food or range cubes.

last sunday we were going to band some calves and needed some tetanus so i went to TSC and they was $3.00 per dose.my vet is $1.00.

 

[Aaron]

If your close to the border, I would recommend obtaining a U.S. shipping box with UPS and order vaccines from Valley Vet, Jeffers, etc.

 

[canoetrpr]

Unfortunately I am not close enough to the border for this to work. I have found a couple of Canadian online stores that stock some vaccines and wormers.

I recently purchased some tattoing supplies and a Calicrate Bander from http://www.farmersfarmacy.com Excellent service. Since they had a tetanus vaccine and wormer in stock, I placed an order and it should be here tomorrow. Unfortunately they don't seem to stock the Triangle 9 which I used to vaccinate my cows and calves. Another online store in Manitoba http://wwlivestockproducts.com does carry that and a whole bunch of other stuff.