Black leg vac

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wood2

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Does it hurt to give your nursing cows 5cc of black leg vac?
 
Reason I asked is I thought younger calves got the vac that if you have already vac them when they were small you dont vac when older for black leg it isnt prevelent in this area, new vet vac them, I guess better safe than sorry, there calves were all 3 mo old and vac too.
 
wood2":219qs8cf said:
Does it hurt to give your nursing cows 5cc of black leg vac?

Very difficult to understand your posts - so I will have a go at what I hope will be a reasonable answer.

I do not know where you are from or what type of vaccine you are contemplating giving - however - there are some options and some instructions you need to take into account. All of what is written below is done so to provide info not only to you but to others as well.

All I can tell you is what we use and what is on the bottle. And all of that is from memory as that bottle is a long way from me at the moment.

First - there are some precautions that you need to take. If there is a "nursing" precaution it will be clearly stated on the bottle. So look for this precaution on the bottle or on the paper that comes with the drug.

Second - the best way to prevent possible problems is to discuss a vaccination protocol with your veterinarian. I have never had one tell me to take a hike.

Third - What we use is a common - over the counter drug called 8 Way - I believe that it is made by Phizer. We administer this drug to the cattle prior to birth and booster with a second shot about 4-6 weeks after the first. It also covers a broad spectrum of other cattle diseases and also carries something to counter infection. This drug is actually very cheap and is cheaper than the straight black leg drug we once considered. I believe the drug works out to a bit less than a buck or buck twenty per injection - possibly less. It is good for one year - and in truth we often go 18 months due to herd rotation and/or herd location.

Fourth - It is almost always best to do vaccinations before breeding or before birth. You can consider live or killed vaccines - each has advantages and disadvantages depending upon your specific conditions. This is one that you need to discuss with your veterinarian while taking into account your own herd management program. Everyone has a different idea - but your cattle operation is the one that you need to satisfy.

Finally - we seldom if ever vaccinate a calf under 5 months of age. That might or might not be appropriate for you in your area - but in consultation with our veterinarian we believe the risk to calves on cows in our area is marginal at best. When we run them through the chute at weaning time for dehorning and castration we hit them with 8 way - and then we run them through again in 4-6 weeks for the booster - then they generally hit the road.

While I am sure this did not completely answer your question I hope it helped - be sure to check the directions on the bottle as per my "first" - if ever in doubt be sure to ask a veterinarian.

Regards

Bez+
 
Our vet recommends boostering the cows every two or three years.
1. to keep the immunity up just in case of an outbreak
2. to keep the colostrum immunity up for the baby calves.
We vaccinate inconjuction with our other vaccines and vaccinate pre breeding by two to three weeks.
By the time the hiefers are ready to breed they will have had three rounds of shots from the pfizer program. 1st time at 3 months, second time a few weeks before weaning and the third pre breeding by 2-3 weeks. Then yearly after that with black leg every two years.
 
5cc sounds likes a large dose. Blackleg vacc's are usually standardized 2-3 mL, regardless of age of animal.

Find out from your vet if you live in a high risk Clostridial infection area. I do, so cows get vaccinated annually with Covexin Plus. Never used to, but a fellow in another town 8 years ago cleared 20 acres and let his cows out, after calving in the spring, onto the new ground. 34 cows and a bunch of calves dropped dead within a couple of days and bankrupted him. All were killed by Sordelli type Clostridium infection (just another strain of blackleg). Always been here, but plowing up new ground can really surprise a person.

I did use Ultrachoice 8, which I think Bez is referring to, but it didn't have the tetanus included in it, so I switched to Covexin Plus, which has everything Ultrachoice 8 has, plus tetanus, and is cheaper. :cowboy:
 
Aaron":34a6r0q3 said:
5cc sounds likes a large dose. Blackleg vacc's are usually standardized 2-3 mL, regardless of age of animal.

Find out from your vet if you live in a high risk Clostridial infection area. I do, so cows get vaccinated annually with Covexin Plus. Never used to, but a fellow in another town 8 years ago cleared 20 acres and let his cows out, after calving in the spring, onto the new ground. 34 cows and a bunch of calves dropped dead within a couple of days and bankrupted him. All were killed by Sordelli type Clostridium infection (just another strain of blackleg). Always been here, but plowing up new ground can really surprise a person.

I did use Ultrachoice 8, which I think Bez is referring to, but it didn't have the tetanus included in it, so I switched to Covexin Plus, which has everything Ultrachoice 8 has, plus tetanus, and is cheaper. :cowboy:

Actually Aaron, the stuff we use does have tetanus in it - so I am now unable to tell you what it is we use - darn I was sure we called it 8-Way.

Be one more year in "prison" here yet before I can check that. Freedom comes August of 2010. The government extended my sentence last week. :D

Have a good one

Bez+
 

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