Blackleg

[novatech]

I know this subject has been brought up many times before on the boards. But this morning at coffee I had an interesting discussion with a vet about it so I thought I would pass it along.
I told him that I had just vaccinated some newborns. He said I would have to do it again when they were 2 months old, and that it was not necessary to vac. a newborn as they got protection from the colostrum. Heifers should be vaccinated again before they are 2 years old and need not be treated again. I had another vet that recommended to vac newborns???
He said if you loose a calf to black leg then you should dispose it by burning in place if at all possible. Never drag the carcass across the ground. You should vaccinate the rest of the cattle and give a shot of penicillin with it in a different location. This will kill off the disease if any others were starting to get it.
Those that think they cannot get it because they have never had it are probably wrong as the spores can stay alive in the ground for 75 years according to the vet I was speaking with.

 

[Angus Cowman]

as for vac new borns I have always been told that until they are 2 months it is like squirting the vac on the ground

 

[LoveMoo11]

Wouldn't it be more effective to vaccinate the cow when she is dry and pregnant, that way she will pass on the immunity to her calf in the colostrum?

 

[dun]

Wouldn't it be more effective to vaccinate the cow when she is dry and pregnant, that way she will pass on the immunity to her calf in the colostrum?

Heifers don;t have the highest quality colostrum so the immunity they pass may not be adequate.
That said, we vaccinate for BL at spring workup. Calves are anywhere from a month and a hlaf ot maybe a week or so old. Doesn;t cost much and it's a good insuarnce policy.

 

[bandit80]

Wouldn't it be more effective to vaccinate the cow when she is dry and pregnant, that way she will pass on the immunity to her calf in the colostrum?

Heifers don;t have the highest quality colostrum so the immunity they pass may not be adequate.
That said, we vaccinate for BL at spring workup. Calves are anywhere from a month and a hlaf ot maybe a week or so old. Doesn;t cost much and it's a good insuarnce policy.

I do the same thing. My calves are generally 2 1/2 to 1 month old at spring work up. I then give a booster at weaning, and that is it. Have never had a problem with Blackleg. We use Boehringer Alpha 7/MB-1.

 

[novatech]

I disagree with giving the pen at the same time. That will kill the vaccine. You just pee peed vaccine on the ground.

The vet said vaccine will not help any animals that have already contracted the disease. The penicillin would do the job.
You make a good point on the penicillin killing the vaccine, I will ask him about that the next time we talk.
I did find an article that agreed with him. http://www.tvg.com.au/cms-1999-october/newsletter.phps

 

[bigbull338]

i would not blackleg vacc newborns.i would vacc them at 2 or 3 months.an then give them the booster in 3wks.an then vacc them again as yearlings.if i was you i blackleg the cows.because they to can die from blackleg.

 

[kenny thomas]

Blackleg can be spread by dogs or other animals draging bones or other parts to your farm from another.
I do agree that the calves should be 2 month old.
Also giving a 7 way to the cows protects the cow and somewhat the calf from other problems. Blackleg is only one of the 7 that you protect from but is the one most noticable if there is a problem.

 

[bigbull338]

i know cows can get blackleg an dropdead.been there an done that.had a cow walk out of the milk barn.go to the water trough get a drink an fall over dead.we checked her an it was blackleg.an the vet had us vacc all the cows.

 

[tom4018]

We calve in one pasture and try to move them to another at about a month old, we usually tag and vaccinate then. We usually try to booster them again. We use Covexin 8 and this is right off the label, " Calves vaccinated under 3 months of age should be re-vaccinated at weaning or 4 to 6 months of age."

Anything we retain gets a booster at weaning and usually again at yearling. When we first started we did not vaccinate at lost a nice bull calf at about 500 pounds to blackleg. We did not have good facilities at the time and started giving them a shot the first 2 or 3 days and never had another problem. Neighbor has lost several and does not vaccinate.

 

[Anonymous]

How often do you vaccinate for blackleg. Is it every year?

 

[bigbull338]

you vacc your cows once a year.the calves are vacc 2 or 3 times by weaning.vacc the calves at 3 months an again at 7 months then yearling for the heifers you keep.

 

[Anonymous]

Thats what I thought just making sure.

 

[braunvieh]

We have a some blackleg and enterotoxemia in our area, and we have lost calves to it at about 3 weeks of age. We give a shot of BL at birth, at about 2-3 months of age and again at weaning. Our vet said that when you give the BL shot to newborns, it won't become effective until about 10 days or 2 weeks, but during that time the colostrum should be providing protection. We don't booster cows, and don't think we have lost any to BL in the last few years.