Boostering

[randiliana]

The vaccines thread got me to thinking..... Not always a good thing, but I think this is a good thing here. When you vaccinate calves or cows, how well do you follow the boostering directions?? I mean, if you vaccinate calves in May, and the vaccine says to booster in 4-6 weeks do you go get everything in and booster in June?? Or are you like us, they get boostered when they get weaned? Could be in October by that time which is 20 weeks later. I think this is something that most of us really should think about. After all, how can you expect a vaccine to work properly if you aren't administering it properly.

Could be THIS is why the feedlots don't trust the farmer/rancher when he says his calves WERE vaccinated.

 

[angie1]

We don't have as many as most, but we always follow the directions. I didn't realize not following directions was an option, I thought it would invalidate both shots to give too much time between.

 

[larryshoat]

Randi, I think you are on to something here . As much as I preach on vaccinating cattle I could not honestly give myself the highest rating in your poll . We intend to give vaccines in a timely manner but, often become busy and don't always get that second round when we should . That being said I think even one round is much better than nothing . Maybe the best thing we can do is from time to time recommit ourselves to quality and try to do better . Thanks for the poll and the tread.

Larry

 

[simangus23]

We always follow directions --- doesn't everyone?

 

[angie1]

We always follow directions --- doesn't everyone?

read and find out

 

[simangus23]

So Angie are you planning on answering the question at hand or just here to comment on other people's replies?
Sim

 

[angie1]

Hmmmm ~ Mine is the very first response...

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Believe it or not - if you give only 1 shot when it says to booster OR if you booster later than it says, YOU JUST WASTED YOUR TIME AND MONEY$$$. The first shot does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if it is not booster in a timely manner. PERIOD.
Don't listen to me - call a pharmaceutical rep, your vet, your local extension agent, etc. & ask.

And yes, you are right. That's why some buyers don't pay any attention to someone saying "they got all their shots". Too many producers are unknowledgeable about vaccines.

 

[randiliana]

Anyone know what kind of response you get with just the first shot? There must be some sort of a response, or you would think that a lot more cattle would come down sick than do. I know even a lot of feedlots are not great on getting the booster shots done. Some studies or articles to read would be interesting I think.

 

[larryshoat]

I don't think there is any question that one round of vaccine is better than none . If 1 round does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING then what would make the second round any better . Ask any feedlot owner which they would rather have a group of calves with one round of shots or a group with nothing .

Larry

 

[donnaIL]

Like Larry said that appears to be the feeling of the buyers at our sale barn too. The barn also offers vacines too at a reasonable price. It depends where you are and what the risks are but a lot of healthy unvacinated animals go through the sale barn. In Illinois with out open ranges and more contained situations it does not seem as common with the commercial farmer. JMO donna

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I will try to find an article. I have printed many in my newsletters, but always delete them out of my computer after printing.
Here is a quote out of the program I attended few weeks ago from W. Mark Hilton, DVM, Beef Cattle, Purdue Univ.
"Which vaccines to use, non-infectious (killed) or MLV?"
"The following basic principles must be applied in decisions on the use of killed vs. modified-live viral vaccines:
(1) noninfectious vaccines (killed) generally require multiple doses (2 - 6 weeks apart) to immunize and one dose has no benefit at all, i.e. vaccinating pregnant cows once yearly with killed vaccine does nothing;
(2) the immunity generated by noninfectious vaccines is short-lived, requiring boosters every few months to 1 year apart for maintenance;
(3) noninfectious vaccines do not stimulate local immunity at all and either do not stimulate or poorly stimulate cellular immunity;
(4) noninfectious vaccines are very effective in stimulating humoral immunity and are more effective than MLV in stimulating a secondary immune response, because of the increased amount of antigen in the noninfectious vaccine;
(5) MLV provide cellular and humoral immunity that persists for years to life and are the first choice for successful immunization of young animals;
(6) MLV can cause abortion in unprotected pregnant animals or desease in immunologically compromised animals. Newer labeling has allowed use of MLV in pregnant cows IF they had the same vaccine less than 12 months previously. Never assume a cow has been vaccinated previously.
(7) MLV can have a negative effect on the corpus leutem of a cow that is about to be bred, so you need to vaccinate at least 30 days prior to breeding.

In most instances the use of a MLV is the most cost-effective choice to use. To use these vaccines timing must be correct. For example, non-immune heifers can experience inflammation to their ovarian tissue and cause a reduced pregnancy rate if vaccinated too closely to the time of breeding. We recommend vaccinating heifers 30-60 days prebreeding with MLV IBR-BVD vaccine.

There are many vaccines available for use in cattle and every herd should have a program in place with their herd health veterinarian."

I will post this as a seperate topic.

 

[randiliana]

Very interesting, Jeanne. But, I know a lot of MLV vaccines say you need to booster a short time later (4-6 weeks) the first time you vaccinate. And then booster annually. So if you were to miss that very first booster would you be wasting your money, or do they work pretty well anyway. I think I will search google and see what studies I can come up with.

 

[randiliana]

Here is a good article on the different types of vaccines, and on how they work. If they need boostering, or not. And also on how they work in calves that still have maternal antibodies.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VM063

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

randiliana, great article.
Multiple vaccines within one shot (like 5-ways) "usually" require a booster for the BRSV, not necessarily for the IBR PI3 & BVD. So, with just the one shot, you get really good protection except for the BRSV.
But, more research says you get "real good" protection 80% of the time, so for 100% they say to go ahead & revaccinate with MLV.
When we vaccinate calves at about 4 months, we use a 5-way MLV than booster (because of the BRSV) 4 weeks later & go ahead & use the 5-way again, rather than using just a BRSV vaccine. Very little cost difference compared to the added benefit (thinking some calves may still have maternal immunites messing things up).
The new Vista that I'm using, does not require a booster even for the BRSV.

Interesting, that you can get pretty good response short term with a nasal vaccine (and it is safe for nursing calves.)