Settle this fight we have everytime we work cattle!!!!

[Chuckie]

When you work your cattle and give shots, such as Pink Eye Vaccines, etc.... What system do you use about use about your needles? Your cattle, and the Vaccines.

Do you use the same needle as each cow comes through? Do you insert a needle into vaccines that have been stuck into another cow, or do you use clean needles?

Chuckie

 

[Fred Belknap]

Maybe I shouldn't but I use the same needle till it gets bent by a lunger.

 

[3waycross]

Maybe I shouldn't but I use the same needle till it gets bent by a lunger.

Like Doc Holiday type lunger??????????

 

[Chuckie]

My thoughts are that if the same needle is used, over and over, and inserted into the sterile solution, (Vaccine) then it is the same thing as giving any disease or problem it to the other cattle.
Chuckie

 

[KNERSIE]

Get an automatic syringe for vaccines that way you don't insert a "dirty" needle into the bottle everytime. In an ideal world use a new needle for every animal (in my world, and I know my herd is clean, I use a needle till it goes blunt, but I sterilise all needles after and before everytime its used.)

 

[Suzie Q]

We have several needles. We fill them up and keep them in an esky.

Run the cattle through until we run out.

Go back inside, steralise and refill and start runnning the cattle through again.

 

[Angus Cowman]

I use the multiple dose guns so we fill em shoot the cows and when empty refill and MOST of the time we put a new needle on when we refill the syringe

as far as infecting or exposing every cow in your herd to diseases from using the same needle on more than 1 cow
if your cows are going thru the chute together and are running together they have already been exposed

syringes get washed and cleaned after use
we use disposble needle so they just get tossed in the trashcan at the chute

 

[dun]

We use the same needle over and over, but there is one that is in the bottle that stays there. We just pull off the shot needle and use the bottle needle to suck up the vaccine then put the shot needle back on. When the shot needle is dull it gets pitched and a new one is used

 

[mtncows]

We use the same needle over and over, but there is one that is in the bottle that stays there. We just pull off the shot needle and use the bottle needle to suck up the vaccine then put the shot needle back on. When the shot needle is dull it gets pitched and a new one is used

Good Idea

 

[jkwilson]

We use the same needle over and over, but there is one that is in the bottle that stays there. We just pull off the shot needle and use the bottle needle to suck up the vaccine then put the shot needle back on. When the shot needle is dull it gets pitched and a new one is used

That's our process. A dirty needle never goes in the bottle.

 

[MistyMorning]

We use the same needle over and over, but there is one that is in the bottle that stays there. We just pull off the shot needle and use the bottle needle to suck up the vaccine then put the shot needle back on. When the shot needle is dull it gets pitched and a new one is used

In theory this sounds like a plan, but with that much changing around of needles I could just see me giving myself a shot of something I don't need! I just load all syringes with what I need beforehand and toss the whole thing away after each one is done, but there isn't very many to do here either.

 

[redcowsrule33]

New needle, every cow, every time. Don't reuse arm sleeves, either.

 

[snichols264]

Same as Dun unless the entire bottle will be used on the group of cattle being worked. Then I will not take time to use a new needle when drawing from the bottle and just use the same needle until damaged or dull.

 

[AudieWyoming]

For herd work I use muti-dose pistol grip, guns and disposable neeedles til bent or dull. Most vaccines I try to use ML in 50 & 10 dose bottles, most of the time if the needle is still good it goes back in the bottle. The ML is no good if you have any left anyway. I admit sometimes I will throw partial bottles of 7-way back in the cooler and use later. Mine is a pretty much closed isolated herd, I doubt one cow is going to have something they haven't all been exposed to. I do recall Lucky-P posting that he once thought he spread something within his herd via common needles. If I am only treating one or two I just use plastic disposable syringes.@

Get an automatic syringe for vaccines that way you don't insert a "dirty" needle into the bottle everytime. In an ideal world use a new needle for every animal (in my world, and I know my herd is clean, I use a needle till it goes blunt, but I sterilise all needles after and before everytime its used.)

KNERSIE,
Do you mean sterilise or sanitize between cows?
I thought I was told never to use sanitizers in syringes or needles as it would nullify or interfere with the vaccine.@

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I use a fresh needle for every cow every time. I do reprocess the large bore metal hub needles that are still sharp by boiling them on the stove and rinsing them in a bowl of alcohol. It is as close to sterilizing as I can get. Smaller gauge needles I just use once and discard.

 

[SRBeef]

My vet and I work together. He gives the shots. As far as I can recall, he puts a new needle on several large pistol grip syringes, fills them from the bottle with the fresh needle, uses the amount in each syringe on multiple animals until its gone then uses the next loaded syringe. I believe he then discards the used needles when we are done. This way only a small group (one large pistol grip worth) of animals see the same needle, a used needle is never inserted in a bottle, and you don't have to decide when a needle is "dull".

There is something about using a needle until it is "dull" that doesn't sit right with me. What about the last animal it is used on? Must be my recollection of receiving shots in the USAF coming back. Needles are not very expensive, I'd rather not use them until there is even a question about them being "dull". I prefer to throw them away before there is even a chance that they are "dull".

Another benefit of loading ahead of time is that especially in the fall at preg check time, conditions are not very "sanitary" after a few cows go through. Loading everything needed ahead of time and having several laying covered on a work table out of splash distance tends to keep the needles cleaner?? jmho.

Jim

 

[KNERSIE]

For herd work I use muti-dose pistol grip, guns and disposable neeedles til bent or dull. Most vaccines I try to use ML in 50 & 10 dose bottles, most of the time if the needle is still good it goes back in the bottle. The ML is no good if you have any left anyway. I admit sometimes I will throw partial bottles of 7-way back in the cooler and use later. Mine is a pretty much closed isolated herd, I doubt one cow is going to have something they haven't all been exposed to. I do recall Lucky-P posting that he once thought he spread something within his herd via common needles. If I am only treating one or two I just use plastic disposable syringes.@

Get an automatic syringe for vaccines that way you don't insert a "dirty" needle into the bottle everytime. In an ideal world use a new needle for every animal (in my world, and I know my herd is clean, I use a needle till it goes blunt, but I sterilise all needles after and before everytime its used.)

KNERSIE,
Do you mean sterilise or sanitize between cows?
I thought I was told never to use sanitizers in syringes or needles as it would nullify or interfere with the vaccine.@

No, not between cows, just boil syringes and needles before and after use.

 

[Keren]

We use the same needle over and over, but there is one that is in the bottle that stays there. We just pull off the shot needle and use the bottle needle to suck up the vaccine then put the shot needle back on. When the shot needle is dull it gets pitched and a new one is used

ditto. or use an auto injector. so much easier and not really that expensive

 

[Lucky_P]

I knew better - I'm a veterinarian - but like anyone else, I was all about gettin' it done quick and cheap.
'Twas not the thing to do.

I'd rocked along for 10-15 years with this closed herd of cattle (Knersie, you may THINK your herd is clean, but you may be deceiving yourself.) then, started losing a cow to lymphosarcoma once every couple of years, then it escalated to one or two every year. When I tested the mature cow herd, I had a 90+% BLV infection rate - enhanced, I am sure, by using the same needle on cow after cow, in and out of the vaccine bottle, until it got so dull I couldn't shove it through the skin again.

I may never get this mess cleaned up, as all the literature suggests that in herds with BLV-infection rates above 40%, it's nearly impossible to eradicate unless you separate into infected and non-infected herds.
But, for now, one needle goes into the vaccine/medicine bottle; no in-and-out with a used needle. Every 'known' uninfected animal, and any heifers that have been born since the whole-herd test, 3 years ago, get their own new, sterile needle for each injection. I will 'double-up' if I can: If I'm giving a MLV vaccine and a killed bacterin, I'll give the MLV injection, then switch that needle to the syringe with the killed product - but only for that one animal.
I'll reuse needles on cows that I know are BLV-positive - the damage is already done to them - and steers. Any known BLV-infected animals are leaving once they hit 10 yrs of age, regardless of productivity. Once the original group of tested cows leaves, in 2012, I'll retest the whole herd again to see if I've made any headway.

Yes, it takes a few seconds more to switch to a new needle for each animal, and probably adds up to a few dollars every year, but if you're maintaining a cow herd(even if it's just commercial cows, like mine) or producing seedstock(bulls or heifers/cows) I'd recommend a new needle for each animal, and no 'in and out' of the vaccine bottle with a used needle. Stocker steers? OK, I'd probably reuse needles, 'cause, even if one is BLV-positive, any that you manage to infect by using a 'dirty' needle will probably be eaten long before BLV could cause any problems.

Good info on BLV infection and management here:
http://nyschap.vet.cornell.edu/module/l ... chure.pdfo

 

[DavisBeefmasters]

Auto-syringe with new needle for each cow - it only takes a second and I still manage to work the head gate and keep the pace.

If auto-syringe fails to cooperate... I have a needle that goes in the vaccine bottle and stays there and draw the vaccine up thru it, switch on a new needle and carry on -- with this procedure I usually have about 5 syringes drawn up and the pace is a little bit slower in between each set of 5 cows for me to draw up syringes again.

No re-use of needles -- I know my chances... it's the 50/50/90 rule --> if there's a 50/50 shot of me getting something right, I have a 90% chance of getting it wrong... I must have lived myself a pretty good past life to have such good luck in this one :???:

Well, if it weren't for misfortune, I'd have no fortune at all.