Vitamin Shots
- Thread starter Fred
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Vitamin B12 complex - appetite.
Bo-Se/Mu-Se - Selenium & Vit E combo - selenium deficencies or prior to calving to (attempt to) prevent retained placentas.
Those are the two I usually use...don't use much else.
Bo-Se/Mu-Se - Selenium & Vit E combo - selenium deficencies or prior to calving to (attempt to) prevent retained placentas.
Those are the two I usually use...don't use much else.
buckaroo_bif
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vitamin b12 or thiamine at times
Jeanne - Simme Valley
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We give A&D & BoSe to newborns. Have A, Selenium & E in mineral year round. B-12 if needing apetite.
buckaroo_bif
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Scotty":v3m2senq said:
Good idea Scotty never thought of that before calving!
Do you use scourguard or any scour vaccine?
just wondered
bif
T-Bone
Well-known member
Bez, what about the B-12 for appetite?
ALACOWMAN
Well-known member
cattle on pasture dont need B12.i do however give mine A-D shot twice a year.if they dont have a appetite they got something else going on that might take more than vitamins.Bez!":3pqxrfgw said:
T-Bone":q2gd0v90 said:
Only time I use it is on sick calves. They've lost fluids, minerals, electrolytes, good bacteria, etc, so in that case I do need to replenish what's been lost. B12 can stimulate their appetite and get them at least looking a little better in some circumstances. Usually give B12, A&D, and Bo-Se as needed and depending on the calf.
Jeanne - Simme Valley
Well-known member
Also, if you have a cow that is down from calving = pinched nerves - you can give B-Complex. It helps healing process of the nerve ends.
Milkmaid is right, B-12 is to assist in a sick animal that lost it's appetite.
Milkmaid is right, B-12 is to assist in a sick animal that lost it's appetite.
novaman
Well-known member
Bez!":2nr1yc12 said:
Now I don't mean to question the way people operate and I certainly don't know the conditions that many of you have to deal with. The problem I see with not giving shots, whether it be vitamin shots, scourgard, preggard or any kind of shots, is the fact that vaccinating is far cheaper than having to pay for it should a problem occur. Furthermore, deficiencies can occur long before any symtoms of that deficiency are present. I guess the main vitamin shot I give my cows every year prior to calving is vitamin A. Not only is vitamin A an anti-oxidant in the body but it is also vital to the animal in so many ways. Nearly every bodily function has some tie to vitamin A. Those of you that believe the cattle get enough vitamin A from their feeds and shouldn't require supplementation cause me to scratch my head. If you can keep your cows on green grass year-round then I would agree with you but I highly doubt anyone has that luxury. Vitamin A can only be stored in the liver for about 120 days and is especially high in demand at calving time. Unless you like to take chances I would definately give vitamin A shots just to be on the safe side. But again it's just my opinion. There are probably many of you that can get by without giving shots.
novaman":1xkxxu34 said:
Whoa back Mr. Novaman - I think you need to re-read the question - it concerns vitamins - NOT vaccinations.
I will repeat a post I made earlier tonight on another thread to another person.
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Seems folks like to spend money - or reccommend we spend money on cattle. I would suggest you sit down and potentially re-think your operation. There is always room to revamp if one looks objectively at how things run.
Genetics, genetics, genetics.
We have never wormed a cow in my life. We vaccinate - Modified live vaccine for Bovine Pneumonia, IBR, BVD, PI-3, BRSV.
8 Way for Black Leg, Dysentry, Hepatitus, Edema and Tetanus.
Tetanus was a surprise to me - it is buried in the Covexin 8 Way - did not know it was there.
I looked the above information up the other day for a friend.
We never creep and we never used store bought sacks of any type of feed - generally we buy mineral and salt. Otherwise it is straight hay and when I feel generous - some corn. Never feed it when the temp is above minus 20 - 30. They simply do not need it. We never spend money on straw - they sleep on the snow and they seem to do very well as long as they are out of the wind.
I figure the total cost per head for meds is less than 15 bucks per head on an annual basis - and we never have had any probs we could not handle - not to say it will not happen, but so far so good.
If you run a closed herd you can cut down dramatically and increase your profits.
Sit down and take a long hard look - you may find you are not committing heresy - you may simply be deciding to raise cattle in the way they were designed to be raised.
Bez!
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As for vitamin shots - I have never worked on a ranch that ran the cattle through for vitamin shots - it was used for doctoring - that is a given.
I darned sure never had a cow that lost it's appetite - if it did the 'yotes or wolves got it - or once in a while the bears. Or we shipped it - right away - I DO NOT want those genetics on the place. The cattle game is not a numbers of head game - it is a quality game - cull the s.o.b. The harder you cull the better the herd in the end.
If it sits in a 5 acre pasture and is watched every day - and it does not appear to be eating - if there is food available and it gets hungry it will eat.
I stand by my comments: If it is fed right it needs nothing else!
Bez!
novaman
Well-known member
Bez, I'm not saying everybody needs to be giving vitamin shots. Everybody makes their operations work for them. I can see your point about not wanting to run the cows through just to give them a vitamin shot. We feed the cows in the fields through the winter. About ten days prior to the start of calving we bring them in and give them a shot of scourguard and a shot of vitamin ADE. The vitamin A along with proper amounts of selenium prevent weak calf sydrome. I'm sure I could get by without the vitamin vaccination but at less than a dollar per head for the ADE I think I would like the peace of mind knowing my cattle vaccinated. Sure the name of the game is profit but I feel there is a fine line between skimping and taking proper care of your herd.
novaman":2e4yxxbe said:
Running cattle through the chutes for a vitamin shot is stressfull - not worth the prob.
Funny how we have managed for all these years without them - along with the lterally millions of others that never see this happen.
Never considered it skimping and I darned sure would never say that we - or all the other fine U.S. of A. ranchers and Canuck ranchers do not take proper care of our herd.
You seem to believe otherwise from your scribings.
Bez!
a vitamin shot isnt a vaccination, its more like a supplement.cattle get most of the vitamins they need from the food (grass) they eat. occasionally you may need give some vitamin E or something if you have alot of retained placenta for instance. Selenium is a mineral. some places are deficient, some arent.
novaman
Well-known member
Well like I said everybody has different situations. And again I could probably get by without the vitamin shot and have no problems. However, since we bring the cows in to scourguard there isn't much extra time, effort, or cost required in giving the vitamin shot. You are probably right that there are many ranchers that don't give vitamin shots. I know of a number of ranchers that do give the vitamin shots in my area. Plus I just like the security knowing that the vitamins won't be a problem. As Beefy said the cattle get their vitamins from the grass they eat. The problem we have is that the grass is dried up by August on normal years. On normal years it isn't green again until the end of April, beginning of May. Finally I didn't mean to imply that I felt you or anyone that doesn't give vitamin shots were skimping. All I meant by that was that I tend to give maybe just a bit more than required to be on the safe side
