New to cattle ownership, need some help and advice.

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Fri, 08/21/2020 - 18:34 #1

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4 years 4 months
robcarver
Last seen: 08/29/2020 - 16:27
Joined: 08/21/2020 - 18:24

New to cattle ownership, need some help and advice.

Hi Guys

We have recently inherited 4 mini cows, they were on agistment elsewhere and we have now finally been able to move them over to the land we have purchased on the Sunshine Coast (about 35 acres). We have a few questions and with so little experience we were really hoping for some advice. We notice that one of the Heifers has some patches around her neck that are a little red crusty and bloody, which we have looked up and it appears to be Lice, does anyone have anything that they would recommend for this and if it is the case, would we need to treat all 4 cows?

With this in mind, does anyone have a schedule that they follow for treatment throughout the year? We were worried about Ticks earlier and treated them all with Cidectin which seems to have held them off.

We also noticed that one of the Heifers lacks condition, we have been moving them every few days to new paddocks to help grass and we also supplement with Rhodes Grass and pellets but is that enough? I have heard conflicting information about feeding Lucerne to minis.

So sorry for all the questions but really hope someone can shed some light. Thanks Rob

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Mon, 08/24/2020 - 14:42 #2
admin
Last seen: 12/23/2024 - 11:42
Joined: 02/28/2011 - 14:19

Hi Rob,

Welcome to the small farms forum and thanks for the question.

Lice are common in the cooler months of the year, if you look closely in the animals coat you might be able to see them moving or the eggs. A Synthetic pyrethroid pour on will do the job, you will need to know the animals average weight to accurately dose along with treating all animals in the herd. Make sure you follow the instructions and adhere to any withholding periods on the label.

Lice treatment should be considered an additional treatment to ticks or worms. Often these will be present at different times of the year and you don't want to be treating for one when it is not needed.

Regarding the poor condition of the heifer it is difficult to say and seems strange if she has been running on the same feed as the others. I would try giving her a broad spectrum drench and putting her in a different paddock so you can supplementary her feed with something like lucerne pellets or grain and see if that helps.

I have also posted your question to our Facebook discussion group, which you might like to join, the link is below
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FarmStyle

Regards,
Charlie

 

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Thu, 08/27/2020 - 16:42 #3
robcarver
Last seen: 08/29/2020 - 16:27
Joined: 08/21/2020 - 18:24

Thanks so much Charlie. That was a massive help. Is there a product you recommend for drenching and for Lice separately. We have just used 'IMAX' but that seemed to be for more than just Lice.

Thank you again Rob

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Fri, 08/28/2020 - 09:23 #4
admin
Last seen: 12/23/2024 - 11:42
Joined: 02/28/2011 - 14:19

Hi Rob,

There are a large number of pour on lice only treatments, you will need to check each product for Export Slaughter Intervals (ESI's).

Arrest® Easy‑Dose
Delta Fly® Easy‑Dose
Swish® Pour‑on
Y-Tex Brute®

Regards,
Charlie

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