August saw the launch of a new venture for Animal Health Ireland (AHI), supported by AIB, ‘Weanling Week – Worth their Weight in Gold‘, a three-part roadshow aimed at suckler farmers who are rearing replacements, fattening or selling their weanlings. Events were held in three marts in the West – Roscommon Mart, Ennis Mart and Mayo/Sligo Mart in Ballina with over 200 farmers attending the three events. Topics included parasite control, vaccination protocols and pre-housing checks. Interactive sessions on the nights were compered by our own Eilish Gill (SPARC Project Officer) and our panel of speakers included AHI Programme Managers Natascha Meunier and Michelle McGrath, as well as local veterinary practitioners John O’Rourke (Roscommon), Orla O’Halloran (Ennis) and Rachel Brown (Ballina).
Weanling Week – Worth Their Weight in Gold
By: Oisín Morgan
Communications Executive
The events also featured a “Guess the Weight” competition which provided a practical example of why calibrating your dosing guns is so important. Some people were excellent at judging the weight of an animal by eye, while others, like myself, were not so good. One point made in Ennis was that if you are over calculating by a few milliliters when giving a 50ml dose, you may not do any harm, however, overdosing by a few milliliters when giving a 1ml dose could be catastrophic.
Don’t vaccinate and wean animals at the same time. Spread it out to give your weanlings the best chance at recovery and ensures the best response to vaccinations.
Key messages for farmers from the events
- Any animals that are bought in should be kept away from the main herd for 2-4 weeks in quarantine. This is to ensure they are healthy and won’t spread any potential diseases onto your herd.
- Check your sheds for leaks and make sure sheds are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before animals are brought into housing. Now is a great time to start so that the concrete has sufficient time to dry.
- Correct calibration of the dosing gun ensures maximum efficiency and avoids over and under dosing.
- Check your dose is working against gutworms by doing a pooled dung sample two weeks after dosing. The egg count should be 0!
- With the current rainfall, watch out for gutworms and lungworms in younger animals. Keep an eye out for coughing and scour.
- Ensure vaccines are up to date before housing. Now is the time to start, so best to contact your vet.
- Don’t vaccinate and wean animals at the same time. Spread it out to give your weanlings the best chance at recovery and ensures the best response to vaccinations.
Thank You From AHI
We would like to thank everyone who helped and supported Weanling Week, especially the staff of Roscommon, Ennis and Mayo/Sligo Marts, our guest speakers, Crossmolina ICA and most importantly, all who attended.
AHI Stakeholders
AHI gratefully acknowledges the financial and other contributions of our stakeholders.
