Sheep, Beef & Deer Calendar

 

January

  • Get your rams palpated and blood tested prior to mating

  • Get dogs vaccinated prior to the dog trial season

  • Take out lighter ewes for preferential feeding before mating

  • Reproductive vaccines (Toxo and Campy) can be started now

  • Get Teaser rams prepared by your vet

  • Clostridial booster (or sensitiser if not already done) should be given to replacement hoggets, lambs, and calves

  • Continue with preventative drench programme in lambs

  • Remove bulls after 3 cycles (63 days) for mixed age cows, and 2 cycles (42 days) for heifers

February

  • Ensure mineral levels are adequate going into mating, especially Iodine and Selenium

  • Palpate udders and Body Condition Score ewes one month after weaning. Cull poor animals to increase lamb survivability

  • Weigh 2 tooths to ensure they are on track to reach target mating weights

  • Reproductive vaccines (Toxo and Campy) should be started/ boosted if not already done. This should be started in hoggets if hogget mating. 4 tooths should receive a Campy booster again the following year after starting the programme as a 2 tooth.

  • Pre-Christmas fly product is often running out by February, consider the need for re-application

  • Annual footrot inspection when conditions are dry will help remove the pool of infectious animals going into the Autumn

  • Continue with preventative drench programme in lambs

  • Clostridial booster (or sensitiser if not already done) should be given to replacement hoggets, lambs, and calves if not already given

March

  • Continue with preventative drench programme in lambs

  • Get your final drenches, vaccines, and supplements into ewes prior to mating (abortion vaccines, footvac, minerals, drench)

  • Lambs may benefit from a B12 booster, as liver stores are often running out by now

  • Plan your AI programmes in stud flocks

  • Book your beef cow pregnancy testing to enable dating of pregnancies, marking of third cycle cows, and culling of dry cows before Winter

  • Blood test 15 cattle at pregnancy testing to determine the BVD status of your herd

  • Fawns should be given their Yersiniavax sensitiser vaccination

  • Drench weaner deer with an oral combination drench

April

  • Teasers out with hoggets

  • Cross-bred hoggets should be 40kg in early April

  • Exit drench remaining trading lambs and ewe hoggets – discuss options with your vet

  • Toxo and Campy vaccination should be completed now

  • Target condition score of 3.0 for ewes at mating

  • Cattle should be in peak body condition by the end of April to ensure they winter well

  • Drench calves and vaccinate with clostridial vaccine if not already done

  • Fawns should be given their Yersiniavax booster vaccination

  • Copper bullets should be given to calves and fawns prior to Winter

May

  • Cross-bred hoggets should be 45kg at Mating

  • Set your farm up for Winter by performing a Winter feed budget

  • Remove rams

  • Avoid stressing ewes that are less than 30 days pregnant

  • Capacity test your bulls for insurance and pre-sale purposes

  • Cattle will benefit from a lice pour-on treatment

  • Copper bullet calves and fawns if not already done

June

  • Give sheep a lice treatment off-shears

  • Perform a faecal egg count at scanning time to assess levels, and assist in pre-lamb worm control decision making

  • Come to the Veterinary Centre Sheep and Beef Winter Roadshow

  • Book in your TB testing if your deer are due this year

  • Scan hinds 35-40 days after stag removal

  • It is a good time to administer a long acting Selenium product to cows (which should last over mating)

July

  • Give sheep a lice treatment off-shears

  • Review your drenching plan for the pre-lamb period with your vet

  • Book in your conveyer for pre-lamb capsule, clostridial vaccination, and drench treatments

  • Carry out a pre-lamb feed budget for twin bearing ewes

  • Carry out a footrot inspection to reduce the pool of infected animals present during the lambing period

August

  • Give sheep a lice treatment off-shears

  • Ewes will need a clostridial vaccine (5 in 1 or Covexin) booster 2 weeks pre-lamb

  • Drench your yearling heifers and consider giving them a mineral boost

September

  • Cows, heifers, and bulls should receive their BVD sensitiser vaccination

  • All bulls should be tested for BVD prior to their first mating season (and vaccinated)

October

  • Cows, heifers, and bulls should receive their BVD booster vaccination

  • Capacity testing off bulls should be carried out prior to mating

  • A selenium boost should be given to cattle prior to mating if not already administered

  • Scabine vaccination should be given to lambs at docking on infected properties

November

  • A preventative drenching programme should be started in lambs

  • Scabine vaccination should be given to lambs at docking on infected properties

  • Watch lambs for development of pre-weaning scour as this may indicate Nematodirus burden. Get a Faecal Egg Count done if concerned

  • Be on the lookout for flystrike in humid weather, especially once grass goes to seed

December

  • Discuss a fly and parasite prevention plan with your vet

  • Lambs and calves should receive their clostridial vaccination (5 in 1 or Covexin) sensitiser vaccination

  • Lambs may benefit from B12 at weaning

  • Weaning, or soon after is an ideal time to perform a faecal egg count reduction test, contact your vet to establish if egg levels are adequate for testing

  • Beef cows should be gaining weight throughout mating to maximise conception rates and calf growth rates

  • Ensure adequate bull numbers and that bulls are rotated if single sire mating

For any enquires about your sheep & beef animals get in touch