Vet Dan discusses the new options on the market for our youngstock.
Giving your calves their first drench should have either happened already or be imminent now! There are some exciting new drenches that are relatively new to the market that have added benefits.
IverMatrix Calf Hi min
Active ingredients: Levamisole + oxfendazole + ivermectin
This is the new gold standard first and second drench for parasite control in calves. It is a specifically designed triple active drench that is safe to use in calves. All other triple active drenches contain abamectin which has a very low toxicity dose making them not safe and unusable for calves. This is specifically formulated with ivermectin which has a higher toxicity range and is safe to use. Consider using this instead of the normal double active that you have previously may have purchased or at least consider doing a faecal egg count (as discussed below). From January onwards, once calves are larger then we would recommend using Matrix C as the gold standard oral drench.
Turbo Initial
Active ingredients: Eprinomectin + Levamisole + Diclazuril
This is a double active drench for parasite control but importantly also contains Diclazuril which kills coccidia. Coccidiosis is growing in incidence every year. It is a disease that affects a lot of calves and can have a huge effect ranging from decreased growth rates, to scours and death. The biggest risk factor is if you graze calves on the same paddocks year on year as levels build up between the years. If you think that there could be high-risk coccidiosis then Turbo would be considered your gold standard first or second drench for your calves.
Faecal egg counts
We are encouraging farmers to start performing faecal egg counts so that we can try to better understand the levels of resistance that is out there. It has been widely reported that drench resistance in cattle is occurring and we are keen to find out some local data to see what impact it is having down here. A drench check faecal egg count is a very easy thing to perform. You just need to take 10 faecal samples 10 days after their last drench and drop this off to us. It is a very cheap way to make sure that the drench you are using is the appropriate one and that the drench is actually working.
- Dan Cragg
