Wednesday, 20 March 2013 15:54

New FE treatment for larger cows

Written by 
A healthy cross section of liver (left) compared to a liver affected by FE. A healthy cross section of liver (left) compared to a liver affected by FE.

AGRIFEEDS LTD’S Time Capsule facial eczema-prevention product is now available in a single bolus for larger cows.

Marketing manager Debbie Schrader says, “In the past farmers have had to dose larger cows with a combination of smaller Time Capsules and other zinc products to get full protection.

“A new Time Capsule bolus for 400-600kg cattle means farmers now need only apply one capsule to cows weighing up to 600kg, saving labour, time and money.

 “With the average Jersey cow weighing 400-450kg, the average Friesian 500-600kg and the average Kiwi Cross 450-550kg, this is good news. It means farmers only have to apply one capsule to each cow for four weeks protection against facial eczema at times of high risk, and five weeks at times of low risk,” she says.

Facial eczema causes damage to the liver which can lead to serious health and production losses in cattle, including reduced fertility and milk production, if preventative treatment is not applied.

With the option of ‘one cow, one capsule’, the application is simpler and protection adequate, Schrader says. She advises not to be fooled by hot dry conditions. “Dead and dying pasture litter combined with heavy dew is a haven for the fungus which causes facial eczema.

“Not all animals show physical signs and farmers may not be aware stock have a problem until it is too late,” she says.

Developed by AgResearch specifically for New Zealand conditions, the Time Capsule is a controlled slow release capsule providing animals a consistent daily dose of zinc for at least four weeks protection in cattle and six weeks in sheep.

More like this

Swedes – HT or not – damaged livers

Blood and autopsy samples from cows that were sick or died after grazing swedes in Southland last winter have confirmed liver damage but the role, or not, of the HT strain of the crop in the epidemic is still unclear.

Liver damage shown in swedes study

LIVER DAMAGE is indicated in a DairyNZ analysis of the blood and autopsy samples the industry body collected from dairy cows experiencing ill-health after grazing on swedes in Southland.

Featured

Owl Farm marks 10 years as NZ’s first demonstration dairy farm

In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.

National

Machinery & Products

New McHale terra drive axle option

Well-known for its Fusion baler wrapper combination, Irish manufacturer McHale has launched an interesting option at the recent Irish Ploughing…

Amazone unveils flagship spreader

With the price of fertiliser still significantly higher than 2024, there is an increased onus on ensuring its spread accurately at…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

The real emergency

The nutters of the green world, aided and abetted by the lamestream media, are rewriting the English language for the worse.

A very low road

OPINION: The self righteous activists at Greenpeace are copying the self-righteous lefties behind the ‘free Palestine’ movement – not surprising given…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter