Slow Down and Do Things Right
by T.S. Gatz
There are never enough hours in the day for cattle producers. From
sunup to sundown, cattlemen work to achieve maximum productivity and
profit from their herds. A full schedule and being in a hurry are
also often key reasons many producers vaccinate cattle as quickly
as possible - and, as a result, might fail to get the most out of
their vaccine investment.
"Everybody is always trying to do more in a set period of time
than is possible," explains Bill Epperson, D.V.M., Extension
Veterinarian at South Dakota State University. "Producers have
in their mind how long it should take to work cattle, including administering
vaccinations, but they fail to consider cattle may balk or not work
right. Then producers try to make up for lost time."
Dr. Epperson encourages producers to administer the vaccine according
to Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) guidelines during processing, even
if pressed for time. He reminds producers to never administer injections
into the hindquarters. Intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SubQ)
injections must be administered in front of the shoulder, preferably
in the tightened injection site zone -- a hand's width in front of
the industry's previous zone.
Producers are also advised to slow down and use the proper tenting
method when administering injections SubQ. Plus they should take the
time to work cattle calmly.
"We have to remember that we're dealing with a powerful product
in the animal," Dr. Epperson says. "Vaccines are going to
work better in a nonstressed animal than in a stressed one. If you
don't take the time to properly administer the vaccine into a nonstressed
animal, it doesn't matter how good the vaccine is."
Ron Torell, cattle producer and Area Livestock Specialist at the University
of Nevada, Reno, is another advocate on administering injections "in
the zone" and says producers may need to make chute modifications
to reach the neck area easily.
"Neck shots are tough to give," Torell explains. "So
you may need to modify the chute so the animal's neck is exposed behind
the chute."
Torell says taking time to give a vaccination correctly will help
both the animal and the vaccine respond as successfully as possible.
"I have cattle, and we processed them yesterday," he says.
"We went from daylight to dusk. Yeah, we were in a hurry and
probably should have slowed down even more. If you'll slow down, you'll
lower the stress on the cattle. Anything you can do to lower the stress
level of the cattle, you're going to help the animal's system respond
better to the vaccines."
Michael Moore, D.V.M., Novartis Animal Vaccines, Inc., calls vaccines
"an investment." For maximum return on a vaccine investment,
Dr. Moore says two important steps are taking the time to follow all
label directions and to administer vaccines correctly.
"Vaccines help animals fight off some of the most threatening
disease challenges," Dr. Moore says. "And, administering
that vaccine correctly gives it the best chance to protect your animals,
and will give maximum return on your vaccine investment."
Ron Gill, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Livestock Specialist for
the Texas Cooperative Extension Service, reminds producers that achieving
maximum efficacy requires attention to details. Dr. Gill says that
correct handling, storage and administration of vaccines all play
important roles in protecting cattle from disease. The livestock specialist
adds that, most often, a mindset change is necessary for producers
to take extra time to administer vaccines.
"Most everyone's in a hurry to get it done and get on to something
different," Dr. Gill says. "It just takes someone who's
committed to getting it done and done right."` ©
