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

 

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