Clinical trial points way to young cattle stock productivity gains
Research funded by the animal health company Merial indicates even low worm infestations may have a significant impact
on productivity in young cattle.
Drenching improved daily weight gains of dairy calves by 150 grams.
And the undrenched young cattle ate for 105 minutes less a day.
In an interesting side observation, the quality of pasture on which the undrenched stock grazed was affected. More long
and pseudo-stemmed grass was left, making it less nutritious.
Merial's veterinary technical services manager, Dr Justin Hurst, says the clinical trial will be of great interest to
farmers nationwide who are now weaning young stock.
The overseas study, involving Merial Animal Health and the UK's independent Institute of Grassland and Environmental
Research, used 20 dairy heifer calves. Ten were dosed with an ivermectin controlled-release capsule two weeks before
they, and the 10 untreated control animals, were released into adjacent pastures of the same length.
After 10 weeks, during which the animals were weighed and tested for worm eggs every 28 days, Dr Hurst says the
following significant findings were reported:
The untreated heifers, compared with their dosed counterparts
• Grazed for 105 minutes less each day
• Ate 0.78kg of dry matter less each day
• Had a mean worm egg count of only 120 eggs per gram of faeces at the end of the trial.
"Farmers will be interested to learn that, even at these low infestation rates, there were important impacts on
productivity," Dr Hurst says.
Merial believes farmers with young stock will benefit from basing drenching decisions on thorough research.
Another clinical trial, using Merial's Eprinex anthelmintic drench, has since shown significant improvements are
possible in grazing time and productivity among adult dairy cows. The trial provides evidence that the rapid and
persistent activity of Eprinex not only leads to direct health benefits for treated animals, but also reduces pasture
contamination while promoting growth which improves pasture quality.
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