Methods to reduce iron and manganese levels at the drinking water source

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Besides hardness, iron is also an important cause of problems in the drinking water system. The danger doesn’t lie within the iron itself but in the unpleasant side-effects of its presence. Iron excess gives rise to discoloration of the water, scaling, pipe or nipple blockings, metal taste, promotion of biofilm etc. This affects animal health and can therefore indirectly increase antibiotic use. Manganese excess often comes along with iron excess and causes similar problems. Luckily there are several techniques to remove iron and manganese at the drinking water source:

De-ironing: This is an automatic technique that consists of two steps. 1) By aerating, the soluble iron (Fe2+) precipitates and becomes insoluble (Fe3+). These iron particles are then filtered out with a (sand) filter. Different variants of this technique are available, e.g., with an underground installation. The functioning of the system should be monitored regularly.

Ion exchange: a cation exchanger removes iron and manganese as well as calcium and magnesium from the water by exchanging them for sodium. This happens in column with a resin medium. Removing calcium and magnesium softens the water. This is an automatic technique but periodically, the resin medium needs to be regenerated.

Sedimentation basin: only works for moderate iron/manganese excess. The water flows slowly through an open basin. By periodically aerating the basin, iron and manganese precipitate and sink to the bottom, just as other suspended particles. This results in clear water.

Zeolite filter: zeolite is a rock that can be used as ion exchanger (same principle as above) or as filter. In the latter case, three steps are performed (filtration, regeneration, washing) to remove iron and manganese.

Prevention of (blue-green) algae in drinking water sources

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Algae and blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) typically cause problems in summertime: they thrive in stagnant or slow flowing warm water with high levels of nutrients that is exposed to sunlight. Algae can make the water pH rise or cause blockages in the piping. But especially blue-green algae are a threat to animal health. When the layer of blooming algae starts to decompose, toxic substances are released. These toxins can cause a wide range of health problems, from mild to lethal. Consequently blue-green algae can indirectly promote unnecessary use of antibiotics.

Once algae have started to bloom, there is no way back. Prevention is the key to cope with algae. When drinking water supplies are stored in a basin, different techniques can be used to prevent algae growth.

Light shielding: this is the most efficient method as algae cannot survive without light. The water surface can be protected from light with a (floating) sail or if this is not possible, floating balls/hexagons. A regular check-up of the shielding is strongly recommended.

Aerating/stirring the water: This inhibits algae growth by increasing the oxygen levels in the water (aerating) and creating water flow (stirring).

Ultrasonic sound waves higher than 20kHz are an effective method to kill present algae and prevent their growth.

Certain water plants prevent algae growth by production of substances that prevent or slow down algae growth. Other plants compete with the algae for nutrients in the water, thus inhibiting algae growth.

Why and how to prevent biofilm formation in drinking water pipes

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A biofilm is a slimy layer sticking to the inside wall of the drinking water pipe that is created by the growth of microorganisms on mineral deposits or organic material. When the biofilm loosens or bacteria are released from it, problems such as reduced production, disease, decomposition / scavenging of water additives and a reduction in the effectiveness of medication can arise. Due to the presence of biofilm in the pipes, the bacterial pressure can rise incredibly between the water source and the drinking point! Moreover, biofilms can promote the development of antibiotic resistance. It’s important to focus on prevention of biofilm. Indeed, besides a poor bacteriological quality of the drinking water, biofilm can cause other problems such as blockage but also corrosion of the pipes. Furthermore, thick and tenacious biofilms will require high doses of strong biocides. This increases the risk of health problems due to biocide residues in the water. One hundred percent prevention is often not possible, but several measures can significantly slow down biofilm formation.

The piping material: polyethylene pipes are prone to biofilm formation whereas copper piping is less sensitive.

Bacteria love stagnant (warm) water: avoid dead ends in the piping and assure a good flow at all times.

Iron and manganese in the water promote biofilm formation. Check the DISARM best practice guide for water quality for methods to remove iron and manganese.

Regularly clean the pipes (see also DISARM best practice guide for water quality)

Some water treatments / additives (e.g., butyrate, acetic acid) can contribute significantly to the formation of biofilm or slime formation, depending on the water source.

How to ensure that good quality colostrum is fed?

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To control the colostrum management in a herd, it is important to make a system where the calves’ level of IgG is examined. This is done by a blood sample of the calf between 1-7 days after birth. A representative sample must be taken to assess the herd level. If more than 90% of the tested calves are above 10 g/l then the colostrum management is satisfactory. If a larger proportion is below 10 g/L, it is important to review all procedure to find possible optimization points. 

Quality, quantity, speed and hygiene are the parameters that are important to achieve a satisfactory IgG level in the calf. 

  • Quality: the colostrum quality is measured immediately after milking by a colostrometer or by a Brix meter. The goal must be that 90% is above 50 g/l, which corresponds to 22% on the Brix meter 
  • Quantity: to obtain adequate supply of immunuglobulins it requires 3-4 liters at first feeding 
  • Speed: the reason why it is important to add colostrum quickly after birth is due to the ability of the intestinal wall to absorb immunuglobulins decreases rapidly and after 24 hours the ability has disappeared. The goal is to give colostrum within the first 1-2 hours after birth 
  • Hygiene: it is possible to do hygiene checks on colostrum to see how hygiene procedures work while handling colostrum. A sample of the colostrum is taken just before the first feeding and then a germ count is done. There should be less than 100,000 CFU / ml in the colostrum. 

Keeping dairy cows and calf together – how to manage biosecurity and health

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Separation of cow and calf at birth has been common practice for decades. The interest in keeping cow and calf together for a longer time is increasing among both farmers and consumers. Before you start practicing this you must consider a few things first. Biosecurity is vital if you want to succeed.  

 

Uncover the risks 

Take a critical look at your farm – consult your veterinarian. Uncover the risks for introduction of new infectious diseases, but also the risk of spreading diseases already present at the farm. When you know the risk factors on your farm, you can take care of them. 

 

Small groups 

It is important to keep the cows and calves in smaller groups. Larger groups mean more options for contact between animals and a higher risk for spreading of diseases.  

 

Monitor colostrum quality and uptake 

Colostrum is critical for the newborn calf. You can not be sure that a calf that is only nursed by the cow gets enough colostrum. Up to 60 % of the calves will suffer to failure of passive transfer of antibodies. It is necessary to monitor both quality and amount of colostrum the calves ingest. Feeding the calf colostrum is a safe way to secure sufficient immunization. Always keep good quality colostrum in a colostrum bank, so you have colostrum to supply calves born from cows with little or to poor colostrum.  

 

Monitoring the calves  

Monitoring calf health is vital. Do not expect that the cow can do this job or that health monitoring is less time consuming when calves and cows are kept together. When calves are bucket fed twice daily, it is quite easy to monitor wellbeing of the calf, appetite and drinking speed. You do not get the same information if the cow is the caretaker. Therefore, the person responsible for monitoring the calves must look for the small signs of illness, so proper intervention can be carried out before it is too late.  

Bring out slurry and manure – but avoid spreading of pathogens

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Slurry and manure can contain pathogens. To avoid spreading of infectious diseases between farms or spreading of pathogens around your farm it is important to take precautions.
First, get an overview of the overall logistic – where are the traffic routes on the farm. Pay special attention to routes for transport of slurry and manure. Avoid using the same routes for the feeding trucks, both inside and outside. Always keep a good safety distance to the feed.

Sometimes the slurry tank or lagoon is placed in a way that the slurry tanker must cross the same route the feeding truck uses. In these cases, have a plan for cleaning up these crossings and make sure it is done. This is a way to minimize the risk of spreading pathogens.

When handling slurry and manure keep distance to the stables and animals to prevent exposing animals to pathogens.

The most optimal route for safe transport of slurry and manure might be a little longer, but it is worth it compared to the consequences of spreading diseases in your herd.

Avoid spill when filling the tanker and under transport of slurry and manure. When spillage occur, there is a risk that pathogens can be spread around the herd via footwear and vehicle tires contaminated with slurry or manure. Therefore, be careful when handling slurry and manure and implement good routines for fast cleaning when spillage accidentally occurs.

Slurry contaminated vehicles and equipment can also spread diseases between farms. Make sure that only clean and disinfected equipment enter your farm. If the vehicle and equipment is washed and disinfected on your premises, then do it in a place where washing water do not get close to stables, animals or feed. Spreading pathogens with aerosols during washing with high pressure is a serious hazard. Make sure that aerosols do not enter stables or feed.

Use of Thermal Imaging to Diagnose Lameness

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Lameness is accepted as causing the biggest loss of income on dairy farms, and second only to mastitis as the leading cause of antibiotic use. It is also widely reported that lameness is under-diagnosed as in many studies ony 25% of lame cows are diagnosed. Observational detection is subjective, requires skill, and is time consuming so the low detection rates are understandable.

Technology, such as Cow Alert, has enabled automatic lameness scoring. Monitoring cows 24 hours per day, 7 days a week has resulted in a much higher detection rate. Indeed it often identifies lame cows at an earlier time than experienced stockpersons would. Thermal imaging cameras can be used to best effect to investigate the cause of lameness on these cows. They can differentiate between foul infections that require antibiotic treatment, and the majority of causes that don’t. Furthermore, thermal imaging can pinpoint the exact location of a sole ulcer enabling foot trimmers to be precise in their area of investigation. In early cases, it can even identify the lame foot, or establish that the cause of lameness is not in the foot.

The use of thermal imaging validates the lameness alerts of Cow Alert, and directs and motivates the stockman to treat the cow appropriately and at the earliest possible opportunity. It gives confidence that the hoof-knife is being used in the correct location, and will therefore locate ulcers/white line disease that would otherwise not be found. This improves animal wellbeing, reduces milk loss, and reduces the amount of antibiotics used.

Genomic selection for profit and antibiotic reduction

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It is easy to breed for production or type, but how can you breed to reduce antiobiotic use? Looking at current bull data the only relevent data is longevity, somatic cell count and perhaps condition score. Zoetis’ Genomic evaluation with CLARIFIED Plus (https://www.zoetisus.com/animal-genetics/dairy/clarifide/clarifide-plus.aspx) now includes specific health trait evaluations including mastitis, metritis, lameness, calf respiratory and cow respiratory. Ranking cows on their mastitis score alone shows that the top 25% of cows use 65% less antiobiotics than the bottom 25% which was an average of 1.28 fewer inter-mammary tubes per cow. It is never recommended to use single trait selection, so Clarified have developed a Dairy Wellness Profit (DWP) index which combines production, type, fertility, longevity and health traits. Analysis made based on the balanced DWP index still shows the top 25% of cows using 44% less antiobiotics for mastitis. DWP figures are only available on Jersey and Holstein bulls. Genetic gains can be made by just using the highest DWP bulls, but the greatest advance comes with genomic testing of females and exerting selection pressure on which females are bred from. Use of sexed semen can have a big effect in making more progress. Breeding for DWP not only reduces antibiotic use, but it is a selection tool that can have an important financial impact on a dairy by increasing lifetime milk production, milk per day of life, herdlife and expected profit per cow. Improvements can be expected in calf mortality, ketosis, displaced abomasums, milk fever and cystic ovaries.

Voluntary livestock health care programmes – example of Naseva in Finland

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Finland is free from the major infectious cattle diseases like enzootic leukosis, brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). The prevalence of infections like salmonella, EHEC, BVD, trichophytosis, paratuberculosis etc. is also very low.

In addition to legal requirements, Finland has a widely used voluntary e-register, Naseva, to monitor healthcare on cattle farms. The developing project was a joint operation of farmers, meat and milk industry, veterinarians, advisors, research institutes and authorities.

The system ensures that all member farms have healthcare contracts with a veterinarian. The contract includes regular visits to the farm. In the contract, the farmer authorizes the access of the veterinarian to farm data. Information collected in the register includes a Health Care Contract and a Management Plan including health status and production data of the herd. Among other things, the farm is obliged to systematically monitor the yield and animal health. All drugs and treatments administered to the animals may also be recorded in the Naseva register. The Management Plan must be renewed by the veterinarian once a year in connection with a farm visit.

This kind of approach allows farmers to engage, on a voluntary basis, in a process that will lead to a better situation on the farm in terms of animal health and welfare and consequently reduce the need for antibiotics use.

The address of the register is www.naseva.fi

Vaccination of calves for the reduction of the consumption of antibiotics

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Vaccines are very important tools to reduce antimicrobial use and thereby slow down the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Vaccinations can also reduce production losses associated with disease and are therefore leading to more sustainable animal production. Poor biosecurity, animal regrouping or introduction of new animals to the herd might cause the appearance of previously unseen infectious diseases on the farm, therefore antibiotics sometimes are used to fight secondary or primary infectious agents. In order to reduce necessity of antibiotic use a well-organised prophylactic calf vaccination programme is advised. An effective vaccination protocol can be developed to fit most operations and management approaches.

The risk of mortality and morbidity in calves is highest during the first few weeks of life. The main causes of mortality change during the pre-weaning period: septicaemia is most likely to occur in neonatal calves (up to 28 days of age); diarrhoea in calves less than 30 days old, and bovine respiratory disease in dairy calves more than 30 days old. During this critical period, many farmers could consider vaccination and other preventive interventions to minimise the risk of diseases.

The decision of ‘if’ and ‘when’ to vaccinate and against what pathogen should always be done after consultation with the herd veterinarian. The veterinarian can determine the need for vaccination and the ability for vaccines to reduce the current health challenges on a farm. This includes a good knowledge of the herd health history, diagnostic sampling of animals, the disease challenges in the area, evaluation of specific risk factors and other management routines that might impact animal health e.g. colostrum management.

It is very important that vaccines are kept at the indicated temperature and it is vital that the manufacturer’s guidelines for injection and timing of vaccination are closely followed. Many management factors can limit the effectiveness of vaccination including inadequate nutrition, adverse environmental conditions or presence of parasites. Therefore, it is important that the animal is not suffering any undue stress, or nutritional deficiencies or clinical disease.

Most vaccines that are used for calves are made to be injected into muscle or subcutaneously, therefore sterile syringes and needles must be used in order to reduce iatrogenic spread of diseases. Ensure that the vaccines are transported and stored properly (often refrigeration is required). Vaccine preparation needs to be done with clean hands, and strictly according to producer instructions. Read the instructions on the package to make sure the correct dosage is given. Ideally use 16-18 gauge x 1.5-3 cm long needles. If using an automatic vaccination gun make sure it is sterilised and clean. Check the gun is calibrated and working correctly. Subcutaneously (SQ) this injection goes between the skin and muscle, but not into the muscle. It is the preferred method for protecting meat quality. Always use this method if it is an option given on the label. Intramuscular (IM) injection goes directly into the muscle. To minimize damage to meat, use the muscles in front of the shoulder.

Be sure to record: Date of treatment; Name, lot number and serial number of the product used; Route of administration and give boosters when required. Check calf health status after vaccination and if any unusual side effects are observed please report to your veterinarian.