Best practice drenching and vaccinating this pre-lamb

With the pre-lamb period fast approaching, many farmers are considering which ewes to drench and which pre-lamb clostridial vaccine to use.

On the surface, blanket treatment seems a simple approach. However, by selectively treating ewes in need of a drench, and having a robust vaccination plan for different groups, you may save money and improve animal health outcomes.

Put simply, while pre-lamb vaccination of the whole flock is recommended, pre-lamb drenching is not. Farmers need to consider individual groups within the flock, such as light versus heavy ewes and multiplebearing versus single-bearing ewes, to develop a suitable plan.

As well as consulting with your trusted animal health advisor, a decision-making guide is available online at www.sheepvax.co.nz/pre-lamb-decision-guide/. This tool assists in deciding what products to use and when.

Nilvax® is a specialised pre-lamb vaccine offering farmers a convenient option as they can vaccinate ewes earlier, not only for management reasons but also to reduce the risk of sleepy sickness when yarding heavily pregnant ewes carrying multiple lambs. It also protects lambs born from later-lambing ewes and provides added protection for lambs, particularly multiples, as there are more antibodies to go around.

Multine®, New Zealand’s leading 5-in-1 vaccine¹, is another popular option for vaccinating ewes to ensure both the ewes and their newborn lambs are protected against clostridial disease.

Contact your local PGG Wrightson Technical Field Representative to discuss using Nilvax® or Multine® as a pre-lamb clostridial vaccine.

1 CEESA Audit Data, March 2024.

Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, Nilvax #A003832, Nilvax Selenised #A003977, Multine #A000934, Multine Selenised #A000935, Multine B12 #A011311, Multine B12 Selenised #A011766, Zolvix Plus® #A011107, Startect® #A010353, Alliance® #A010249, Scanda #A007130 and Converge® #A010119. Always read the registered label before use.