Laminitis, a painful and potentially life-threatening condition, can affect donkeys just as it does horses. While it’s a common affliction in equines, it’s essential to understand that donkeys have unique characteristics and susceptibilities when it comes to laminitis.
Calf housing is a critical aspect of any dairy or livestock operation, and the choice of housing design can have a profound impact on the health and well-being of your calves. To optimise calf performance and minimise the incidence and spread of disease, there are key requirements for calf housing that must be considered.
Calf housing is a huge part of calf health and welfare, it can be the change that many systems need to improve their calf rearing. In September, DEFRA launched a £10 million infrastructure grant to fund calf housing, available to new and upgraded calf housing. Improvements such as ventilation, protection from draughts, and suitable temperature and humidity will be key areas to focus on.
Quantifying the level of mycotoxin contamination in your feeds is always difficult, as there are >400 different species of mycotoxins, all with varying levels of toxicity, and they may not be in every part of the silage clamp or TMR that we sample! Generally speaking, any plant with a flowering head (such as maize or wheat) could have developed fungi in the field, under stress conditions such as drought or wet weather, which produce the ‘in field’ mycotoxins on the plant. When harvested, the mycotoxins remain in the silage, and in some cases, further mould/fungi growth in the clamp can lead to more ‘storage’ mycotoxin production.
The Type A Trichothecenes will potentially cause issues such as loose/variable dung, reduce feed intake, cause intestinal damage, alter rumen functions and result in poor nutrient digestion. We can also see issues with conception rates, embryo health.
The Type B Trichothecenes will potentially cause issues such as loose/variable dung, reduce feed intake, cause intestinal damage, alter rumen functions and result in poor nutrient digestion. We can also see stillborn births with the Type B. These symptoms can lead to lower milk production. Cows may also become lethargic and their immune system can also be suppressed.
Zearalenone can cause issues with reduced reproductive overall performance of cows, resulting in delayed sexual maturity or altered conception rates, irregular heats. We can also see cystic cows or early embryonic deaths.
The emerging Mycotoxins contain toxins such as Moniliformin, Alternariol and Tenuazonic acid, these can cause issues such as damage to the heart muscle, including myocardial lesions and increased relative heart weights, also muscular weakness, respiratory distress, decreased feed intake, BW gains, liver damage, diarrhoea, vomiting, haemorrhages, muscle tremor and convulsion and can have a negative impact on reproductive functions.
Other Penicillium mycotoxins may decrease beneficial microbial populations in the rumen, decrease synthesis of volatile fatty acids and change microbial protein production. Such effects may result in digestive disorders, a decrease in animal performance and altered milk production or milk quality. Suppression of the immune system could also occur.
Fusaric acid can play a part in reducing intakes and efficiency and causing lameness along with feed refusal and udder edemas.
MYCOSORB A+ reduces mycotoxin absorption, negating the effects on production:
Wynnstay customer Rob Powell has found wintering ewes at home, on grass and root crops, a cost-effective option.
Nutrient management planning ensures that crops receive the right nutrients in the right amounts at the right time. When done effectively, it not only promotes healthy crop growth but also maximises yields and minimises environmental impacts.
Rachel Clifton, one of our experts in nutrient management planning, sheds light on the plan’s key principles and practices, and what is involved in the process of getting one.
The clocks go back and we can avoid it no longer – winter is with us! For many of our horses this means a transition to the winter routine of spending longer time stabled. Whilst this is often a practical necessity, in order to preserve paddock quality, it does bring its own challenges, and chief amongst those is respiratory challenge. Even the best managed stable environment increases respiratory stress from the combined challenges of bedding, preserved forages and shared air space. Winter exercise can also exacerbate the issues with dust and sensitive triggers associated with riding surfaces including indoor sand schools and latex surfaces.
The past eighteen months in the dairy sector have been a rollercoaster, featuring unprecedented volatility in milk prices and significant fluctuations in the costs of feed, fuel, and fertiliser.
In an ever-evolving dairy sector, understanding the latest market trends and strategies is paramount.
In season three, episode eight of the Wynnstay Agri-Hub podcast, agricultural journalist, market analyst and business advisor Chris Walkland, gives insight into the issues and opportunities shaping the dairy industry today.
Good ventilation systems are essential to reduce respiratory disease in the first months of a calf’s life.
It is estimated that the cost of pneumonia per sick calf is £42.26, with an additional cost of £29.58 per calf for the in-contact group. In turn, this reduces feed efficiency, growth rates, organ development, future milk production and an increased mortality risk before calving.
As we head into autumn, those chilled-out, hazy days of summer can seem a distant memory. Circumstances conspire which can result in a sharper, more reactive horse. It’s important that distracted horses don’t bubble over into reactiveness or lack of concentration.
