George Shaw farms on the outskirts of Castlewellan in Co Down. The business is home to a small herd of spring calving suckler cows plus a number of bought in cattle.
“There will be around 75 head on the farm at any one time,” he said.
“It is policy to buy-in 30 Continental-cross dropped calves during the autumn period. These are then kept on through to their second year. The most recent acquisition in this regard is a group of choice Belgian Blue calves. We are delighted with the progress they are making. They are doing well. But obviously, they cost a lot of money and every step must be taken to ensure that they continue to thrive.”
He added:
“It is critical for calves to get the best possible start.”
“I will make sure that each calf born to our own suckler cows gets plenty of colostrum during those first critical hours of life. Thereafter, every step is taken to ensure that the calf’s nutritional requirements are met in full. And this includes administering Provita Protect.
“It is also policy to treat each bought in calf with Protect. And all I can say is that the results achieved have been nothing more than positive. Each purchased calf gets two shots of Protect within twenty four hours of arrival, which are followed up with single dose applications on days two and three.
“Since using Protect, scours have not featured at all within the calf unit.”
According to Provita’s Tommy Armstrong, Protect is an oral supplement providing high-level multi-strain probiotic bacteria to prevent diarrhoea in newborn and bought-in calves.
He added:
“It is the only probiotic which is medicinally licensed for the prevention of calf scour. It has been clinically proven to reduce calf scour by 83%. To obtain this Veterinary Licence, it has undergone many years of rigorous testing to guarantee safety, efficacy and quality.
“Protect should be given to new born calves at birth; bought-in calves; after digestive upsets or after antibiotic therapy.”