Provita Promist should be used at housing or when new stock has been introduced onto the farm. Thereafter use as often as required, e.g. when more stock is added to cattle houses or during still weather conditions until air flow improves. It can also be used daily in houses that have permanently poor air flow. Promist will reduce ammonia, dust and lower the pH. It should be used above and around the cattle and will purify the air, the surfaces and the animals.
George Shaw and his father farm 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. Last autumn they reviewed their rearing process, George takes up the story here:
“We looked at our overall rearing process in relation to pneumonia prevention before we bought in the season’s calves. We were satisfied with our management in terms of nutrition and product use for immunisation, so we pinpointed environmental factors as a potential issue. On reflection, the housing used are older barns that would not have optimum ventilation and air quality but certainly adequate for calf rearing. Therefore we wanted to seek an alternative or additive measure to improve this.”
“Rather than invest in new calf rearing facilities immediately, we started using Provita Promist on existing houses. Initially we used Promist to fog sheds when weanlings, young stores, finishers and suckler cow groups were housed from late September to early November. The results were very noticeable when mixing various batches of cattle in the same air space as no groups developed acute coughs upon housing, especially in weanlings and young store groups which had happened in previous years. We also noticed that housed cattle in the initial days of fogging, coughed and sneezed out a fair amount of mucus. We saw this as a noticeable benefit as we assumed the cattle to have clearer airways and were more comfortable upon housing.”
“In bought-in calves this year the respiratory health has been greatly improved with use of Promist. After fogging the houses, the atmosphere feels and smells healthier. We still have experienced sparse cases of respiratory stress when the weather has been very changeable, even on a daily basis. On a few occasions we had to inject singles calves for laboured breathing with an anti-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory/antibiotic combination medicine depending on severity. This therapy along with fogging of Promist has seen calves recover quicker and suffer little loss in appetite and weight gain with a single injection. Furthermore, Promist fogging has effectively prevented the spread of respiratory infections within batches therefore saving on further POM-V injections on other calves.”
“Another observation since using Provita Promist is the absence of ringworm infection on calves in houses that have traditionally manifested it. While it is typically innocuous in cattle, it is unsightly and something we are pleasantly surprised not to see this year.”
Co Fermanagh suckler beef producer, Eddie Rogers confirmed that good ventilation is a core requirement for all cattle housing, in order to prevent the onset of pneumonia problems at this time of the year.
“I run a combined suckler and sheep breeding enterprise, with the ewes lambing in the spring, the cows calve exclusively during the months of May and June. Breeding animals that do not fit within this window will be sold on. This means that the cows are housed with their calves at foot, normally at the beginning of October.”
Eddie explained that all the cattle on the farm are housed under the one roof.
“Keeping pneumonia at bay, particularly during the first three months of the housing season, is crucially important. And this is particularly so in my case as I am a Tesco Angus supplier. It is not in my nature to want to use drugs indiscriminately on any of the animals on the farm. However, the Tesco management criteria are very strict in this regard.”
Eddie points out that increased stress levels amongst cattle and inadequate ventilation in sheds can lead to a spike in pneumonia problems directly after housing.
“One of the benefits of having the calves on the cows at housing is that it reduces the levels of stress they come under,” he said.
“In addition, the calves have their own straw bedded lying area within the shed, where they can also source creep feed.”
“I have regularly used Promist, for the last few years. I am not saying that it is a substitute for poor ventilation: the fact is that the housing on the farm is extremely well ventilated. But there are times during the autumn and early winter months when dead calm weather will prevail. And it is under these circumstances that Promist can play a very useful role.”
Provita Promist is a unique air purifier containing a blend of natural organic acids, essential oils and wetting agents which together help control the levels of particulates and ammonia in the housing of intensively reared livestock. It costs approximately £2 per head per winter.
Provita have sourced a convenient fogger for applying Promist in livestock houses to aid control of pneumonia in cattle. The Stihl SR200 Mist Blower is a powerful mister unit which has a 10L tank capacity.
To learn more about how to use Promist see our videos on our website www.provita.co.uk/video, or visit our Provita Animal Health Facebook page, or call Provita for a free demonstration on how to use Promist in the new mist blower on 08003284982.