Provita Protect

Club Secretary of Spa YFC happy with Provita products

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Hannah Shaw, Club Secretary of Spa YFC was recently selected for a YFCU Exchange in Norway. Provita sponsored her t-shirts for the trip.

Hannah has bought and reared her own calves for the past four years on the family farm, whose overall work ethic is to ensure that their animals are as healthy and thriving as well as possible. Part of the farm’s animal health programme is to use Provita Protect for newly born or bought-in calves. Provita Protect is the only medicinally licensed probiotic (POM-VPS) for the prevention of calf scour. Calves fed milk replacer also get Provita WD Ruminant feed additive to boost the rumen development to further prevent any upsets and use the milk nutrients efficiently to help thrift. Hannah and the Shaw family use Provita Promist to fog sheds when cattle groups are housed over the autumn period. The results were very noticeable in 2017 when mixing various batches of cattle in the same air space as no groups developed acute coughs or any respiratory distress upon housing.  The respiratory health in bought-in calves has been greatly improved with use of Provita Promist and they will continue to use it as best practice during 2018. The Shaw family have recently started using Provita Combat hoof and wound spray after they dehorn calves. This protects the wound from infection, helps it to heal quickly and seals it nicely to stop any bleeds when calves accidentally hit that area.

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Visit Provita at Fintona Farm Machinery Show 2018

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With lambing and calving season now starting to kick off, there are many problems which can arise particularly in the damp and colder weather. Provita has a full range of products to help counteract the most common difficulties which can occur during this time of year.

 

Diarrhoea (scours) is the most common disease problem in the young unweaned calf. It is estimated that it affects in varying degrees over a third of all calves during their rearing period and is responsible for about half of all British calf deaths (MDC & NADIS).

 

Provita Protect POM-VPS is an oral supplement providing high-level, multi-strain probiotic bacteria to prevent diarrhoea in new born calves.  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%. It should be given to new born calves at birth, bought-in calves, after digestive upsets or after antibiotic therapy.

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Provita Protect helps reduce calf scour

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Many farmers across Northern Ireland are turning to local animal health manufacturers Provita Protect POM-VPS to help reduce calf scour.

Calf scour stubbornly remains the number one cause of death in calves under 1 month of age. Along with good management and good hygiene Provita Protect will help reduce calve scour. Beds must be dry and draft free, they should pass the knee drop test, i.e. knee should still be dry after you drop down onto the straw bed. Calves should be fed enough colostrum as soon as possible after birth, ideally 2 litres within the first 15 minutes after birth, plus a further 2 litres 2 hours later. Care must be taken when freezing and thawing out colostrum as harmful bacteria can grow to very high levels if it’s left lying around for more than 1 hour. Equally thawing out at too high a temperature will destroy the proteins, if thawing out too slowly this can create very high levels of harmful bacteria in the colostrum. It is best fed fresh or stored in a fridge and used within a few days. Alternatively a powdered colostrum substitute can be used such as Provita colostrum concentrate, it will work through several modes of action including energy, probiotic, egg powder, natural colostrum, minerals and vitamins.

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Archie’s Limousins looking forward to another good year in 2017

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These are exciting times for the Mc Kenna family, owners of the Archie’s Limousin herd. Fast increasing sale prices in tandem with a recognised commitment to artificial insemination and embryo technology is ensuring the Bellaghy-based operation is starting to catch the eye of both pedigree and commercial cattle breeders within Northern Ireland and beyond.

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Don’t forget to use ‘Protect’ on bought-in dropped calves

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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.

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‘Protect’ consistently prevents scour related problems in large suckler herd

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One direct impact of this year’s poor grazing season and the subsequent fall-off in silage quality has been the deterioration in the quality of colostrum produced by cows. This, in turn, will reduce the newborns’ ability to fight off disease.

One way of ensuring that all newborn calves get the required immunity booster they need is to administer Provita Protect, the first and only probiotic licensed for the treatment of scours in the UK 

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Protecting the future of our cattle

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It is critical when rearing cattle that we give calves the best possible start in life. Provita Protect POM-VPS is the only veterinary licensed probiotic in Europe, and is trusted by farmers across Northern Ireland and further afield to prevent calf scour.

In Drumquin, Co Tyrone, Raymond Smith has used Protect for the past seven years. He ensures that he always has a few bottles on hand during calving periods, as he knows it is important to use the product as soon after birth as possible.

Provita’s Tommy Armstrong paid a visit to the family farm recently and from arrival it was clear that the family’s love and care for their livestock has filtered through the generations, and that good farm practice is held very highly. Raymond’s grandson spoke of his love for all things farming and in particular getting to help his grandfather on the farm.

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If you think antibiotics are the only answer … Think Again.

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Antibiotic resistance is now a global threat and is a huge concern to veterinarians and farmers alike. Consequently one of the main topics discussed at the recent World Buiatrics Congress in Dublin was the need for a collaborative approach amongst veterinarians and farmers in applying responsible use of antibiotics. ‘Because of overuse and misuse, some antibiotics are losing effectiveness against highly resistant bacteria’ (Health Policy Brief, 2015). Indeed bacteria have now become resistant to the last antibiotic type (Mac Kenzie, 2015). This means that farmers are now more than ever before, interested in the benefits of alternatives such as vaccines or proven probiotics.

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Provita Protect at the heart of successful calf rearing business

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Father and son team Peter and Ciaran Kerr run a successful calf rearing business on the family’s Lurgan farm. The enterprise is focussed on the sourcing of top quality cross bred calves directly from dairy farmers, with whom they have built up a close working relationship. The animals are then sold-on in batches to customers, many of whom are repeat clients.

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