Wicklow dairy farm gets proactive in cryptosporidium control this season

This week Tommy heffernan veterinary consultant visited Tobins farm just outside Arklow in Co Wicklow. A farm partnership milking cows since 2019.

They used Precision microbes last year to support sick calves with scour. This year they have adopted a long-term feeding strategy with PM.

Cryptosporidium was one of the significant challenges they saw last year. They have focused heavily on calf health this year and are being proactive in its control. They start the calves on halofuginone for 7 days. They also feed Precision microbes for the first seven days 30mls twice daily. So 8mls of halofuginone in the morning orally with 30mls of Precision microbes in the morning and evening feed. Then after seven days 30mls of Pm in the morning milk feed for the first five weeks. This is a protocol adopted now by a lot of farms.

While halofuginone is very effective at reducing cryptosporidium infection pressure it can be hard on a calf’s stomach. This combination protocol is working well on many farms. I also spoke to Kelly and Elaine about their roles and how Kelly has come to be part of the farming team. Continued success to all the team at Tobins dairy farm.