Archived News

12th March 2013

After a couple of weeks of slightly milder weather, snowdrops and daffodils are beginning to flower.  On Friday we were drenched in a constant rain and chilly wind as the last few cows had their feet trimmed and on Sunday the weather changed again, with a raw wind bringing with it a covering of snow overnight.

It’s bitterly cold on the hill and feels like minus 10 degrees with the wind whipping up gusts of snow across the fields.

Over the weekend thieves made another visit to the farm, breaking through two sets of barn doors into a farmyard and stealing tyres off vehicles! I’d like to say ‘unbelievable’; but sadly this is all too common and thieves have no respect for what other people have worked hard for, I was quite shocked to hear of a local person asleep one night, as their entire patio was stolen via a field.

Yesterday Eleanor and Mary were PD.  Eleanor is 50 days in calf but the diagnosis for Mary was as suspected; despite being confirmed 3 months in calf last July, she has slipped her calf for a second time.

After Mary lost the first calf we had some bloods taken and she tested positive for antibodies to Neospora.

Neosporosis is a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Neospora canis, this is a parasite that, in order for it to complete its life cycle, requires ingestion by a fox or dog but can circulate through cattle herds by being passed from mother to daughter in the placenta once the mother has contracted the disease.  90% of transmission in cattle is described as vertical, from cow to calf, so this is the key area of focus. 

It is quite possible that foxes ‘clean up’ foetal fluids in the fields after calving and their faeces can then be a source of infection if they’ve had access to infected placenta and the parasite has passed through them. Once a cow has acquired Neospora, she is infected for life.  If she becomes pregnant, three things may happen:

1)      Abortion (60% more likely to abort than an uninfected cow).

2)      She has an apparently normal but Neospora infected calf.

3)      She has a Neospora infected calf.

Blood testing is a useful method of diagnosis for Neospora but is much more sensitive around calving or abortion.  For this reason, regular sampling of healthy cattle for Neospora is not commonly done unless a farm is experiencing a drastic Neospora problem. 

The vet advised last year that we should continue to breed from Mary if possible, but not keep any of her offspring as breeding females, but as the Neospora has caused her to abort twice; unfortunately, being unable to maintain a pregnancy she will now be culled.