The Rural Voice, 2000-05, Page 37!,
period includes injection of
antibiotics into the teat to cure
infections, swabbing with alcohol,
dipping into iodine emollient of Tess
than two per cent, and vaccinating for
E. Coli.
Farming with his family, William
and Mike, Rick Portena tries to get in
hay or haylage for the silo at the right
time, at the right moisture. Rick rents
extra acres for hay and uses open
bunkers for hay storage. Using their
own haylage cuts feed costs.
When moving to a new barn and a
larger herd, the growing pains can be
expensive, but there are some
advantages for a new system. For
example, Portena has an automatic
scraper timed to function once an
hour to keep the free -stall area clean.
At present. these pointers have
worked well as Portena has had next
to no problems for about six months.
With milk production nearly pre -
move level, Rick has had to buy more
quota.
According to Dr. Hunt, watching
Parasites become costly
if not monitoring
not careful
for parasites, or worming, is best if
done twice a year because a buildup
of parasites becomes very costly to
production if left. Worming is done
in the spring when they are exposed
to pasture, and in fall when they are
off grass.
The average cost of a vet per visit
is about $80 to $100, but important
for early detection of big problems
and money -losers such as mastitis
and lameness. To check for mastitis,
if the somatic cell count is above
average, more than between 200,000
and 250,000 find out why and treat
early.
When problems are noted, ship as
early as possible especially for
lameness and mastitis before too
much cost is involved. High cost of
sickness drives farmers out of
business.
For example, in the area nearby
this clinic, three or four dairy farmers
in one block who used to operate are
no longer operating.
In a move from a smaller to larger
operation, the dairy farmer becomes
more astute in recognizing health
concerns.0
MultiCoupler
the ideal choice
The easy way to connect
milk, vacuum and power
th1/411
Alta Laval Agri
for coupling milking
units to the main line
• Ergonomically designed
• Single hand operation
• Both pneumatic and
electrical connections
• Easy to service
one
cAIRY
SUPPLY LTD.
Neustadt, Ont.
519-799-5366
STABLING MANUFACTURER
We Build On Our Reputation
• Narrow arch stall with suspended divider
• All welded construction
• 166 schedule 40 tubing
Vandepas Welding
R.R. 2 Kenilworth, ON 519-848-6537
Call for the dealer nearest you.
MAY 2000 33