Pre-breeding vaccination is one way to reduce lambs losses and barren rates next spring and is a key point highlighted by Sarah Campbell veterinary advisor with MSD Animal Health who joins Ciarán Lynch on this week’s OviCast to explain in more detail.

Sarah starts by highlighting the need to identify the cause of abortion through the veterinary laboratory’s and highlights the common causes reported on farm.

She discusses the two most common causes of abortion namely Enzootic abortion and Toxoplasmosis in more detail explaining how these are spread and how the timing of infection effects the ewe. In both cases there is a vaccine available and the vaccination programme that can be implemented this autumn is discussed.

As with any vaccine correct storage, handling and administration is an important consideration and Sarah highlights how this can affect vaccine efficacy and the key areas to focus on.

Finally as these vaccines have to be given a number of weeks in advance of the breeding season Sarah encourages farmers to order their vaccines in time and plan their vaccination programme prior to breeding.

For more episodes from the OviCast podcast, visit the show page at:

https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/sheep/ovicast-sheep-podcast