A LIVESTOCK VACCINE PRIMER

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Don't neglect those regular boosters. Remember, vaccines are preventive medicines. They won't help your livestock much if you use them after the critters get sick!

[4] Keep your animals healthy. If you don't provide the beasts with good nutrition, clean quarters, and a strong program of parasite prevention, you can't expect them to have the energy to develop their own virus fighters. (A left jab/right cross combo isn't going to do you any good in the cruel alleyway of life if you're too weakened by a poor diet, poor living conditions, etc. to put any power behind it!) So remember: There is a wealth of wisdom in keeping your animals healthy.

[5] Pick the correct vaccine. Many vaccines are species-specific. For instance, several of our county's cats were recently vaccinated with a rabies vaccine that was not approved for felines. Instead of being protected from the, deadly disease, these mis treated animals actually came down with rabies! So it's vitally important that you use the right vaccine on your animals.

[6] Treat the vaccine with "Kidd" gloves. You've heard the old saw "When all else fails, read the instructions". Well, when you're using vaccines, read those directions first . . . and follow them! Vaccines can easily be spoiled, so keep your medicines refrigerated and clean, and don't try to "save money" by using the preventives after their expiration dates.

(People who take good care of their livestock already know these truths about vaccine care. In fact, many of my farmer clients always used to insist on carrying my medicine bottles to the barn whenever I drove out to treat their animals. I wondered about this common peculiarity, until I realized that such conscientious animal tenders were just "checkin' up on ol' Doc" .. . to see if I used fresh vaccines and kept the medicines on ice on my way over to their farms.)

[7] Administer the vaccine properly. Do not give an animal a shot or an oral medication until you know exactly what you're doing ... because some vaccines won't work at all if they're given in the wrong manner. So if the directions call for an intramuscular shot, be sure you're not accidentally giving the critter a subcutaneous injection. (To find out how to properly give livestock all types of shots, see my article "You Can Too Give That Animal an Injection!" in MOTHER NO. 53, pages 92-97.)

Remember, too, to give precisely the prescribed dose of medicine. It's very poor economy to risk your beast's health by trying to reduce the called-for dosage. And use disposable needles and syringes ... or glass syringes that have been sterilized between uses by boiling. Alcohol, and other chemicals that are sometimes used to clean vaccination equipment, can make some of the medicines worthless!

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print