cjohnson - 3/31/2015 06:35

Don't want to hijack your thread but I have a similar issue. I have been using Bovishield Gold on my calves in the spring at 60 to 90 days old, then again in the fall at weaning. I raise all my own replacements, so the cows received this as calves. When we work the herd in the spring some of the cows will be short bred (1 to 2 months). My vet said that it is OK to give the Modified Live to the nursing calves since the cows have had it before. My health on the calves is excellent, I have not lost a calf to pneumonia in more than 3 years.

YOU ARE USING THE VACCINE AS IT SHOULD BE USED AND TAKING BEST ADVANTAGE OF ITS STRENGTHS WHILE AVOIDING ITS WEAKNESSES ....ONE OF WHICH IS THE POTENTIAL TO INFECT THE FETUS THE DAM OF THE VACCINATED CALF IS CARRYING.

However, I have to many cows that don't calve even though they were palpated in the fall as bred that I assume aborted (8 to 10 out of 230). Vet says we may want to consider changing to Cattlemaster or another killed vaccine to help this issue. After thinking this through, if using MLV was causing abortions wouldn't it be early gestation which would cause more 'opens' in the fall, not 'pregnant' in the fall but fail to calve in the spring?

I THINK YOU ARE CORRECT IN YOUR ANALYSIS. I WONDER IF YOUR VET IS TALKING ABOUT YOU USING THE KILLED VACCINE ON THE COWS AND INCLUDING LEPTO AND VIBRIO AT THE SAME TIME YOU VACCINATE THE CALVES.

AN ALTERNATIVE YOU MIGHT CONSIDER IS TO USE THE BOVASHIELD (+V-L5 FOR THE COWS) ON BOTH COWS AND CALVES BEFORE YOU TURN BULLS IN. THIS WOULD HAVE YOU VACCINATING SOME REAL YOUNG CALVES, BUT WITH THEM NURSING THEIR DAMS, I DOUBT IT WOULD STRESS THEM MUCH. THERE ARE DAIRY CALF RAISING OPERATIONS THAT VACCINATE ALL CALVES IN FIRST WEEK OF LIFE WITH BOVASHIELD.......I THINK THAT IS A BIT MUCH IN THAT SITUATION, BUT THOSE GUYS HAVE DONE IT ON MANY THOUSANDS OF CALVES, SO. ???