A REVIEW of published research has found that a pneumonia-free rearing period can be worth £243 per head in suckler calves and £1,008 per head in dairy heifers.

Zoetis, the animal health company, has launched a Pneumonia Vaccination Awareness Initiative featuring a five-point plan to help farmers realise the gains available from minimising respiratory disease – both severe clinical and low grade – during winter housing.

It includes improving building function; managing grouping and group size; vaccination and parasite protection; monitoring growth rates; and involving the vet.

A set of advisory materials is available from vets and as a download from the Zoetis website.

The centrepiece is a pair of detailed Controlling Respiratory Disease practical booklets, one for beef the other dairy.

Carolyn Hogan, Zoetis vet, said giving a first dose of the two-course Rispoval 4 pneumonia vaccination in August or September depending on location, and the second a month later, means the sixmonth protection period is established before cattle undergo the stress associated with housing and will protect them until turn out.

“This avoids what happened to a number of farmers in 2012, for example, when sudden deterioration in the weather meant an unexpected early start to the housing period before vaccinations had been completed,” she said.

Met Office weather records for 2004 to 2013 identified a maximum range of about six weeks between any one location’s earliest and latest likely housing dates.

The calculated gains from pneumonia-free status are demonstrated as “Impact Timelines” in the booklets.

In suckler calves, the £243 per head at stake arises from treatment costs, delayed finish and carcase downgrade.

In dairy heifers, treatment costs, later age at first calving, reduced first and second lactation yields, and shorter lifetimes compared with healthy ones, amount to £1,008 per head over the animal’s lifetime.

Moreover, the impact of respiratory disease can extend beyond animals with clinical pneumonia.

Carolyn Hogan said: “Some farmers accept low grade respiratory problems like moderate coughing and runny noses as facts of life.

But despite the signs being mild, underlying damage to the respiratory tract can restrict growth rates.”

She cited a 15-month study of 500 calves from birth to slaughter when lung damage was assessed. While 35 per cent of calves had been diagnosed and treated for pneumonia, 72 per cent were found to have lung damage.

Among the apparently healthy calves, 68 per cent had damaged lungs. The study also found an association between lung condition and growth rates, calves with undamaged lungs gained 21kg more than those with damage over a nine-month finishing period.

Zoetis says pneumonia vaccination has become the norm on professional, highperformance beef suckler, beef finisher and dairy heifer rearing units.