Digestabile LA® improves the liver functions under extreme conditions

Digestabile LA® is a natural feed additive for cattle. It is a proprietary liver modulator and liver protector that has been developed to optimise beef and dairy cattle’s economic performance by keeping them healthy and productive.

The liver plays a major role in the metabolism of all animals, and it is the first organ to show stress when animals are restricted to intensive production units. Like any other organ it performs within a supply-demand pattern, the greater the demand, the greater the output.

Under extreme conditions, the functions of the liver are pushed to the limit and its output becomes insufficient to maintain equilibrium, Digestabile LA® for cattle is specially formulated to improve liver functions in these conditions.

It contains a combination of natural products namely Silymarin (Milk Thistle) extract and Rumen-protected choline chloride that improves the feed conversion ratio, by means of its choleretic and lipotropic properties that stimulate bile secretion and increases fat mobilization.

It is Heptatonic, which means that it tones, balances, and strengthens the liver. It is also hepatoprotective and therefore supports and protects the liver from poisonous effects of toxins. It also stimulates the regeneration of liver cells by reversing damage done by harmful chemicals. Silymarin extract decreases the rate of cholesterol synthesis in the liver, enhances biliary excretion of cholesterol, and increases conversion towards the bile acids helping neutralize excessive acid in the body. It also acts as an antioxidant which scavenges free radicals (FR) and maintains the oxidative / antioxidative balance in the liver.

BENEFITS OF DIGESTABILE LA® FOR CATTLE INCLUDE:

  • Improved liver function
  • Increased performance and productivity of dairy and beef cattle
  • Aids with increased milk protein and milk fat
  • Reduces fatty liver ketosis and abomasal displacement
  • Reduces the incidence of fatty liver syndrome
  • Assists with reproductive performance
  • Assists with increased average daily gain
  • Assists with increased Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR)

For best results and production support in dairy cattle, use during the transition period and in beef animals when they are introduced into the feedlot. There is no milk / meat withdrawal

Lizelle Schutte
BAH- Product Specialist

Keep your swine production moving this winter

This year we are looking at a very cold winter reaching into the high minuses in a lot of areas, therefore it is important to keep in mind the effect this will have on your animals.

The most affected animal in a piggery is the piglets, as they go through an immense amount of stress in a very short period of time. They’re not only going through peak growth curves where their body weight increases and their gut doubles in length, but are also under massive amounts of environmental stress.

When a piglet is with its mother, the comfort temperature of that piglet is around 32°C. When the piglets are moved out of lactation into the nursery, this is usually done early in the morning and they are moved to a house that is either a controlled house of 28°C or outside in a naturally ventilated house in which the temperature is based on the environment. To summarize, the stress the piglet goes under is a massive temperature change, feed change, environmental change, hierarchy change and physiological growth change, all causing stress.

Due to the stress mentioned, this leads to a vulnerability to opportunistic pathogens, an increase in diarrhea and a decrease in gut health, which will lead to a drop in performance parameters, such as: feed intake, feed utilization, growth rate, health, and thus the economic profit will decrease.

Bactefort® is a broad spectrum fast-acting antibiotic that contains oxytetracycline. This antibiotic will eliminate any pathogens, gram-positive or gram-negative, that will affect the piglets and should be implemented a day after they arrive at their new location either by the feed they are given or in the water supply.

Stress Care L® aims at replenishing the vitamins and minerals that are lost during stressful periods as well as improving the gut health of the piglet with probiotics. Ensuring good gut health will help the piglet’s growth and feed utilization throughout its life on the farm. It combats the stress the piglet goes through and ensures that the piglet remains healthy well into its adult life.

Casey Flanagan
BAH- Swine Specialist

How to manage poultry production this winter

Winter can have a negative effect on poultry production and this is an important concern for poultry. During winter when the temperatures drop, various problems occur such as: the reduction in egg production, water intake, fertility, and hatchability. The following points should be considered to achieve better production parameters during the winter season:

  • Orientation of house
  • Ventilation
  • Litter Management
  • Feed Management
  • Water Management

Prior to day old chicks being placed in the house, the surface of floor should be covered with a bedding material called litter. It gives comfort to the birds. A good quality litter serves as an insulator in maintaining uniform temperature, and also absorbs moisture and promotes drying. It dilutes faecal material thus reducing contact between birds and manure.

During winter birds take in less water, but it is necessary to still give a continuous supply of fresh water which can be consumed. Water must be fresh and clean. In ice falling areas, blockages of pipes is a major problem due to freezing of the water lines. When temperatures drop below 0ºC, it is important to carry out routine inspections of the pipelines, to avoid any blockages of water.

Many vaccines/ medicine/ anti-stress vitamins are given to poultry through water. It is important to ensure that the medicines/vaccines are given in less amounts of water so that the birds can consume all the medicated water since their intake is less in winter.

During winter it is also necessary to keep the poultry houses draft free but with plenty of ventilation, because if there is restricted ventilation it can cause ammonia build up in the air which causes respiratory problems. The birds need plenty of fresh air circulating around the house. There should also be an arrangement of exhaust fans to remove the impure air.

Preventing respiratory diseases and stress in the houses is crucial, especially during these cold months. Ensuring excellent bio-security measures are in place and a preventative program is followed will minimize the negative impact of winter’s viral and bacterial challenges.

Ask Bupo Animal Health for a preventative program to suit your farm.

Clinton Barnard
BAH- Poultry Specialist

Stress in Chickens

The general health of chickens can depend on how much stress the birds are exposed to during their everyday life. Stress can directly affect chickens but also have long term implications … and it can even be critical.

Anything that goes beyond the comfort zone of the chicken makes them unhappy. Examples include introducing new birds into an existing flock, transporting chickens for long distances, vaccinating chickens, too much heat, too much cold, disease, feed shortage, water shortage, and sudden diet changes.

Causes of stress can be a result of bad management (e.g insufficient feeding/drinking equipment, overheating during brooding, insufficient heat during brooding, feed shortage e.t.c) or factors that are beyond the chicken farmer’s control (e.g Heat stress during a heatwave, transporting chicks from hatchery to the farm within the minimum permissible time, vaccination with live vaccines, handling of chickens during intramuscular/nose drop vaccination e.t.c).

Effects of stress in chickens
  • Reduced growth
  • Loss of appetite
  • Aggression and fights
  • Reduced egg production
  • Shedding of feathers
  • Loss of weight
  • Disease
  • Prevention of stress caused by bad management

This is only resolved by making sure you manage your chickens properly. This is within the control of the farmer.

Prevention of stress caused by factors beyond the farmer’s control:

Bupo Animal Health has over the years developed a product: Stress Care L that will assist birds to cope with stress.

What is Stress Care L?

This is a liquid stress product that is unique in the following ways (in addition to the unique combination of vitamins):

  • Cost-effective
  • Easy to dissolve in water. No sedimentation after mixing with water
  • No water line blockages. There is no need to flush the water system after using Stress Care L,
  • Gut/Digestive system stabilizer (due to the probiotic in the formulation).
  • Immune system enhancer (due to the prebiotic in the formulation).
  • Improves nutrient utilization (due to the phytase enzyme in the formulation and to additional enzymes produced by the probiotic).

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)is a severe, highly contagious viral disease among cloven-hooved animals. It affects cattle, sheep, goats and swine. FMD is not recognised as a zoonotic disease but causes immense economic losses due to a drop in the production of affected animals.

Signs of Foot and Mouth in Cattle

  • Slobbering and smacking lips
  • Shivering
  • Tender and sore feet
  • Reduced milk yield
  • Sores and blisters on feet
  • Raised temperature

Signs of Foot and Mouth in Sheep

  • Sudden, severe lameness
  • Lies down frequently and is very unwilling to rise
  • When made to rise stands in a half-crouching position, with hind legs brought well forward, reluctant to move
  • Blisters may be found on the hoof where the horn joins the skin, extending all around the coronet and in the cleft of the foot. When they burst the horn is separated from the tissue underneath, and the hair around the hoof may appear damp
  • Blisters may be found on the dental pad and sometimes the tongue

Signs of Foot and Mouth in Pigs

  • Sudden lameness
  • Prefers to lie down
  • When made to move squeals loudly and hobbles painfully
  • Blisters form on the upper edge of the hoof, where the skin and horn meet, and on the heels and in the cleft
  • May extend right round the top of the hoof with the result that the horn becomes separated
  • Blisters may develop on the snout or on the tongue

The disease spreads rapidly among animals and if it is diagnosed on your farm necessary authorities should be notified and your farm must be quarantined to prevent its spread to neighbouring farms
Animals get infected through direct contact with other infected animals or by contaminated carcasses. External factors that can introduce the disease to your farm include feed, rodents, vehicles and people. Airborne spread can also occur in warm dry windy conditions.
This disease has no treatment and animals rarely die due to the disease itself, but because of the huge economic impact it has on the farmer prevention is key.

Implementing the following standard biosecurity practices reduces the risk of introduction of the disease to your farm

  1. Quarantine any new animals coming onto your farm
  2. Quarantine any animals suspected to have contracted the disease
  3. Vaccinate for any preventablediseases
  4. Limit/ stop the transport of animals
  5. Wear protective clothing when working with suspected diseased animals and disinfect hands and shoes after
  6. The quarantine area can be disinfected daily whilst animals are present
  7. Limit visitors to your farm
  8. Implement vehicle wheel dip and spraying for any vehicles coming onto the farm
  9. All visitors must make use of footbaths with disinfectant solution
  10. Have two footbaths, one with clean water and a brush to take off any mud/faeces
  11. stuck to the soles before dipping in disinfectant
  12. Hand sanitiser should be readily available to use after working with animals

Biosecurity products are available from BUPO.

BETAKILL®
Disinfectant that can be effectively used as a detergent as well as a surface and aerial disinfectant. Effective against Viruses, Bacteria and Fungi.

SANIWASH®
Disinfectant that can be effectively used as a detergent as well as a surface and aerial disinfectant.Effective against Viruses, Bacteria and Fungi.

NEOPREDISAN 135-1®
Broad-spectrum disinfectant that gives high levels of control of persistent micro-organisms including Coccidia, Cryptosporidium, Clostridia, roundworm eggs, viruses, red mite larvae, eggs and bacteria on a wide range of surfaces.

BUPOSAN®
Alcohol-based, waterless hand sanitiser eliminating contamination by touch.

Bupo’s Betakill vs The Monkeypox Virus

What Is the monkeypox virus?

Monkeypox is an infection caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox. It causes a similar (though usually less severe) illness and is most common in central and western Africa. It was first discovered in research monkeys more than half a century ago.

The virus can spread both from animal to human and from human to human. Infection from animal to human can occur via an animal bite or by direct contact with an infected animal’s bodily fluids. The virus can spread from human to human by both droplet respiration and contact with fomites (touchable surfaces) from an infected person’s bodily fluids. The incubation period is between 10 and 14 days.

Symptoms

In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox. Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion

  • Fever.
  • Headache.
  • Muscle aches.
  • Backache.
  • Swollen lymph nodes.
  • Chills.
  • Exhaustion.

Transmission 

Transmission of monkeypox virus occurs when a person comes into contact with the virus from an animal, human, or materials contaminated with the virus. The virus enters the body through broken skin (even if not visible), the respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth). Current risk factors for contracting monkeypox include those who:

  • Travelled (within 21 days) to an area where monkeypox cases or exposures have been reported;
  • Reported contact with a person who has a similar rash or received a diagnosis of confirmed or suspected monkeypox

Prevention

There is a number of measures that can be taken to prevent infection with the monkeypox virus: 

  • Isolate infected patients from others who could be at risk for infection
  • Practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans. For example, washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitiser
  • Avoid contact with animals that could harbour the virus (including animals that are sick or that have been found dead in areas where monkeypox occurs)
  • Avoid direct contact with any materials, such as bedding or laundry, that have been in contact with a sick animal or patient
  • Use appropriate personal protection equipment when caring for patients, which includes a gown, gloves, respirator, and eye protection
  • Clean surfaces with Betakill

Bupo Animal Health has a disinfectant that was tested with proven efficacy against Avian pox.
Studies were compiled by Dr Rob Brag of the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science at the University of the Orange Free State in September 2000. It was concluded that the Betakill is effective against Avian Pox Virus under the conditions of high organic load and hard water conditions with a 20 minutes contact time.

BETAKILL® Liquid

Reg. No.: G2838 Act 36/1947

DESCRIPTION:

BETAKILL® Liquid is a broad-spectrum disinfectant containing Poly Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride.

INDICATIONS:

  • For broad-spectrum disinfection of surfaces against all viruses, bacteria, fungi, mycoplasma, yeasts and algae
  • For disinfection of the air in the housing