Vaccination is one of the easiest and best ways to prevent disease in your herd.
Over the years, veterinary medicine has moved from focusing on treatment to focusing on prevention. One of the ways this is achieved is through vaccination. By vaccinating your animals, you are helping to prevent potential suffering, loss of production, unnecessary pharmaceutical use, and contributing to good food safety practices.
Vaccinations are used to achieve active immunity of the immune system. This is both beneficial to the animal and, depending on the vaccine, to the offspring of that animal. A mother will pass on pre-formed antibodies to her offspring through her first milk, termed ‘colostrum’. However, when this passive immunity diminishes it is important to then vaccinate the offspring, thus achieving active immunity in themselves.
The vaccination schedule chosen for your farm will depend on your management system, location, and the history of your herd or flock. Together, you and your veterinarian can come up with a program that works for you and your animals. If you have questions regarding different vaccines available for use, give Tsolum a call at 778-428-6401 or send us an e-mail at [email protected].