Wayne, Clarkie and vet Pete are down there at the dairy right now with half of our cows for the second day in a row. I suspect none of them are having fun.
It’s preg test and vaccination time. This is not a job for someone carrying a baby on her stomach because it is intense and there’s the risk of being hit by a kicking cow but it’s a must.
The “7 in 1” vaccinations protect the cows from a multitude of diseases. According to the supplier:
Blackleg, tetanus, malignant oedema, pulpy kidney and black disease are all clostridial diseases and are amongst the most common causes of death of cattle around Australia.
In all cases unvaccinated stock contracting these five diseases have very little chance of recovery. In fact often the first clinical signs seen by producers are dead cattle.
It also protects anyone working with our animals from a very nasty cow-borne disease called leptospirosis that can leave people ill for months – even hospitalised.
The preg tests let us know when to send each cow on her annual two-month holiday before calving. This rest helps her through late pregnancy and sets her up for a whole new season in great health.
The Milk Maid Marian 
How did all the rates go?
I remember my first crack at preg testing, still learning but am getting better all the time now.
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Got a 16 per cent empty rate, which is okay. We will need to retest the empties in three weeks to make sure we didn’t test them too early. We have a really long calving season at the moment because I’m shifting them from a mid-July to a late April start. It’ll take a while but we’re getting there!
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