suckler cow bolus...

tinman

Very Senior Member
for the last 10 yrs or so ive been giving my suckler cows "all sure" bolus's.
like a lot of things you throw down their throat you would wonder if the money is worth it, but i also know that i randomly blood sample 4 of them every 2 yrs or so and on the last test just a month ago they came back all in good health and no deficiencies, so the bolus must be doing something right which is good news.

your really supposed to give them a bolus ( which is actually 2 parts) every 6 mths, so two shots a year, i dont do that here, they get one a year, its enough imo and seems to be working all along.

my mate was cleaning down one of the creeps the other day and found one part of the bolus he gave to the cow 6 mths ago half gone lying in the pen.
he was chatting a man yesterday and the chat came up abut bolus's and he was saying he often found a half used one in the fields when he would be out checking the cows.

so i ask this, just how many of these bolus's are staying down and how many arent and either being lost in the field or down through the slat.
they arent supposed to come back, and should only sit in the first stomach if im right.
i dont mind giving them the bolus, as to how many are chucking them back up i dont know but id rather give them something that they wont cough up.

is there a better bolus that covers all the bases for a suckler cow out there, what do the rest of ye use if any do?.
anyone had similar experiences?.
 
I was doing the sucklers here with all sure aswell and selieum bolus and a magnesium bolus when they went to grass.i often seen them in the field again but I use mineral licks aswell
 
Last chat with vet here suggested a multi supplement once per year (alltrace high iodine used here 6 weeks before calving) and a copper bolus 6 months later.

I have learned that those copper tablets that you put into the water are useless. I have also learned that copper is the most important mineral for fertility.

As for them staying down, my vet says that most people using alltrace or allsure bolus or similar are not putting them down far enough to ensure that they stay down. We did 30 cows over christmas. Bought the bolus from the Vet and he gave us his gun/applicator. From handle to end it is at least 1 meter long. I have never seen one so long before but he says that it is essential to ensure that the bolus stays down.
 
the bolus itself must be working if im back clear in the blood tests, as in everything is in line so to speak.

the gun id have here is an agrimin gun, its what ive used the last 3 or 4 yrs to administer the bolus to the cows, its not the right gun for the job and isnt 1m long either but when i checked it today the lance end of it not including the gun is approx 600mm long.
it cost me €100 at the time but ill ask my vet about should i be using a longer applicator gun.

in saying that, the bolus in my mates cow was hardly stuck in her throat for the last 6 mths before she coughed it up, he uses my gun to administer them.

the allsure have 30g of copper oxide, 3400mg of iodine, 525mg of cobalt and 500mg of selenium, or so the packet says anyways.

on their instructions this is what they say.
Allsure may be administered orally using a suitable balling gun, the gun should be pushed well back over the dorsum(hump) of the tongue before the bolus is discharged, taking care to avoid choking and throat damage.
always check the animal swallows the bolus.
 
we use the same as u tinman and never noticed a problem of them comming back, wold it not be hard to work with metre long gun?

some cows have got smart to set up now when they see the gun and make me wish they could be administered by shotgun
 
we use the same as u tinman and never noticed a problem of them comming back, wold it not be hard to work with metre long gun?

some cows have got smart to set up now when they see the gun and make me wish they could be administered by shotgun
:lol:, yeah, the limousine can be cute...
with her nose buried on the floor.

1m long id of said was a long gun alright but maybe its easy to use.
altho id of thought that if it was past the point where she could cough it up there and then then it shouldnt come back out.

i could be loosing them as i wouldnt be walking the fields every day looking at them and god only knows whats going on when they are on the slats.
maybe im loosing none, but id be surprised from what ive heard if i wasnt.
 
did u blood test this year only? i would say our cattle are in better looking condition-hair colour brighter and tighter than most years, so i assume they are in better shape mineral wise, and they still to be fluked, but not any better condition score wise. no real reason for this perhaps just the grazing year or something. i never thought of us loosing any but i assume we must be too, still prefer them to bucket or bag minerals
 
its the ease of them im after, and i know each cow is geting the right dose.
i randomly blood tested 4 of them a month ago, they were only fluked and wormed 2 weeks ago.
they all came back within the norm bar one who was something like .2 below some mineral which in the scale of things wasnt important so all were ok.
last time i sampled was 2 yrs ago and they came back clear then too.

altho i see an odd one drinking pi$$ now and again, so there must be a bit of a salt deficiency there that didnt show on the results.
ill pick up some salt blocks to get it in line again tomorrow.
 
No a mtr long gun ain`t easy to use . Have one at work for giving some odd bolus to some of the dairy stock . Mind the bolus it self is 6" long and 40mm wide with wing`s to ensure it ain`t coming back up . Trick is to get the cow to swallow the gun all the forcing in the world ain`t going to get the bloody lenght of it down .
Suckler`s would only get a bolus after calving to prevent grass tetany . Some cow`s have a great knack of been able to cough up a bolus week`s after they`ve got it . 6 week`s before calving they get treated with ????? (can`t think of the name of it ) help`s prevent scour and work`s well .
 
6 week`s before calving they get treated with ????? (can`t think of the name of it ) help`s prevent scour and work`s well .

High iodine all trace is the bolus for 6 weeks before calving. Ensures that the cow does not retain cleanings, ensures a healthier calf, and reduces the chance of scour.
 
No a mtr long gun ain`t easy to use . Have one at work for giving some odd bolus to some of the dairy stock . Mind the bolus it self is 6" long and 40mm wide with wing`s to ensure it ain`t coming back up . Trick is to get the cow to swallow the gun all the forcing in the world ain`t going to get the bloody lenght of it down .
Suckler`s would only get a bolus after calving to prevent grass tetany . Some cow`s have a great knack of been able to cough up a bolus week`s after they`ve got it . 6 week`s before calving they get treated with ????? (can`t think of the name of it ) help`s prevent scour and work`s well .

Rotavec (or similar) sounds like the injection you are thinking of for preventing scour.



We run 135ish sucklers here and I like the all-trace bolus , they got the high iodine one at turnout but I am actually giving powdered minerals inside in the winter this year as I have minerals made to order with biotin In them as we had been getting a bit of bother with feet recently.

I have very occasionally seen maybe 1 a year bolus lying somewhere but I don't think it's a problem to worry about IMO. I put it down to perhaps not putting it in right as the gun is pretty long and some cows roll there tongue and try to block the gun.

I've always felt we have had good results with the bolus , we don't blood test here mind but then we don't have any cows that are concerning us with vits/minerals either.
 
It's k99 that is the injection asked there now .
Rotavec (or similar) sounds like the injection you are thinking of for preventing scour.



We run 135ish sucklers here and I like the all-trace bolus , they got the high iodine one at turnout but I am actually giving powdered minerals inside in the winter this year as I have minerals made to order with biotin In them as we had been getting a bit of bother with feet recently.

I have very occasionally seen maybe 1 a year bolus lying somewhere but I don't think it's a problem to worry about IMO. I put it down to perhaps not putting it in right as the gun is pretty long and some cows roll there tongue and try to block the gun.

I've always felt we have had good results with the bolus , we don't blood test here mind but then we don't have any cows that are concerning us with vits/minerals either.
 
Back
Top