Vets in many regions of the country have noticed high parasitic burdens in livestock cattle that were grazing this summer and have attributed this to the mild and wet weather conditions experienced this year.
Cases of cattle coughing in sheds are widespread this winter.
Cattle have already been housed for a number of weeks in most parts of the country and generally receive their parasitic treatments when they are being housed.
In cases where husky coughing can be heard continually from cattle, one potential cause of this could be lungworm.
The best advice is to consult with your veterinary practitioner before determining the best course of action for a livestock parasite treatment plan.
Treating cattle that have heavy lungworm burdens once they have been housed is not as straight-forward as treating livestock before they are housed.
This is because cattle can have a negative reaction to dead worms in the shed which can make the situation worse.
Cattle treatment
According to Teagasc, heavy lungworm infestations can lead to respiratory disease, therefore a pre-housing treatment is recommended to ensure animals are clean of any burden before housing.
Farmers should take time when checking cattle to listen for clinical signs of lungworm and also to remain vigilant for signs of other parasites such as fluke, stomach worms or lice.
As regards treatment and control, most available anthelminthics are effective against larval and adult lungworm.
Levamisole and white drenches will take out the parasites present on the day of treatment, but will have no residual affect.
Macrocyclic Lactones, such as ivermectins, will give longer protection, according to Teagasc.
Webinar
Teagasc hosted a DairyBeef 500 Winter Herd Management webinar in conjunction with Agriland, on Thursday, October 26.
The webinar discussed a broad range of feed and non-feed related livestock management practices associated with the winter housing of cattle.
A link to the webinar is available to view here.