
Vaccine Management

AUDIO: Tips on vaccine placement in cattle
Vacinnating and treating livestock is a given for any beef operation. In this interview, Erika Stewart, the VBP+ coordinator for Saskatchewan, shares tips for choosing an injection site, giving multiple injections to the same animal and maintaining your vaccine’s effectiveness. For more resources on beef cattle health, visit our Herd Health page.

Quick tips when using livestock vaccines
Veterinary Case Study: From using the right needle size to cleaning syringes, here’s how to do vaccination right
Roper Roy arrived in our practice area last spring. He followed a young lady home from a horse training school in west Texas. Now married, it looked like Roper fell into a sizeable chunk of a prosperous ranching and farming operation. He came to town for supplies for their branding next weekend. While he waited, […] Read more

Improving vaccination success in your beef herd
Get the most out of your vaccine investment by transporting, handling, storing and administering them properly
Vaccination is a proven management tool to reduce infectious disease risks in a beef herd — if the vaccine is effective in preventing and controlling the disease and the right vaccine is administered to the right cattle, at the right time, in the right way and at the right dose and frequency. Vaccination alone will […] Read more

Core vaccines recommended for western Canadian beef herds
When looking at vaccinating for diseases beyond the core vaccination recommendations, consider the disease risk, vaccine efficaciousness and the cost-benefit of each vaccine
Just because there is a vaccine on the market to prevent or reduce disease risk, that doesn’t mean that you need to use it in your herd, unless it is a core vaccine and proven effective and safe. Base your vaccination decisions on sound, objective scientific data. Weigh the pros and cons of vaccination for […] Read more

Make vaccinations work for your cattle herd
When giving a shot, make sure it isn’t a shot in the dark
As ranchers begin another calving season and vets stock their shelves with vaccines and supplies, now is the time to review vaccination protocols and management practices to make sure the herd is protected. Dr. Glen Griffin of South West Animal Health Centre in Swift Current, Sask., has been serving the southwest since 2004, when he […] Read more

Keep syringes and needles clean and working during vaccination
Make sure you protect your vaccine’s effectiveness with a few practical steps
Getting the most out of a vaccine starts with the syringes and needles. Dr. Cody Creelman, a bovine veterinarian in southern Alberta, recently held a free webinar on ways to make cattle vaccines more effective. Part of his webinar covered how to keep needles and syringes clean and working well. Creelman recommends checking and replacing […] Read more

Be prepared for vaccination reactions in cattle
Vaccines can sometimes hyper-stimulate the immune system
Occasionally cattle react to vaccine. An allergic reaction can be mild and local, with swelling at the injection site. But if the animal goes into anaphylactic shock, it can be serious and even fatal. Vaccines contain antigens that are foreign to the body. The goal is for the body to recognize them as foreign and […] Read more