Vaccines are a powerful tool that offer farmers a proactive way to safeguard their animals’ health, reduce the risks of disease, and improve productivity on their farms. With the steep demand for quality livestock products, ensuring the well-being of animals through vaccination has become an essential practice for farmers looking to maintain livestock quality.
Factors that decrease immunity in animals
Age, stress, nutrition, environment, and certain medications all have an impact on your livestock’s health. Young animals, whose immune systems are still developing, and older animals with weakened immunity, may not respond as well to vaccines. Stress, including that from lactation, can also compromise immunity, making animals more susceptible to infections and reducing the efficacy of vaccines.
Nutrition plays a vital role as well. Poor or imbalanced diets weaken immune responses since essential nutrients are critical for building and maintaining strong immunity. Environmental stressors, such as extreme temperatures, inadequate housing, or overcrowding further weaken immunity. Animals in clean, comfortable,
and low-stress conditions generally respond better to vaccines. Certain medications, like anti-inflammatory drugs, can also interfere with immune function, especially if it is used around vaccination time, leading to reduced effectiveness.
How vaccines work
Vaccines work by preparing animals’ immune systems to recognise and fight specific pathogens before they can cause illness. This preventive measure allows for healthier animals that can grow to their full potential, free from the stress and energy depletion that diseases cause. In addition to improving individual animal health, vaccination helps maintain herd immunity, which is vital in stopping the spread of infections among animals that could cause significant loss to the farmer.
Design Biologix has been producing veterinary vaccines since 1994, developing both commercial and autogenous vaccines tailored to farmspecific needs. This means they not only offer broad coverage for common animal diseases but can also create
vaccines targeted to specific bacterial or viral issues within a particular herd or farm. Their vaccines range from those providing rapid immunity to long-lasting options that require fewer booster doses, giving farmers flexibility in managing herd health.
The benefits of animal vaccinations
For farmers, the benefits are numerous. Vaccinated animals tend to have higher survival rates, leading to more consistent meat, milk, and egg production. They also require fewer antibiotics, which is increasingly important in meeting consumer demands for antibiotic-free animal products. Types of vaccines, such as live, inactivated, subunit, and autogenous vaccines, each offer different benefits. Live vaccines, for example, generally provide strong and long-lasting immunity, while inactivated vaccines are safer but may require booster doses for sustained effectiveness. Healthier animals also have a better feed-to-product conversion rate, ultimately saving costs and promoting sustainable farming practices that every farmer can make use of.
When to vaccinate your farm animals
It is very important to administer vaccines under optimal conditions to achieve optimal immunisation. Animals should be in good health and in low-stress environment to get the best immune response. Factors like age, nutrition, and environment can impact vaccine effectiveness, so a tailored vaccination plan is key to success. Storage, handling, and the right dosage are critical and therefore instructions are essential for preserving vaccine efficacy, a process that includes keeping vaccines cold, following expiry dates, and applying the correct dosage based on the animal’s specific need.
Vaccines are a helping hand, not a cure
It is important to remember that vaccinations are not a treatment or a cure but is there to help animals function optimally to be able to fight diseases, stresses and the like. The use of vaccination programmes allows farmers to not only protect their animals but also contribute to the greater agricultural community by reducing the risk of disease outbreaks. With options available from companies like Design Biologix, animal vaccinations are not just a health strategy-it is an investment in the longevity and success of the animal farming business.
Source: Empowerment through knowledge. Dr Angela Buys. 2014. PDF.
