Autumn is here and winter is right around the corner. With that, the weather can bring a whole host of challenges, not least the threat of respiratory problems for your calves and sheep. Those damp and foggy days can bring stubbornly damp conditions to your sheds, exacerbating the risk of infectious agents.
Similar to how the coronavirus affects humans, the problem is exacerbated when groups begin to mix and start to share those respiratory organisms. Cattle and sheep, like all animals, carry bacteria in their respiratory passages. These usually cause no harm, but if the immune response is weakened, the opportunity is there for infection to take hold.
This Autumn has seen a wide variation in weather, which has given rise to a significantly larger respiratory challenge than would normally be expected, increasing the risk of respiratory-related problems in young calves and sheep.
The good news
With awareness of antimicrobial resistance growing within agriculture, we have all become better at taking preventative steps that create an environment which is less prone to hosting infectious organisms.
For example, ESVAC (European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption) have revealed that European sales of antibiotics have fallen by 34.6% over the last 10 years and accredit this drop to preventative measures farmers like you have made, such as improved hygiene practises, enhanced biosecurity measures, incorporation of vaccines and the introduction of nutritional supplementation.
Crystalyx Easy Breather is one such supplement that can be incorporated as a preventative aid.
Crystalyx Easy Breather
Crystalyx Easy Breather has been specially formulated to help develop and support a strong immune defence system within young animals, giving your livestock a chance to protect themselves against infectious respiratory challenges. Easy Breather allows animals to breathe easily by keeping respiratory passages clear which helps to keep them relaxed.
This offers further good news because stress can also become a major factor in the spread of disease by reduceing the immune response. Your livestock can become stressed by factors such as weaning, transportation, housing and/or regrouping, competition for insufficient feed, overcrowding and any management change which causes serious disturbance. Of course, Crystalyx is no substitute for good management, but it does provide a powerful, natural aid to help housed animals to stay stress free and withstand respiratory challenges.
What’s more is that extensive trial work has shown Crystalyx Easy Breather significantly reduces the incidence of coughing and respiratory irritation in housed calves and sheep and allows them to regain their appetite after a stress or challenge. Research by Professor Z M Kowalski of Krakow University in Poland showed that offering Crystalyx Easy Breather to Holstein dairy calves increased growth rates by 8.5% over controls, similar trials conducted in Russia confirmed that feeding Crystalyx Easy Breather to stressed calves improved DLWG by 11.3%.
We are proud to be stocking Crystalyx Easy Breather right across Carr’s Billington*, helping farmers fight back against coughing and respiratory irritation this Autumn and Winter.
*Excludes our Brecon branch.
