Cattle Health Care

Remember: The average cost to maintain a cow in Texas is approximately
$350-$450 per year whether she has a calf or not!

What vaccinations should cattle have at various times of the year? This is difficult to answer because management practices, disease prevalence, and nutritional levels vary from region to region or even from ranch to ranch in the same area. Recommendations in this fact sheet are meant to serve as guidelines. You should consult our office and/or our local Cooperative Extension agent to tailor a program to your operation.

Commonly used vaccines and injections are listed here. Sometimes you may need to use all of them. At other times you may need very few. The vaccines and injections are listed starting at calving time and continuing through fall.

A word of caution -- at the very best, vaccines and injections are an aid. Good sanitation, herd management, and nutritional practices are necessary for you to achieve the best results. Read and follow the directions on the product used.

See our recommendations for Cattle Herd Management Program.

Learn more about Common Diseases In Cattle and give us a call if you suspect a problem or have any questions!

Types of Vaccines

There are two general categories of vaccines - live products and killed products. Modified live IBR, BVD, PI3 and Bangs are examples of live products. These are quite sensitive to light, disinfectants, and heat, so do not use chemical disinfectants in syringes or needles. Boil them. Do not reconstitute these vaccines more than 1 hour before use. Protect them from sunlight. Keep them cool. Killed vaccine examples are blackleg, malign antedema, redwater, enterotoxemia, black disease, and leptospirosis. These are less sensitive, and you can use chemical disinfectants in your needles and syringes. The vaccines should be kept cool however and should be protected from sunlight.

Vaccines give longer immunity than serums or anti-toxins but usually do not protect until about 2 weeks after administration. Live vaccines sometimes give better and longer lasting immunity than killed products.Serums or antitoxins protect for only about 2 weeks, but do protect as soon as administered.

When using modified-live IBR and BVD vaccines,give them separately (2 weeks apart) to prevent calves from getting sick from the vaccine. (ML-BVD vaccine maybe an extra hazard in previously BVD-exposed herds.)

Killed vaccines give different lengths of immunity. Some, such as red water, need to be repeated each 6 months or more often in severely infected areas. Others need to be repeated each year. Follow the directions and consult your veterinarian on the length of immunity.

No vaccine is 100 percent effective. Effectiveness depends on such things as age of the animal, passive immunity the animal possesses when vaccinated, the stress on the animal, diseases, and other factors we don’t understand. Vaccines against some diseases aremore effective than others.

When you work out your program, remember to keep records. If you depend on memory, you will make too many mistakes. Good records are well worth the time and expense.

Don't forget!! Having a good parasite control program (internal AND external) is also extremely important to good cattle management!

And if you're planning to show a calf or steer,
See our page on Raising & Showing A Calf or Steer