Beef cattle management vaccination calendar in Zimbabwe

A good farmer is a good planner, this beef cattle management calendar will help farmers to timeously and religiously vaccinate their cattle.

The beef cattle herd productivity and growth depends on its nutrition and health status hence there is need to keep your herd as healthy as possible.  

A health herd is a productive one.

You keep your health through 4 major pillars of Vaccination, Dipping, De-worming and Management.

Beef cattle management vaccination calendar

Contagious Abortion (CA)

The CA vaccine is once off vaccine administered to heifers only from 6 to 8 months of age. The vaccine is administered in during the cooler months of the year from March to July.

Blackleg, Anthrax and Botulism

The vaccine usually comes as 3 in 1 single vaccine that covers Blackleg, Anthrax and Botulism it is administered from calves aged 4 months to mature cattle. 3 in 1 vaccine is administers before the rainy season from August to December and sometimes towards the winter season for those who feeds their cattle with chicken litter.

Lumpy Skin

Lumpy skin disease is an infectious, eruptive, occasionally fatal disease of cattle characterized by nodules on the skin and other parts of the body. It’s vaccinated annually before the rains from 6 months old calves to adult cattle.

Three Day Stiff Sickness

Probably one of the most expensive vaccine per beast, the often ignored but the consequences of skipping this vaccination has dire implications on your herd’s productivity.

Three day stiff sickness vaccine is administered annually from September to December. The vaccine is administered from 8 months old calves to adult animals.

Vibriosis

Vibriosis is caused by the bacterium Campylobacter fetus and is spread by infected bulls when they mate susceptible cows and heifers. Immunity against vibriosis in bulls is not developed easily and they can be infected for a long time without showing any signs of illness.

Vibriosis vaccination is done annually before the breeding season to all mature and non-pregnant breeding animals, heifers, cows and bulls.