Vaccinations!!!!!

[Panda Girl]

Hello all, I am knew to this site and homesteading in general! I am hoping to get pigs, cows, bees, and I have chickens on the way! I was wondering, I want to raise my animals without giving them shots. I have read up on the chickens and obviously you do not need them for bees( at least I do not think that you do) but I am wondering if any of you go without shots for your pigs and cows? If it helps any I will probably get a mini jersey cow and have not pick a pig breed yet, so if there is one that is less apt to get a sickness please let me know! Thankyou for your helpful suggestions!

 

[Alaskan]

Each area is so vastly different... regarding the prevalence of disease and kinds of parasites.

So the best thing would be to look up your closest extention office and stop by.

They have all sorts of great free stuff (paid for by our tax dollars).

 

[Longhornbreeder101]

Hello all, I am knew to this site and homesteading in general! I am hoping to get pigs, cows, bees, and I have chickens on the way! I was wondering, I want to raise my animals without giving them shots. I have read up on the chickens and obviously you do not need them for bees( at least I do not think that you do) but I am wondering if any of you go without shots for your pigs and cows? If it helps any I will probably get a mini jersey cow and have not pick a pig breed yet, so if there is one that is less apt to get a sickness please let me know! Thankyou for your helpful suggestions!

Yeah it’s a better choice to at least vaccinate and worm your animals just to prevent disease.

 

[Panda Girl]

Ok, but if I really want to not do that is there anybody who know what I have to do? I heard something that you can avoid worms if you rotate where they graze every four days( for cows) does anybody know about that?

 

[Alaskan]

Ok, but if I really want to not do that is there anybody who know what I have to do?

You do not want to do what?

You do not want to vaccinate for anything?

Or you do not want to have to worm?

I heard something that you can avoid worms if you rotate where they graze every four days( for cows) does anybody know about that?

Again.. best to stop by your local extension office and ask what issues are prevalent in your specific area.

High rainfall areas often have more parasites than dry areas.

It is possible to never have to worm... depending on the worm load where the animals live... and the worm resistance of each individual animal.

You can always just check animals for pale gums/eyelids... and when they get pale then do a fecal test, see if you can figure out exactly what you are dealing with.

But... not all worms show on a fecal test.

Again... if you know the parasites that tend to be an issue where you live... you can become informed, be proactive, and know what to watch for.

 

[Panda Girl]

Ok, I will check at my extension office. I had never though of that! Thanks!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Ok, I will check at my extension office. I had never though of that! Thanks!

Pigs dont get vaccinations usually.....but what is the purpose of the pig? Feeder pigs you are raising for 6 months and butchering or breeding pigs? Feeder pigs dont need wormed or vacinated 99.9% of the time, just feed and then butcher when it is time. Breeder pigs might need wormed at some point or another in their life, our breeder pigs are hardly ever wormed however I live in the north where parasites outside the host die or lay dormant for approximately 6-8 months of the year. If you live in a warmer or wetter climate you could have massive problems with parasites, or need vaccinations that we dont need. Best to ask your extension office as stated.

At the very least a cow not intended for slaughter will have to be tested before being moved onto or off of any property. Your laws may be different, basically you can not sell and move any cattle in michigan without TB testing and RFID ear tags. In my area calves are recommended to be vaccinated with 7-way clostridial, IBV, BVD, PI3, BRSV, mannheimia haemolytica, and haemophilus somnus. Those will I'm sure vary by location and others maybe needed in other locations. Be aware again in my state and probly others, we had to register the calves we bought with the state and notify them before moving the calves or taking them to slaughter. All that hassle for 2 feeder calves, luckily the state registration part was free.

Poultry 99% of the time need no vaccinations, and only occasional worming depending on housing conditions.

As far as not doing vaccinations or worming, you certainly can not do those things. You need to be aware however that not doing those things will VERY likely mean a high rate of death in your animals. Yes rotational grazing does help but it doesn't eliminate parasites all together.

 

[Panda Girl]

ok, thanks!

 

[farmerjan]

Just my 2 cents. There are a few vaccines that will be smart. Blackleg, which is a clostridium, is pretty much necessary. Clostridiums exist in nature, and if a calf gets blackleg, it will kill them in a couple days before you even know they have it. Killed virus., best given after 8-12 weeks. They will have very good resistance to it after that but we give it to all pregnant cows to help pass "passive early immunity" to calves. Cheap insurance to not bury a calf worth 100 x the cost of the vaccine. Often seen in calves in the spring or when there is some wet weather with fast green grass growth too.
Lepto is prevalent in ALL mammals. Causes abortions among other problems. It is another thing that you cannot prevent through good husbandry because it can be passed by a positive fox peeing in the creek, and a cow drinking from it... or a deer peeing on the ground and it getting on some grass that a cow might eat. Every mammal can carry it.
If you are planning a milk cow, get one that has been vaccinated for "bangs" which is brucellosis. Causes Undulant fever in humans.... it is a one time vaccine, at anywhere from 4-12 months old.... good for life. I won't drink milk from a cow without it. It used to be required for all dairy cattle... it has since been NEARLY eradicated but is found in wild deer and bison herds and cattle in the west. No cure for it......no longer required in dairy cattle, but I do all my heifers because then they are eligible to be shipped to any state where it is restricted... and the beef heifers get a tattoo which also helps to identify in case of stealing/rustling.
There are some things that breeding cattle can carry, and a bull can infect the whole herd breeding cows so there are some things you need to consider with that.

There are alot of different vaccines. We only use killed virus vaccines. My go to now is Triangle-10 HB. I do not like any MLV vaccine because of the possibility of aborting a cow with the different things that are ML in it. We use the killed virus vaccine which triggers the system to produce antibody responses without any chance of the animal having reactions.

One of the reasons we do more vaccinations now is that we do buy and sell cattle. Too much exposure to outside unknown germs, viruses and "bugs". But again, there are a few things you cannot control even if you never bring and animal onto your place once you get your original breeders or stock. Most vets push the MLV vaccines, but most of the dairy farmers that I work with use Triangle 10 now.

There are a few things that pigs get that can be vaccinated for. We didn't vaccinate them for anything. If they are feeders for butcher, you will be putting them in the freezer before they can get too much "disease". There are things that breeding sows can have trouble from.

Sheep and goats get CDT which helps to prevent things like overeating disease.... a clostridium and tetanus. Pretty standard and safe. If you lose animals that you could have prevented by a simple vaccine, then you are throwing money away for no good reason.

I do not do alot of vaccinating. But there are some things that it simply makes good practical sense to do. I mean, I get a tetanus booster every so often because I am exposed to MANY situations where getting tetanus could kill me.... simple common sense. But I do not take the yearly flu "shot" or pneumonia shot.... will not take the "covid vaccine" that is not a true vaccine.... I will trust my own bodies immune system.... but there are things that I will do because it is a true vaccine that prevents me from getting the disease. The "vaccines" that are shots are not going to prevent the flu... only possibly make the symptoms less; which often happens if you have a healthy and robust immune system anyway with no other compromising problems.

Vaccines are smart in many cases.

 

[Baymule]

Best advice I have for you is READ. Read these forums and ask questions. Study. No one can open up your head and pour into it everything you need to know. Go slow, don’t buy a bunch animals and learn along the way. You will overload yourself and get discouraged. READ. Read and study these forums, there is TONS of good information that will help you.