VITAMIN A & CATTLE

Vitamin A is a required component in the beef cattle industry. 

Vitamin A, as a final product does not occur in green plant material.  It occurs in the forms of  carotenes and carotenoids in green plant matter.   Carotene is rapidly destroyed by sunlight and air, especially at higher temperatures (hot summer conditions/dry, bleached pastures).  The carotene in green matter is converted into Vitamin A by animals in their small intestines. The Vitamin A is than later stored in the animal’s liver for up to 3 months before it is eventually consumed and runs out.  The dry yellow grass cannot contain carotene/Vitamin A.  Consequently, it is recommended you vaccinate with Vitamin A during the dry months.  The following are Vitamin A deficiency consequences.

1. Vitamin A is associated with the maintenance of the protective mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive tracts resulting in the prevention of diarrhea and pneumonia. It is thought that a deficiency in vitamin A causes damage to these membranes which allows bacteria and viruses an opportunity for invasion.

2. It also helps with a compound in the eye needed for sight when an animal adapts from light to dark. One of the first easily detected signs of vitamin A deficiency in cattle is night blindness. An easy way to check for this condition is to place an obstacle in the pathway of cattle and notice if they stumble over it at twilight.

3. Vitamin A is also essential for proper kidney function and normal development of bones, teeth and nerve tissue.

4.  Signs of vitamin A deficiency in breeding herds include lowered fertility and calving percentage.  Pregnant heifers and cows are especially sensitive to Vitamin A deprivation as this limits the development of the foetus, especially in the last trimester where the foetus grows the most.  This results to under developed foetus and stillbirth.   

5. Lameness stiffness tiredness, lose of appetite, rough hair coat, slowed grains and reduced feed efficiency, pneumonia (especially in calves)and watery eyes are additional symptoms.

Beef cattle requirements for vitamin A are 2200 IU/Kg dry feed for beef feedlot cattle, 2800 IU/Kg dry feed for pregnant beef heifers and cows, and 3900 IU/Kg dry feed for lactating cows and breeding bulls.  It is advisable to supply incoming feeders or other cattle under extreme stress conditions with 500 000 to 1 million IU of vitamin A.

HOW TO GIVE INJECTIONS

There are main types of injection areas that every farmer should be able to perform.  The easiest is the subcutaneous injections and intramuscular injections.   Subcutaneous injections have a longer absorption period in general.  The diagram below shows the skin, subcutaneous tissue and the muscle.  Below the muscle is the bone.  The subcutaneous injections are administered in the subcutaneous tissue (below skin) while the intramuscular injections are administered in the muscle.

Figure 1 showing the anatomy of injection sites

Area of injection 

Vaccines – Always use the recommended specifications for the vaccine.  In most cases, both intramuscular and subcutaneous should be given in the triangular mass of the muscle on the neck.  Take caution to avoid the top of the neck, which contains a ligament, and the bottom portion of the neck where the bones, windpipe and jugular vein are located (see below).

Antibiotics – The neck is usually the preferred location. Be sure to split the dose into two areas.  Do not administer more than 15ml on one side.  If large volumes are injected into one site, the medication will be absorbed too slowly through the body or to the infected area.

Figure 2 depicting vaccination sites

How to administer subcutaneous injections?

1. Make sure that the area for injection is clean and dry.
2. Lift a fold of the skin on the neck or shoulder where the skin is the loosest, and slip the needle between the skin and muscle (fig 3).  This should be nearly parallel (at 45°) to the surface so the needle goes under the skin and not into the muscle (fig 1).
3.  Release the vaccine with the required dose.  Remember to use half the dose on one side, and the other half on the other side if it’s a big dosage i.e if 30 ml of dosage is required, use 15 ml on one side of the cow and 15 ml on the other side of cow, both subcutaneously.

Figure 3 showing how to administer subcutaneous injection

How to administer intramuscular injections?

1. Make sure that the area for injection is clean and dry.
2. Pat and stroke the spot where the injection will be administered to reduce sensitivity and irritation and keep animal from flinching.
3. Thrust the needle in quickly and forcefully so it goes through the skin and all the way to the muscle.  If the animal jumps, wait till it settles down before attaching the syringe to the inserted needle to give the injection.  Be sure the needle used is not too long as this could penetrate through muscle and to the bone, which could be extremely painful.
4. If the needle oozes blood, you have hit a vein.  Take out the needle and try again on a slightly different spot.  DO NOT INJECT AN INTRAMUSCULAR PRODUCT INTO A VEIN.
5. After injecting the product into the muscle, rub the injection site to help distribute the product within the muscle.

Mhoow....