• Aureomycin®
  + Bovatec®
• Aureomycin®
• Aureo S 700®
• Bovatec®
• Deccox®
• Natural supplements
• Teat dips
• Water solubles

• Anaplasmosis
• Bovine respiratory disease
• Enteric disease
• Lameness
• Intestinal health
• Feed efficiency/gain

ISSUE #2
News from the Field

DATELINE : DAIRY
Dynamic Duo

FDA okays Aureomycin®-Bovatec® for dairy replacement heifers

A new FDA approval allowing the use of Aureomycin® (chlortetracycline) and Bovatec® (lasalocid sodium) in the same rations is expected to help dairy producers optimize feed efficiency in replacement heifers while controlling coccidiosis and the leading causes of bacterial pneumonia.
"For years, dairy producers have added Aureomycin and Bovatec to their feed rations to maximize herd health and performance in dairy replacement heifers. Now the two products can be fed together for added convenience and flexibility," reports Dr. Lance Fox, a technical service veterinarian for Alpharma Inc., Animal Health.

FAST FACTS

• Aureomycin-Bovatec helps optimize performance while controlling coccidiosis and pneumonia.
• Complementary action helps keep dairy cattle disease-free while boosting efficiency and performance
• Feeding Aureomycin-Bovatec makes producers less dependent on labor-intensive injectable antibiotics

"Having the option of feeding a broad-spectrum antibiotic like Aureomycin with Bovatec may present new disease-management strategies for dairy herds," he adds.
Most of the trial work completed with the Aureomycin-Bovatec claim involved beef cattle, but researchers at Kansas State University think the combination will bring added efficiency and profitability to dairy operations as well.
"I would think that the most immediate use for it would be in the growing dairy replacement heifers, keeping them disease-free and getting a boost in efficiency and performance," says Dr. Gerry Kuhl, a retired cattle specialist from KSU who did some of the trial work with the combination with colleague Dr. Frank Brazle.
"We know that ionophores like Bovatec are helpful in getting animals to breed earlier, and so that’s always of interest to both beef as well as dairy producers. I think the combination could make a very economical and immediate impact on that segment of the dairy industry."

Complementary Products

Dr. Twig Marston, a nutritionist and extension specialist at KSU, notes that Aureomycin and Bovatec have different yet complementary modes of action, which may account for the excellent performance seen when the two medications are used in the same feed.

"The two products really complement each other very well," he says. "Bovatec works on the rumen microflora to improve intestinal health and allow animals to utilize the energy of feedstuffs more efficiently," he explains. "That, in turn, produces a healthier animal, one that can respond better to antibiotic treatments."
‘Having the option of feeding a broad-spectrum antibiotic like Aureomycin with Bovatec
may present new disease-management strategies for dairy herds’
Kuhl thinks the new Aureomycin-Bovatec combination may make producers less dependent on labor-intensive injectable antibiotics and make it easier to protect herds from respiratory problems.
"In the past, if your animals were on Bovatec or another ionophore, you had to use an injectable antibiotic for managing respiratory disease," he says. "That was a real struggle because of the extra handling and labor involved. The Aureomycin-Bovatec combination changes that scenario dramatically, to the point where I think some consulting nutritionists will now consider Bovatec because it can be fed with Aureomycin."
Adds Marston, "I think the combination has the potential to really help considerably on a wide variety of forages. Certainly, it will be a good tool during adverse weather, when respiratory problems are more prevalent."

Flexible feeding

FDA has approved varying combinations of Aureomycin (50, 70, 90 and 100 grams per pound formulations) and Bovatec (20 grams per pound liquid and 68 and 91 grams per pound formulations) for use in Type B and Type C medicated cattle feeds.
Depending on dose rate, Aureomycin may be used for treating bacterial pneumonia caused by Pasteurella multocida in calves, beef and non-lactating dairy cattle.
Bovatec can be fed at various dose rates to improve feed efficiency and rate of weight gain in cattle fed in confinement or on pasture for slaughter (stocker, feeder cattle, dairy and beef replacement heifers). In addition, Bovatec can be used to control coccidiosis caused by Eimeria bovis and E. zuernii in cattle weighing up to 800 pounds.


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©2006, Alpharma Inc. One Executive Drive Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024 1.800.645.4216 www.AlpharmaAH.com For more information about the new Aureomycin-Bovatec combination, producers should contact their feed supplier or Alpharma representative, or call 1.800.645.4216 or go to www.AlpharmaAH.com. Aureomycin® and Bovatec® are registered trademarks of Alpharma Inc.