[m3joeEm]

hi ,

I haven't given my new hoggets their vaccination of heptavac p yet and the ram is going with them in 2 weeks, would it be ok to give them this now and then take all in when changing the rams crayon and give them the second dose or is there any issues or side effects with using heptavac during tupping?

[Anke]

Have they not had the initial double dose as lambs? If yes, then you only need an annual booster, and hat should have been done at the same time as the ewes will have got theirs....

I would not have thought that vaccination  per se interferes with the breeding cycle, so if they are easily penned up then it shouldn't be a problem.

[fsmnutter]

They will need a booster at the recommended time before lambing either way.
If they haven't had any vaccines to date, it would definitely be worth doing them now (if you Google the Noah compendium and type in heptavac, you can check the contraindications don't include mating, but it must allow in pregnancy as they get the prelambing booster!) The only thing that may be an issue is stress and knocks from penning or running through a race to vaccinate, but the alternative of potential sudden deaths from clostridia is a risk.

[Anke]

... and pasteurella at this time of year!