Pour-On Dewormer's burning backs

Been having problems with certain pour-on dewormers burning backs of show calves.  The skin then flakes and sometimes hair will fall out in clumps.  Gone to injections, but then some calves absolutely hate to have their necks touched after that for months.  We have used Dectomax primarly.  Zoetis rep says "Oh you shouldn't have any problems with that..."  Yeah well, we ARE! 

Anyone know any dewormers out there that are better than others for not burning calves? 

We used the injectable type this year. We used it on the show calves for that very reason, and on the cows because it was kinda sprinkling that day.

The pour on will burn them for sure.  I've used Dectomax injectible le for several years and have not experienced the issue you mention.  What size needle you using?

We make sure to do all vet work like injections in the squeeze chute and never in the grooming chute and have not had a problem with calves being "flinchy" after an injection. 

Before we had a squeeze chute we used our old Filson steel grooming chute for vet work and the calves would lose trust because they never knew if they were in the chute for grooming or vet work.

I use cydectin pour on with mine, it is oil based so it wont burn them. I pour it on once a month then wash it off the next day, haven't had any problems with it.

We use Safegaurd pelleted feed wormer or Panacure drench for that very reason.. Both are same product and very effective!

Ron  <cowboy>

Safeguard also has a paste that is easy to use also. That's what I use on the show calves in the summer so they don't get burned by pour on.
The pellet is nice too but for small calves its easier to get the right dose with the paste

Pour-ons can cause problems.  Make sure you apply a long strip down the topline not just a bunch in one spot and try not to do it on a sunny day.  An overcast or cloudy day (or do late afternoon/evening) will help.  You may still get a bit of reaction but not as severe.

I disagree that pour on will for sure burn them.  I would think washing off the Cydectin the next day is putting money down the drain. 

Have you done fecals to see what you need to worm for? We have to use a combination of Safeguard and Long Range to get all of them here. 

We saw a noticeable difference in fecals, cattle condition, weaning weights, and even conception when we switched to Long Range.  I don't know I can give the Long Range credit for the conception but it couldn't hurt.  Our worm loads weren't extreme but they were there.

It is really expensive but worth it to us.

I use 1/2 dosage and it seems to do the job without near the scalding.

I don't mean to interject here but there are many things in this thread that are reasons for the reduction in efficacy of our worming products.  When you alter from the instructional use you run the risk of parasite resistance.  I would strongly recommend not washing off the topical dewormers.  There is a reason they are oil based and slowly absorbed.  I would strongly recommend to not half the dose of ANY wormer.  Once you have parasite resistance on your farm you are in big trouble.  If you are concerned with the adverse effects of a product consult your veterinarian.  I would personally recommend an injectable wormer if you are concerned with scalding, etc.  Parasite resistance is a huge problem that may take some time to show itself in each individual environment.  I went to look at a cow for a client last year who I could immediately see was anemic.  She was weak and couldn't stand due to the anemia.  I took a fecal sample back to the clinic and found she had one of the worst hookworm infections I had ever seen.  This individual lost a handful of cattle to hookworms.  Pay close attention to your worming protocol.  If possible take some fecal samples of your poorest cattle to your veterinarian and let him/her look it over.  If you don't have a parasite problem, don't worm!  We have only a handful of worming products that work well.  We all have to work together on the control of parasites.  Look at the goat and sheep industry; one of the largest killers in those species is the worm, Haemonchus contortus, primarily due to overuse and incorrect use of wormers.  If you all have questions by all means feel free to send me messages, I'll try my best to answer them!

Good points, jcedvm.
Additionally, the pour-ons are really crappy, right out of the gate.  Studies have shown that only about 30% of the applied dose actually gets where it needs to be to kill worms.  They're poorly absorbed, and most of the 'effective' dose comes from the animals ingesting it as they lick themselves and herdmates.
Washing it off will decrease the already poor efficacy even more.

Yeah, it's easy to apply - but, if it doesn't work, why waste the time and $$$?

I cringe at the looming resistance issues that are bound to rear their heads at some point, from folks using pour-on ivermectin products for 'fly control'.

How well do the drenches/injectables work on lice?  That seems to be one of our bigger problems, at least visually.  We usually end up pouring a couple times a year, as well as using an injectable.  We do try to rotate different MOA's, but being involved on the agronomy side and seeing the effects of resistant weeds, I would like to make sure we are not contributing to the worm resistance issue.