Disposable Syringe or Repeat Syringe Gun

[Simmgirl03]

When setting a group of cattle up to breed, what type of syringe do you use to give your prostaglandin; disposable, or a repeater syringe gun?  I currently use disposable, simply because I fear of drug residual in the gun, if used for something else in the future, but I only have 3 head I'm setting up.  If you do use a gun, do you mark it to indicate it is for prostaglandin only, or is cleaning good enough?

 

[flacowman]

We've always used disposables for every type of drug administration.  We make the syringes in the house before we go out to work cows then throw em in the cooler with an ice pack if it's refrigerated stuff.  We find that this increases dose accuracy and you're not risking any disease communication on the needle.  On the other hand, I've worked cows for people who used the reusable ones and they just washed them well and went on about their business.  I would think it's simply a personal choice, and for 3 cows I'm not sure I'd spend the money on a reusable rig, it's just not needed IMO

 

[husker1]

When you have the big projects, you better have something different than a small disposable, or all your getting done is filling...

I've kinda wondered about cross-contamination, but I think a good soap and water wash would get rid of most potential problems.  Anything left in a gun would be a pretty small amount.

For three head, disposable would certainly be just as easy.

 

[chambero]

We use the guns for mass shots and change needles frequently.  Hot water cleans them very good between uses.  Never use disinfectants on your guns - it doesn't take much residue to kill your vaccines if you are using the same guns for vaccines.  Cross-contamination is not an issue if you clean between use. 

For the number you are dealing with, just use disposables.  You need to be dealing with 10 hd or more before its worth fooling with a gun.

 

[LN]

For three head I would use disposable. When I synch my entire herd of 150+ I use repeater syringes. Makes things go a whole lot faster and if cleaned properly just as effective.

FYI, the directions I found on the web about cleaning a repeater syringe say do not use soap. The residue from the soap can linger in the barrel. I first heat up some water to 180 degrees and soak all the parts of the gun in it. Then I get a new batch of water, heat it up to boiling and put the gun together and draw up the boiling water, expel it and repeat 3-5 times. I let the gun air dry and use mineral oil to lube the rubber stopper then put back together.

 

[chambero]

FYI, the directions I found on the web about cleaning a repeater syringe say do not use soap. The residue from the soap can linger in the barrel.

Absolutely correct.  We verified this approach with our vet a long time ago.  He told us if we were worried about disinfection, put them in the microwave for just a few seconds.  We don't bother with that though.

 

[Lucky_P]

Nothing but disposable syringes and needles here - and every animal gets its own new sterile needle.  OK, steers do get injections with needles that have been in another animal, but they're not gonna be around past 8-10 months.
They're cheap.

Crazy, you say?

Do you know the status of your herd for Bovine Leukosis Virus or Anaplasmosis infection?  If you have animals infected with either of these pathogens, every time you stick in a needle that was just used on another animal, you're risking transfer of those diseases - and any other blood-borne pathogen.
I used to use the same needle 'til it got so dull you couldn't drive it through the skin any longer - and was in-and-out of bottles of vaccine/drugs with those same needles; as a result, when we got tired of losing cows to lymphosarcoma a few years back and tested the whole herd - 90% of adult cows were BLV-positive.  I'm largely responsible for spreading it throughout my herd - and I knew better.
Yes, it's a PITA to change needles between animals, but I should have been doing it all along.

 

[Simmgirl03]

Great responses, thank you all very much!

 

[nate53]

Nothing but disposable syringes and needles here - and every animal gets its own new sterile needle.  OK, steers do get injections with needles that have been in another animal, but they're not gonna be around past 8-10 months.
They're cheap.

Crazy, you say?

Do you know the status of your herd for Bovine Leukosis Virus or Anaplasmosis infection?  If you have animals infected with either of these pathogens, every time you stick in a needle that was just used on another animal, you're risking transfer of those diseases - and any other blood-borne pathogen.
I used to use the same needle 'til it got so dull you couldn't drive it through the skin any longer - and was in-and-out of bottles of vaccine/drugs with those same needles; as a result, when we got tired of losing cows to lymphosarcoma a few years back and tested the whole herd - 90% of adult cows were BLV-positive.  I'm largely responsible for spreading it throughout my herd - and I knew better.
Yes, it's a PITA to change needles between animals, but I should have been doing it all along.

I would bet that very few people know the status of their herd for BLV or anaplasmosis (especially BLV).  It sounds like you are using BMP's for the blv, are you strictly using AI to prevent further transmission or a natural service sire which they say is also a possible transmission point.  They say horseflies and palpatation can also be  transmitters.  I would be interested in learning what methods you are using to control the spread (it sounds like you are making progress on cutting down the transmission).    I've bought some bred cows over the years and heifer calves, I checked them all some of the cows were positive all the heifer calves were negative.  I kept the  positive cows separate from anything else and calved them out.  Out of 5 cows that tested positive for BLV all but one had negative calves at weaning, and all the calves were negative at 9 months of age (one of the calves had blv antibodies in it's system from mommas milk and after weaning they depleted completely), I shipped the cows (they were just commercial).  But most people aren't interested in shipping cows if their is a high prevalence rate in their herd.  Most cows that have blv never develop symptoms and never develop leukosis but are carriers and will be a source of infection for everything else.  There is no vaccine or effective treatment for BLV. 

We use the refillable syringes and just switch needles, have a certain syringe for live viruses and certain ones for killed viruses and antibiotics (mark them), some antibiotics are really expensive and I have had the disposable ones break when injecting (something about animal not liking  the stick of a needle).