Capsule trial stock show their mettle

So says the product supplier.

"Heading into the third month of the trial, condition wise, it was visually quite evident," Cooper says.

"We were running them down the race and before you scanned the EID ear tag you could say 'this one's obviously a capsule animal, and sure enough, it was. It was pretty obvious."

The four-month trial started in March 2015 using 136 R1 dairy heifer replacements all grazed in Manawatu. Seventy-two of them were given the Alpheus capsules plus a primer dose, and 64 were given a triple oral drench every 28 days, dosed according to weight. All animals were weighed every 28 days.

On average, the capsule group were 14.3kg heavier than the group receiving the oral drench at the end of the study.

"You could see the difference in the majority of them," Cooper says. "Not just the weight. Visually, they were in a lot better condition. You could see that their body condition was a lot better than the others.

"But for me, the big attraction is the convenience. It's a pretty simple product to use; it's not a biggie to apply. And at that time of the year you're leading into lots of other issues so the last thing you want to be doing is dealing with livestock.

"You can get these weaners in, give them a capsule, and basically they're fine for well over three months. That got us right through March, April, May and into June.

"That is what I see as a real strength. And what's coming out of it, certainly in the weight gains, more than pays for the capsule.

"Plus they took faecal samples on the way through to look for parasite eggs and there was no sign of any worm activity anywhere in the ones in the trial.

"The autumn is always bad for worms, and if you're not on top of your game it isn't long before you pay the price – crook animals with worm burdens.

"If you've got a capsule that you know is going to last for 125 days, it gives peace of mind.

"And you take that through to winter; it makes wintering them easier as well. You get yourself into winter with good body condition and it means they will winter better."

Cooper says the capsules can give farmers a financial gain through the time saved and in increased productivity of healthier, heavier stock.

"If you do the numbers – the time you spend getting stock in to drench them, the cost of the drench, one of them would have to be a pour on, and you'd have to be regularly doing oral drenches as well – there's a good argument that it pays for itself.

"'When you work through it like that, it's not an expensive product."