Cattle Health and Nutrition
Wormers, fluke drenches, vaccines, boluses and minerals for suckler herds, dairy cows and growing cattle — over the counter at Ayr, Kinross, Lanark & Stirling, with qualified SQPs behind every counter.
Over the Counter, Without a Vet Visit
Most of what is on this page is POM-VPS — prescription-only medicine that a Suitably Qualified Person can prescribe and sell. That is the point of an SQP behind the counter: you describe the job, they work out what is right for it, and you walk out with it. No appointment, no call-out, no waiting on a prescription.
There are qualified SQPs in every one of the four stores, and all eight field representatives are SQPs too — so the same conversation can happen at your own gate, and the product comes off the van.
Where it stops. Antibiotics, and anything else classed POM-V, are your vet's decision and always will be. An SQP will tell you when you have reached that line rather than sell you the nearest thing on the shelf.
What Comes Up, and When
Nothing on a cattle farm happens evenly through the year. These are the four points in the calendar when the counter gets busy, and what people are usually in for.
Turnout
Worm and fluke decisions for the season ahead, minerals going back out with the cattle, and the first fly products off the shelf.
Summer
Flies, summer mastitis and New Forest eye. Pour-ons, spot-ons and tags, and worm counts on the growing cattle.
Housing
The big one. Fluke, lice, clostridial boosters and the bolus that has to carry them through the winter.
Calving
Colostrum in the cupboard before you need it, calcium for the cows, scour cover and the calf-sized version of everything.
Wormers and Flukicides
Which product, and when, depends on the group, the ground and what last year’s counts looked like.
Pour-on, injectable and oral all have their place and none of them is the right answer on its own. Knowing which group you are treating, and what it had last time, is most of the decision.
Flukicides and Combinations
Fluke risk moves with the season and the field. A combination saves a handling, but only where both jobs need doing — treating cattle that do not need it is how resistance gets built.
Count before you treat where you can. We run worm egg counts in store at Kinross and Ayr, and fluke tests at Ayr — faecal testing, usually the same day. A count turns a guess into a decision, and a second one afterwards tells you whether the drench did its job.
Pour-On, Injectable or Drench
People ask this at the counter more than anything else. There is no single right answer, but there is a shape to it.
| Suits | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|
| Pour-on | Cattle you can run up a race but would rather not inject | Rain and a dirty back coat both matter |
| Injectable | Groups being handled anyway, and long persistence | Slower to apply, and injection site matters |
| Oral drench | Accuracy, and most flukicides | Every animal handled individually |
An SQP will set it against what you used last, which is the part a table cannot do.
Fly and Lice Control
Flies cost more than irritation. Summer mastitis, New Forest eye and the loss in daily gain from cattle that will not settle all start the same way. Lice arrive later, once stock are housed and rubbing.
Minerals and Boluses
Copper, cobalt, selenium and iodine are the four that go short on Scottish ground — and a shortage shows as poor thrive long before it shows as anything obvious.
A deficiency shows up as poor thrive, dull coats and cows that do not hold rather than as anything dramatic. Buckets suit cattle at grass; boluses suit a group you want to treat once and stop thinking about.
Copper is the one to be careful with. Too much is as damaging as too little, and it accumulates. If you are already feeding a mineral, bring the bag label with you before adding a copper bolus on top — an SQP can read the two together and tell you whether you need it at all.
Calving and Calf Health
Vaccines, colostrum and scour cover. The first six hours decide most of what follows, and the cupboard has to be stocked before then.
Vaccines are ordered rather than kept on open shelf, because they live in the fridge and the cold chain matters. Ring ahead and we will have it ready and cold.
Coccidiosis is a calf-shed problem before it is a drench problem. The parasite builds up in the same pens year after year, and the calves that scour are usually telling you about the bedding, the stocking rate and the water trough. Ask an SQP to go through the shed with you, not just the bottle.
Colostrum and Rumen Support
A calf that gets enough good colostrum early is a different animal for the rest of its life — and if the dam has none, or it is a hard calving, a tub in the cupboard is the difference between a job and a loss.
How much, how soon and by what route depends on the calf in front of you, so that is a conversation with your vet or an SQP rather than a figure on a web page.
Cattle Questions
Do I need a vet to buy cattle wormer in Scotland?
No. Cattle wormers and flukicides are POM-VPS, which a Suitably Qualified Person can prescribe and sell. There are qualified SQPs in every McCaskie store at Ayr, Kinross, Lanark & Stirling, and all eight field representatives are SQPs. Antibiotics and other POM-V products still need your vet.
Where can I buy cattle vaccines near me in central Scotland?
From any of the four McCaskie country stores. Vaccines are kept refrigerated rather than on open shelf, so ring 01786 474 481 ahead and we will have it ready and cold.
Can a McCaskie rep bring cattle products to the farm?
Yes. All eight field representatives are qualified SQPs, so the advice and the product both come to you. Ring the store or ask for your area rep.
Should I use a pour-on or an injectable wormer for cattle?
It depends on the group, the time of year, what you used last and whether fluke is in the picture too. Pour-on suits cattle you would rather not inject, injectable suits groups being handled anyway, and most flukicides are oral. An SQP will set it against your own history.
Can you do a worm egg count on my cattle?
Yes. Bring a fresh dung sample to Ayr or Kinross and we run the count in store, usually the same day. It tells you whether treatment is needed, and a second count afterwards tells you whether it worked.
What minerals do Scottish cattle usually go short of?
Copper, cobalt, selenium and iodine are the four that most often come up on Scottish ground. It shows as poor thrive and dull coats rather than anything obvious. Bring your current mineral bag label to the counter before adding anything on top, particularly copper.
Ask at any of the four stores — Ayr, Kinross, Lanark & Stirling — or ring 01786 474 481. There are qualified SQPs in every store.
Talk cattle with your rep