One of the most-popular trends in livestock management is using pheromone treatments to manage stressful moments for animals.
FerAppease was the first maternal pheromone product in Canada, and farmers, especially beef producers, have used it to help reduce stress around handling, weaning, vaccinations and movement to new facilities or pastures.
There are now three companies marketing pheromone-based products for livestock in Canada.
The products work by mimicking the pheromones of lactating animals and reduce stress for animals. Calmer cattle mean less risk of them becoming ill and therefore better weight gains. Cattle breathe it in and are calmer, usually within about 30 minutes.
Fera Diagnostics and Biologicals is the U.S. company that markets several bovine health products, including FerAppease. It is distributed in Canada by Kane Veterinary Supplies. It became available there some time after its 2022 launch in the United States. It is the only product that specifies an application site based on the desired duration of action: above the muzzle for rapid effect, and behind the poll (at the top of the head) for long-term effect. Five millilitres are applied at each site. The duration of action is 14 days.
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Solvet, a Canadian company based in Calgary, Alta., has been marketing CattleZen since last December. Jean-François Lapointe, a technical services veterinarian with Solvet says the pheromone concentration is closer to that of FerAppease than other competitors.
The French company Signs has marketed SecureCattle in Europe since 2018, but the product has only just been launched in Canada by the Canadian company Novavet.
SecureCattle comes in a 500 ml bottle with an applicator that dispenses five ml per dose. It is sprayed onto the top of the head or the withers. The effect lasts up to 45 days, though re-application after 15 days is recommended in cases of severe stress.
In Canada, this product must be registered as an Animal Health Product (AHP). According to veterinarian Martin Bonneau, founder of Novavet, every ingredient must be registered. This product does not require a veterinary prescription and has no withdrawal period — which is also true for FerAppease and CattleZen.