VACCINATING livestock is the only way to protect against the deadly clostridial diseases.

Their names sound nasty and they are: tetanus, blackleg, malignant oedema, botulism, pulpy kidney or enterotoxaemia and black disease, which is often associated with liver fluke.

These diseases make up the group known as clostridial diseases, often found in Australian livestock. And they can kill quickly.

The most common sign of clostridial disease is dead animals found in a paddock.

The group takes its name from the family of bacteria which is found everywhere in the environment. For this reason, treatment is often impossible and the best method of control is vaccination.

Vaccinating animals is a similar process to vaccinating people. Most people are vaccinated against tetanus and various other diseases when they are young and then receive booster vaccinations.

Livestock need vaccination against clostridial diseases (including tetanus) when they are young and subsequent boosters. You can buy clostridial vaccine from most farm supply stores; it is normally called 5 in 1, 6 in 1 or 7 in 1 vaccine.

The numbers five, six or seven on the vaccine pack tell you how many bacteria the vaccine protects against. This is similar to combined vaccines available for people such as diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccine for children.

The use of 5 in 1 vaccine protects against the most important clostridial diseases present in southern Australia (not against botulism, which is primarily a problem in northern Australian).

The vaccine 6 in 1 protects against clostridial diseases plus cheesy gland, while 7 in 1 protects against the clostridial diseases and leptospirosis and is used mostly in dairy cattle.

Animal vaccines, like human vaccines, have a variable length of protection after administration. In general, young animals should be vaccinated twice (four to six weeks apart) and then each year.

Some properties may need to vaccinate more frequently than this if there is a particular problem with pulpy kidney.

Other properties that experience problems only with tetanus may stop vaccinating animals after their first annual booster.

This is because the immunity or protection developed after vaccination varies for each bacteria. Your veterinarian can give you advice as to how frequently you need to vaccinate your stock.

Livestock vaccines are generally packaged in plastic "pillow packs" with 50 to 500 doses a pack and need to be stored in the fridge until used.

Once these packs are opened, they need to be used within a day of opening, otherwise they can become contaminated. It generally costs less than 50 cents a dose for each animal (for 5 in 1).

Most vaccines require between 1ml and 4ml of vaccine to be given to the animal underneath its skin. Usually a cattle dose is twice the volume of a sheep dose.

There is no point in giving a higher dose as this will not make the vaccine work any better. It is also important that you do not inject the vaccine into muscle as it can cause muscle damage.

The easiest way to give a vaccine is to use an automatic filling syringe attached to the vaccine pack. You must also use a short needle (less than 15mm long) to avoid injecting the vaccine into muscle and this needle should be changed before becoming blunt. It is also best to avoid vaccinating wet stock.

All vaccines have specific directions on the label which should be followed accurately. This will give you the best protection for your animals and reduce any unsightly lumps and bumps that may come from inappropriate administration.