By Dr Kristabel Lewis, BSc BVMS(Hons), technical services veterinarian, Troy Animal Healthcare

Butec is an oral transmucosal form of meloxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication.

Meloxicam has been used for years, in many situations, in veterinary medicine and this formulation provides an over-the-counter option registered for the alleviation of pain associated with routine husbandry procedure in cattle and sheep.

Using pain relief or preventative treatments during procedures such as castration or tail docking allows animals to resume normal behaviours – such as grazing and bonding with offspring – sooner than untreated animals.

Unmanaged pain can lead to stress, suppress the immune system, and, in severe cases, result in death.

Butec offers systemic, long-lasting relief from pain and inflammation across multiple procedures – with a single, needle-free dose.

What does oral transmucosal mean?

Oral transmucosal is a route of drug administration, where a medication is absorbed through the mucous membrane of the mouth, bypassing the digestive system.

This is how dissolvable tablets or wafers that sit under the tongue are used in human medicine.

It’s not so easy to put a tablet under the tongue of an animal, so Butec was developed to stick to the cheek pouch.

This means the medication can be rapidly delivered to the blood stream, providing a much more rapid onset of action than a medication given orally which needs to be processed through the rumen.

It also avoids the need for more invasive injections.

It’s really thick, and there are little bubbles in the draw off tube, making it difficult to use. What can I do?

Butec is a thick, viscous gel. It needs to be this consistency so it can stay on the gums of the animal and be absorbed rapidly through the mucous membrane.

This does mean that in cold weather, it can become even thicker, impacting flow through draw off tube and applicator.

To help with this, place the bottle in warm clean, potable water before use.

Once warmed, place the bottle in a neoprene sleeve, to keep it warm when in use.

Draw off tubes can be cut as short as practicable.

This will help barrel re loading and prevent the product cooling too much in the draw off.

If using a brand-new gun, flush the gun with warm water prior to use to remove manufacturing lubricant.

I don’t need to use the whole bottle; do I have to throw the rest out?

No – Butec has a six-month broach, which means once opened it can be stored and used multiple times within that six-month period.

To minimise wastage in draw off tube if a full bottle is not going to be used, remember there will be about 15-20ml of product in the draw off tube and gun.

You can remove the draw-off tube from the bottle when there are about 6-10 lambs left to dose (depending on dose volume being given). Continue to dose with applicator gun as normal.

Clean the gun and draw off tube using warm water only. Sterility is not required.

There is no need to boil draw-off tubes etc. after use.

Do not refrigerate product that is leftover. Keep the bottle upright, out of direct sunlight.

I still can’t visualise how this product is used. Help me!

1. We have an explainer video available, which you can access using this QR code.
2. Organise to spend a day marking lambs with one of your producers. They’ll be keen for an extra pair of hands, and you’ll get to try for yourself and see just how simple Butec is to use. Remember to have a look – open the mouth of one of the lambs after you’ve applied it – you will be able to see the blue gel there in the cheek pouch, sitting on the buccal papillae sheep and cattle have. (Fun fact: buccal papillae are the little finger-like projections on the gums, and they are there to help hold grass in the mouth and stop it falling out when chewing.)
3. Our team is always happy to help organise a producer day – invite people along for an on-property demonstration so they can see Butec  in use and try it for themselves.

Contact our key account managers at Troy Animal Healthcare if you would like more information about Butec, or you are interested in organising some training.