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Top tips for assisted calvings

Last season, between July and November 2023, we were called out to assist with 665 calvings! Of these, 15 were for beefies (including 2 prolapses) and 650 were for dairy cows, with 67% of these considered “normal” calvings. So, it pays to be prepared to step in when necessary. Here are some top tips to help you navigate calving difficulties: 1. If you have made no progress after 10 minutes, call your vet for a hand. 2. Head ropes - never place it around just the calf's jaw, as this...

Inside the lamb shed

Lambing is always hectic and once the season starts you won’t have the time to keep dashing out for essentials. If you are going to be rearing lambs this year, it pays to have your lamb shed well prepared ahead of time!Here’s a guide to setting up a suitable lamb shed, with everything you may need to keep any lambs you bring in as healthy as possible from day one....

Farm dogs and milk powder: a dangerous combination

Milk powders containing coccidiostats can be beneficial when feeding young animals, but can be lethal if ingested by our pets.Picture this: cold, early mornings, mixing milk powder and warm water for our lambs and calves to get a belly full of warm milk for breakfast. Your trusty farm dog sniffing around in the background. You are thinking about the long list of things you need to get done that day. What you don’t need is an unexpected trip to the vet clinic with a very sick dog!Using milk pow...

Minimising mastitis

A common disease after calving, mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland caused by bacteria getting into the udder.While sub-clinical cases don’t have any outward changes, only a high somatic cell count, clinical cases can be visually identified. An affected cow’s udder will be hot, hard, swollen, and sore. Her milk will look different – it could be thinner or thicker than usual, or an unusual colour. She may appear uncomfortable and, as it becomes severe, be unwilling to move arou...

Is your cat a Fat Cat? Avoiding feline obesity.

A trend of increasing numbers of obese cats has been seen worldwide, and New Zealand is no exception, with one in four cats here classified as overweight or obese.  This extra weight has an impact on our feline friends’ health and quality of life. Many health concerns are linked to obesity, for instance arthritis and diabetes. It is common for owners not to recognise when their pet is overweight, or the health implications of being “cuddly.” This is backed up by research tha...

Is pet insurance worthwhile?

We were recently asked about the value of pet insurance, so here are a few thoughts. As we all know, having a pet in the family is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and a privilege that comes with great responsibility. They give us unconditional love and loyalty, and in turn, we all wish for them to receive proper care. Pet owning families hope that a serious accident or illness will never happen to their pet, but it often does. Pet insurance allows pet owners to be confident that they ha...

Parvo in pups

Typical symptoms include vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhoea, which results in the severe loss of body fluids and blood proteins, malabsorption of nutrients and increased secondary infections. Often there are increased case numbers in the summer months, but this year the rise continued into the autumn. Most of the infections were in unvaccinated puppies, but we also treated several unvaccinated young adult dogs.  Parvo is mainly spread through ingestion of the virus in ...

Effective lice control in sheep

The most effective lice control, using externally applied products, occurs when it is applied to sheep straight off the shears. That means within 24 hours of shearing when using a backline applied product. Some farmers favour using automatic jetting races but achieving full control with this method is difficult. If you are using a jetting race, do it as soon as possible after shearing, but expect that you may not get complete knock-down.  You may have heard of a new lice treatment...

Defying the odds: One dog’s amazing cancer journey

The week of his opening debut in West Otago Theatrical Society's production of Annie, Ruger, a 5-year-old Rottweiler, was diagnosed with the most aggressive bone cancer. Rather than "breaking a leg," Ruger lost a leg that week.  Amputation is the first course of action when it comes to bone cancer in the limbs; serving as both pain relief and an elimination of the primary lesion. The ability for animals to adjust is inspirational. Within three days after his surgery, Ruger was dragging...

Triple drench resistance is on the rise

Another faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) season has come to a close and we have had some concerning results, showing continued high levels of resistance to triple combination drenches and growing resistance to dual-actives. We performed a total of 10 reduction tests in 2024. Above is a graph showing the results (please note, not all farms tested for every drench). *It is also important to note that this is a small sample size and likely not fully representative of our area, but ...

Complete Calf Care: Growing great calves together

There is a lot of supporting evidence which shows that feeding calves well early on and getting them to target weights at key times will produce an animal that will repay you and more in the vat. While the financial impact is obvious, keeping animals in the herd for longer and having a single cow produce more also has a positive environmental impact, one which is currently a hot topic in the dairy industry.  Growing good youngstock is simple in theory. There are only a few boxes that m...

Rounding up repro results across the region

Thanks to all our dairy farmers who came out to help celebrate the wrap-up of the reproduction season at our two recent Repro Round-Up events in Gore and Winton. These evenings give us a chance to show our appreciation to our local farmers for using our services and being fantastic partners in the dairy industry. It was one of the best seasons we’ve had in a while, so it was great to highlight the results and come together for an awesome night off the farm ­– everyone scrubs up well!A key f...

Preventing zoonotic illnesses

They can be bacterial, viral, parasitical, or fungal. Below are some of the main ones to watch out for and ways to help protect yourself against them: ...

Arthritis in pets – How we can help.

It affects one in five adult dogs and is even more common among older dogs. Cats can also develop arthritis as they get older, with around 90% of cats over 10 years old developing arthritis in at least one joint!  Many cases go undiagnosed because owners interpret the subtle changes in their pet to "slowing down" or "getting old". Unfortunately, arthritis is a progressive condition and there is no cure. However, you can work with your vet to design a treatment plan that will allev...

The importance of the transition period over calving

In my opinion, this is something that has traditionally been not well considered, and there are significant animal health and production benefits if prioritised!  Conversely, if done poorly, cows will enter into a negative energy balance, lose excessive condition and often enter a state of subclinical ketosis (SCK). Recent data has shown that, on average, 75% of cows within New Zealand are affected by subclinical ketosis at some stage during the calving period. There can be large ...

Could your pet have kidney disease?

Unfortunately, symptoms are often overlooked and put down to normal ageing. However, if kidney disease is diagnosed early, it can be treated, and its progression managed. The kidneys filter waste products from the blood and remove them from your pet’s body in urine. Their other functions include conserving water, releasing various hormones, controlling blood pressure, and regulating mineral levels, such as sodium and potassium. Some symptoms of kidney disease are very subtle, while o...

'Twisted gut' in working dogs

Gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), commonly called “twisted gut”, is one of the most important reasons that proven, hard working dogs are lost from your farm team. It has long been reported to be more common in deep chested, large breeds of dogs. It frequently happens in Huntaway dogs, but only occasionally in Heading dogs.Across all dog breeds, there is a higher incidence of GDV in male dogs than in females. Other predisposing factors leading to the condition include:Being underweight;...

Ovine embryo transfer (E.T.)

Ovine embryo transfer (E.T.) has been around for a while now and creates a fast way of improving the genetic gains of a sheep flock.The process provides the possibility for a top ewe, with prime genetics, to reproduce a lot more lambs than what she would be able to naturally. There are two options available:You can buy embryos to introduce new genetics to your flock and implant them in your recipient ewes: 'Embryo Transfer' (E.T.).You can use your own donor ewes with exc...

Life without drench capsules – it is possible!

Long-acting drench capsules have been part of sheep farming history on some southern farms, and now we face a future without them. Some drench capsules are currently under review and we expect this to take some time. But, don’t despair - this change may save your bacon when it comes to drench resistance!There is no doubt that providing parasite control for 100 days during lambing and lactation supports ewes to make more milk, maintain their condition and grow bigger lambs. However, we can...

Lambs: The final push to the gate!

It's the time of year when most farmers will not have too many lambs left, but, we do still see some around. What’s the plan for them and what do you need to consider?If you're wanting to hold onto them to get some heavier lambs late in the season, just make sure that they are NOT eating feed that your ewes need!Ewe feeding through the winter and late gestation is super important for next year's lamb crop, so just be careful not to jeopardise this.If you don't have enough feed for your lambs, ...

Avoiding parasites – all stock classes

If we can be successful at avoiding parasites, we will be able to farm into the future without the need to rely so heavily on drenches to keep our stock healthy! If you're farming with resistance, or wanting to avoid resistance, AVOID THE PARASITES. No matter where you are on the journey, it's important!Here are some tips on how to achieve this over the next few months:Getting rid of young stockHopefully your works stock is all gone, or leaving very soon. Getting rid of young stock early wi...

Meet the vet flock: James

Hey, I’m James, a mixed animal vet based in Winton, with the odd few days in the Invercargill clinic....

Making the most of winter shearing

Every farmer is continually assessing risk vs opportunity and shearing decisions are no different.We see many shearing decisions being tweaked in the current farming climate. It's all part of the reassessment process that we go through to assist with maximum production from minimal cost.Shearing ewes during the winter must be well planned out - feed and shelter are essentials that must be available....

Are your hinds hitting in-calf targets?

Just as with sheep and cattle, scanning your hinds can give you valuable information for the season ahead and also allow for some short-term decisions to be made.Ideally, you are aiming for a 99% in-calf rate for mixed-age hinds, and at least 95% for two year-olds. If you are not hitting these targets, then it is important to look into your mating plan, trace elements and hind condition. Having a discussion with your vet will also be hugely valuable.With any empty hinds, a decision nee...

Haematomas: Treatment and care

A sudden large lump discovered on your horse can be quite distressing when first noticed. This is probably going to be a haematoma. A haematoma is a solid swelling of clotted blood within the tissues. They occur from trauma to an area (often a kick from another horse) and are commonly found on the chest (between the front legs) and also on the hindquarters (down the back legs).The swelling that follows the trauma can vary from firm to fluctuant and localised pain and heat may also...