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More kilos at the gate: Animal health for heavier lambs

Now that we are at this stage of the season, let's focus on keeping them alive, and growing them well. We see more lamb deaths from clostridial diseases than from anything else during the weaning and growth season.  Vaccinations are very effective at preventing these deaths and there are many options that provide a broader range of protection if you feel the 5in1 is not sufficient.  Timing is important and can be manipulated according to your risks. If you see any CLA/Ch...

Meet the equine team: Ebony

Meet Ebony Turner, another one of our fantastic Equine Techs at our Findlay Road clinic. Ebony joined the team in early July and we caught up with her to learn a bit more about her and why she loves her job!...

A healthy guide to feeding pets

When feeding your beloved pet, whether it be a new puppy or kitten, or an older cat or dog, there is such a thing as ‘loving them too much’. Overindulging your pet can lead to health problems if they become overweight, so knowing how much, how often, and what to feed them is important.Pet food bags have feeding guides on the back which help you with the ‘how much’. This healthy amount of food can be tailored to suit your pet and could be split up into many feeds throughout the day, depen...

Get your R2 heifers in shape for Round 2

If your heifers were properly managed to this point and had a successful first-calving, then things should be easier. But, it is still important to carefully manage this critical ‘post-partum interval’ to ensure they cycle early.   Nutrition is key to help boost lactation and growth, but can be challenging at this time of year. Priority-feeding your R2 heifers right up to mating is important to ensure they get the required nutrition for cycling. It is also recommended to leave enou...

Feed associated toxicities in horses

What’s good for one species may be deadly for another!Many of our horses live on properties that are shared with other animal species. The pet goat that steals the horse’s breakfast, the nosey sheep that licks the horse’s yummy molasses block, and the pokey pony that breaks out and finds his way into the calf feeders, are all too common.Unfortunately, many formulated feeds are manufactured for a specific species, with additives selected for that animal's needs. For some animals, unint...

Teat sealing across the ditch

Every year our intrepid techs tour Southland and Otago, carrying out technical on-farm services such as teat sealing. In July this year, two of our techs went a bit further. Here's what they got up to in Tasmania.Rebecca Herzig and I were packed up for a last minute rescue mission to Tasmania to teat seal at The Vet Group Tasmania (TVG). They needed some extra support to manage the influx of farmers showing an interest in the process. This meant we found out late on a Friday night that...

The importance of body condition scores for mating

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a tool to help assess and quantify an animal's body reserves or accumulation of fat. Assessing changes in BCS over a time period is a reliable measure of the nutritional status of an animal. Minimising body condition loss between calving and mating and having animals at target BCS has been shown to enhance reproductive parameters including increased 6 week in-calf rates. DairyNZ provides some targets for BCS at calving to optimise reproductive performanc...

Are you losing 7%? The silent impact on in-calf rates

Rumenox can help your animals avoid subclinical ketosis.Managing successful reproductive performance remains one of the most challenging aspects of dairying. Get it right, and it can make a sizeable impact on your bottom line. Get one piece of the puzzle wrong and you pay the price with lower in-calf rates, poor cow condition, and exposure to disease.One of the most widespread diseases preventing cows from getting in-calf is subclinical ketosis. There is no doubt it’s impacting farms across th...

Umbilical hernias in foals and yearlings

Foals born with umbilical hernias are a common occurrence. A hernia is essentially a hole in the body wall that is discovered by owners when a small lump appears in the belly button region. Some foals may have the defect since birth, or it may not show up until later.Treatment is not usually urgent, however, it is advisable to get them fixed at some stage. This prevents the risk of the intestine becoming entrapped in the hernial ring and causing colic....

New equine barn nears completion

At the time of writing, our new barn stable complex is nearing completion and we are excited to see it finally finished....

Lower respiratory tract disease in horses – more than just a ‘cough’

Respiratory diseases are second only to problems affecting the musculoskeletal system when it comes to limiting the ability of a horse to perform to its maximum potential.The respiratory system supplies oxygen to red blood cells and removes carbon dioxide from the blood. Without adequate oxygenation, working muscles and organs enter a state of anaerobic metabolism, resulting in a build-up of lactic acid that will ultimately limit performance.Horses can only breathe through their nose and can onl...

Tackling internal parasites in horses and donkeys

Ensure that you are ahead of the game and get your horse’s level of parasitism assessed by performing a faecal egg count (FEC).Spring has arrived, the days are getting longer and are slowly warming up and overnight temperatures are increasing. While this is the perfect recipe for grass growth, warmer, moist conditions are also the ideal environment for equine parasites to continue their lifecycle.Both large and small strongyles (cyathostominae or red worms) along with ascarids (the large spagh...

Gastric ulcers and the benefits of gastroscopy

Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is an increasingly recognised condition in our equine population as a cause of behavioural issues and poor performance.It is thought that between 60-90% of performance horses (sport and racehorses) suffer from gastric ulcers. The higher the intensity of work, the more likely a horse is to be affected.If your horse displays any or all of these symptoms, gastric ulcers should be considered a differential diagnosis:Poor appetiteDullnessAttitude changes or change...

Staying on top of your game during calving/lambing

Working day and night to bring your future herds and flocks into the world safely can take its toll. It is important to remember to look after yourself too!Farmers are being pulled in a lot of different directions during the calving/lambing season and it can be mentally and physically challenging.You have long, tiring days, and the potential loss of stock to deal with, despite best efforts. There’s a lot of leg work, often poor weather to contend with, and an endless to-do list.Aside from calv...

Your Lifestyle Team

Our Lifestyle Run is back for 2022, and we have caught up with the team who will be on the road, visiting your block:...

Rumination recovery after calving and it's impact on mating

The transition period (the three weeks before and after calving) is probably the most important time in a cow’s lactation.There are a lot of changes happening all around the same time - changes in diet, environment, energy demands and metabolics, not to mention giving birth. Getting this period right can set your herd up for a great season, but getting it wrong can lead to many issues - excessive body condition loss, more diseases (such as RFMs, metritis, mastitis, milk fever, ketosis) an...

Successful reproduction takes a team approach

Keeping a dairy mating programme in high gear requires a daily commitment to following protocols and investing the necessary time to make it work.Establishing a pregnancy is a step-by-step process that begins in the previous lactation. Fresh cows are uniquely challenged by the stress of calving and a suppressed immune system at a time in which their energy intake cannot keep up with demands. The result is a negative energy balance and a greater risk of metabolic and reproductive diseases such as...

Meet the 2022 new grads

Meet our new large animal vets, who have made the big move to Southland all the way from the UK.Keeping up with the demands of the farming calendar and ensuring we provide a quality service all year round means we are always looking for fresh talent. It is a real asset to have such breadth of experience and knowledge across our veterinarians, which comes from their varied backgrounds....

Antimicrobial usage at VetSouth – what's the trend?

Antimicrobial Usage (AMU) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) have been buzzwords in the industry for a number of years. We have all felt the effects of pressure from the public, government and media to justify, reduce and be held accountable for which antibiotics we use and when.In 2015, the Vet Association set the goal that “by 2030 New Zealand Inc will not need antimicrobials for the maintenance of animal health and wellness”. The 3 main goals for reducing the onset of antibiotic resistanc...

Cow alerts, help!

Having real-time data from rumination ‘technology’ collars/tags available on farm is great. It can give us more insight into herd performance and also more information for individual cows.This extra pair of eyes will also give you an alert if it detects a health issue with a single cow. However, this can be a little bit overwhelming when you have lots of alerts going off. These technologies work by comparing an individual cow’s behaviour to the rest of the herd and to her own behaviou...

Abamectin withholding coming into force

Abamectin residues are being detected in UHT milk products, which has prompted the Ministry for Primary Industries to mandate a new 35-day milk withholding period (WHP) for all single-active abamectin pour-on products. The new rules, expected to come into effect from September, will affect pre-mating treatments and potentially pre-calving for late calving cows this year. If an Abamectin is used in lactating cows, the following milk WHP applies: “Milk intended for sale for human consumption mus...

Meet the equine team: Nikaitla

I enjoy all aspects of equine medicine but have a special interest in equine reproduction and intensive care cases. Working with a team that shares the same passion for equine medicine and ensuring that patients receive the best care possible is something I thoroughly enjoy about working at VetSouth - Equine....

Why vaccinate for Rotavec Corona?

The Fletchers back Rotavec Corona to prevent rotavirus scours outbreak....

Improving milk quality with a pre-calving Multimin injection

New research has shown the benefits of trace element support precalving and its impact on milk quality....

Five takeaways from the 2022 NZVA Conference for dairy farmers

In June some of our vets attended the 2022 NZVA Conference in Hamilton - Dairy Cattle Veterinarians stream. After an amazing few days, with some incredible speakers our vet Bianca has put together some of her key learnings that really captured her attention from the conference....