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Refractometer brings results

We all know that when calf rearing, colostrum is worth its weight in gold. But why is colostrum so important? Providing the right amount of good quality colostrum as early as possible to newborn calves is essential as colostrum is full of antibodies which the calf requires in the first 24 hours of its life. As they are born with no immune system, getting this colostrum early allows their gut to absorb all the good stuff. If you hear us talking about Failure of Passive Transfer, it is when t...

Tech Talk: Get ready for calving!

Our techs spend a lot of time in the sheds, many of them have been calf rearing before joining our vet tech team, and have some key points they focus on for a healthy shed.Calving creeps around quicker and quicker each year and although we feel like the cows have only just been dried off it’s time to start thinking about those calf sheds and how to make them the most comfortable and hygienic....

Improving outcomes for masititis with Metacam 40

Metacam 40 mg/ml gives you the convenience of a low dose injection volume in a highly concentrated Meloxicam solution, making Metacam 40 the right choice for pain relief in cattle.Managing pain and inflammation from routine husbandry procedures and other conditions can support an improved recovery. This is a key component of efficient herd management and productivity. Metacam 40 makes managing health and wellbeing a whole lot easier.72 hour duration of effect in cattle.Lowest volume per treatmen...

Dairy technology: What Is It?

VetSouth are here to help you with all your on-farm technology systems. You’ve probably all driven past a paddock of cows and wondered what those collar things round their necks are or the funny extra tags in their ears, they seem to be everywhere! If you don’t know what they are, they are individual cow technology monitors, which are rapidly gaining in popularity across many of our dairy farms. There are many different types available, including AllFlex collars and CowManager ear tags. All ...

Assisted calvings: 2021 stats

With spring on our doorstep, we are looking back at last season’s assisted calvings....

"Just one more mob"

A joke that our techs are used to hearing, except this time it was true....

Lamb mortality and clostridial deaths

To provide information on the level and timing of lamb loss that occurs during the first year of life on hill country sheep and beef farms in New Zealand.To determine how much of that loss can be prevented through vaccination against the five main clostridial diseases, using a commercially available multivalent clostridial vaccine (Ultravac® 5 in 1 vaccine, Zoetis New Zealand Limited).To determine the return on investment (ROI) from vaccinating lambs with Ultravac 5 in 1....

Choosing the right clostridial vaccine

There are a lot of different clostridial vaccines available. When choosing which clostridial vaccine to use on your ewes or lambs there are a number of factors you need to consider:...

Meet the equine team: Rhiannon

Rhiannon has recently joined the Vetsouth family as an equine tech in Invercargill, we caught up with Rhiannon to find out a little bit more about her and her new role. ...

Winter tips for pets

The seasons have changed, and the togs have been replaced with jackets and hats. Not only do we feel the change, but so too do our pets. During this time please consider what you can do to keep your pets happy and healthy. ...

Working Dog Run – A pre-season check

Get your best employees a Warrant of Fitness this winter. Have you opted in for our Working Dog Run this winter? A program where our vets and nurses come out and gave your dog team a Warrant of Fitness. Your team is an important asset in the yards and out in the paddock, so planning ahead with their health is essential.If this is something you wish to sign-up for, please contact us on 0800 VET SOUTH or head to this sign up form. Our teams are heading out at the end of June, the start o...

Salmonella Brandenburg

Salmonella Brandenburg abortions were first seen in sheep in mid-Canterbury back in 1996. Since then a cyclical pattern has been seen, with outbreaks mainly in Otago and Southland, and as of 2021 it still remains a South Island disease. It is a bacterial disease that causes late-term abortions, sickness and death. We see it mostly in early spring (late pregnancy) and the outbreaks are sudden and can have a devastating impact - up to 15% can abort and up to 50% of aborting ewes can die.Gribbles l...

Ten-In-One vaccine nipped sudden deaths in the bud

When it comes to stopping sudden death losses in cattle, there’s only one thing that puzzles Lumsden farmer Paul Waller. Why, he asks, don’t more farmers understand there’s a very simple way to help prevent the losses. Paul runs sheep, beef and deer on about 400 hectares of mainly flat and rolling country with some tussock on the higher slopes. The sheep comprise 200 of the easy-care Wiltshire breed “to tidy up around the sheds and give us some mutton”.With deer he’s pulled back from...

Lambing kit checklist

We all know that the foundation for good animal health is a constant commitment to practices year round such as good nutrition, vaccinating and parasite control. The focus of this article is to identify a few immediate bits of equipment you may need during lambing (especially with our unpredictable weather) to set you up for a good year....

Managing hogget mating

The decision to mate hoggets can be beneficial for increasing annual lamb production and ewe lifetime performance, if they are properly managed. If hoggets are poorly managed from mating through to two-tooths this will not only have repercussions for them the following season but may also negatively affect their lifetime performance.Feed is the most important factor when it comes to mated hogget management. Mated hoggets should be gaining 135g/day over winter. Hoggets must not only receive appro...

Metacam and sheep

An anti-inflammatory product that has proven results in the welfare and recovery of animals. So are you using it in your sheep? Did you know that pain will reduce any animal's desire to eat? This will of course lead to a decrease in growth and production. Examples of painful experiences our sheep will go through at various times of the season include bearings, prolonged lambing/assisted lambing, lameness and mastitis. Did you also know that we have a long-last effective pain relief option that i...

Lepto in livestock: Why vaccinate?

Leptospirosis is an infectious disease transmitted from animals to humans, we call this a zoonotic disease. It also passes very easily from animal to animal and is prevalent amongst both farmed and wild animals. It spreads easily, thrives in wet conditions and can survive for months. That means protecting ourselves and our animals is important.Protecting your beef cattle against lepto is important as they can pick it up through contaminated water or contaminated pasture. Bringing in outside anim...

Supplementing trace elements through winter

Matt from Virbac explains why supplementing through winter can set up your stock for success in the spring. Ensuring that breeding cows and ewes are well supplemented through winter and leading up to calving/lambing, will maximise the transfer of trace elements through the placenta and milk. Sheep mainly require selenium and vitamin B12, while in cattle the priorities are copper and selenium. In ewes SMARTSHOT B12 Plus SE is an option to provide both B12 and selenium throughout pregnancy, a...

Working dogs in winter

How to keep your dogs happy and healthy in cooler conditions. The temperature's dropping often means it's time to make sure we have enough firewood and our winter jacket doesn’t have any holes in it. Have you thought about your team of dogs too? We look into the simple ways of keeping your dogs healthy and warm during winter....

Feeding your assets: Ewe management

Preparing your ewes now for a successful lambing is essential to ensure you have the most robust lamb and ewe unit when we arrive at lambing time. Your ewes are mated and now they carry the precious income for next year. At this time our focus is all about: Lamb survivalEwe lactation To ensure our ewes and lambs have the best shot, we need to feed correctly for good placenta development. The placenta develops over the first 60-80 days of gestation. Ewes should be fed at maintenance levels throug...

The Swede Safari

Every year a group of 5th-year vet students from Massey University in Palmerston North make the pilgrimage down south. Stopping at various other vet clinics along their journey the students arrive at VetSouth Winton as their final destination ready to participate in the famous “Swede Safari”.During their time here students get to enjoy a variety of different activities, all intended to give them a taste of life in a clinic. This a variety of activities are covered, from the technical realiti...

Southland farmers using drone for good

Local sheep and beef farmers Nick and Alexis Wadworth have been using a drone on their farm for the past few years. What may have been seen by some farmers as an unnecessary expense, a drone has proved a great tool for animal welfare on farm for them. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? You might have been surprised a few years ago to see a farmer using a drone on their farm, but with the accessibility of the technology increasing, a drone has become a useful piece of kit for farmers in New Zealand.Ove...

Poison of the season: Rat bait

Every autumn and early winter we see a number of cases of rat bait poisoning in dogs, either via direct ingestion of the rat bait or less often by ingestion of rats/mice that have died from eating the bait. It is clear that dogs find these baits very tasty. Cats on the other hand are fussy about what they eat and prefer their prey to be alive and therefore are less likely to be poisoned. ...

Ukraine's Paws & Peeps Fundraiser with New Zealand vets

Times are tough at the moment, but can be and are even tougher for others.With the current situation in Ukraine, we did our bit with a fundraiser from NZ to support animal welfare and those that provide it in Ukraine.What is more important in this situation: animals or people? It’s a tough call, but we know we can do a little something to ease the suffering so far away.We are stoked to share that our business along with our generous staff, clients and the NZ community, we raised $3,000 in just...

VetSouth proud to support Meat the Need

VetSouth are proud to be a sponsor of the Meat the Need charity, a kiwi based operation aiming at connecting the dots and getting New Zealand meat into our food banks. Whilst there has been a need for a charity like this, to date, there has been a missing link between the willing farmer with livestock and the community organisations with the demands for a regular, reliable supply.Here at VetSouth, we are Here for Good, which means we are here for the long term and for the good of our community. ...