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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....

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

It's calving time again! Let's look back at last season’s assisted calvings in the West.Last spring VetSouth Winton assisted around 700 calvings. For 500 of these, we recorded information for further analysis. The overall presentation of calves resembled was very similar to last year, with most calves being presented dead but fresh. ...

"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...