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Covid-19: Level 3

This week, alongside the rest of the country, we learnt about the transition from level 4 to level 3. Like many of you, we have been working throughout, and are looking forward to being able to do a few more things (always with ours and your safety top of mind). We know everyone is getting hammered with communications - so hopefully you will enjoy our wee video, and a brief update below. What can we do for you in level 3? On-farm - we can do most things except anything face to face - consults an...

Big leg in horses

In the last year we have seen an increasing number of cases of horses presenting with a very swollen leg that are dramatically lame. This condition has a number of names - big leg, cellulitis or lymphangitis. As horses have no soft tissue or muscle in their lower legs, any sort of trauma can cause swelling. This swelling is mostly soft to feel and horses can walk or show only minor lameness. This sort of swelling will go away with exercise (which moves the fluid back into circulation) or respond...

Bovine Digital Dermatitis

Digital dermatitis is a skin disease of cattle, which usually affects the skin of rear feet, midline just above the bulb of the heel. Many herds in all provinces of New Zealand have a few cases in their herds but are unaware because the lesions in the early stages do not cause lameness. If not treated the infection gradually spreads through the herd....

Broodmare vaccinations

Vaccinating broodmares during pregnancy has two ultimate goals, protecting the mare from abortion and protecting the foal from diseases once born. Equine Herpes Virus Protects from abortion from infection with EHV-1.Course of 3 intramuscular injections given during the 5th, 7th and 9th months of pregnancy.Needs repeated every pregnancy. Tetanus If the mare is previously vaccinated one intramuscular injection given 4 weeks out from due date.If not vaccinated give a course of 2 shots, 8 weeks and ...

New treatment regime for lame cows

For many of us when treating lame cows, the standard treatment is to do a corrective trim of the problem area and if it is a moderate or severe lameness then apply a hoof block to the other claw. This has been the standard treatment for many years, however only a small percentage of farmers and vets consider using a pain relief/anti-inflammatory on top of this eg. Metacam, Key, or Rimadyl. When we actually stop to think about this, it is quite interesting why pain relief is not commonly used. La...

Diagnosis of stock loss during Covid-19 lockdown

While part of our lives are in standstill, there are still parts that will continue as per usual. One being the frustration of unexplained stock mortality. Particularly in the NZ dairy industry, mortality is still poorly understood. What do we know?There is very little robust data on the annual incidence of loss, nor of the causes of death of dairy cattle. Mortality in sheep, beef and deer is also poorly understood due to lack of reporting and general seasonal assumptions. How can we continue to...

Overstayer lambs

Wow what an unusual situation we are in! Not one of us would have predicted this at the start of the new decade. One of farming's biggest challenges at the moment is the difficulty of getting stock off farm. It is affecting all farming businesses at present, as meat works develop systems to protect their teams and keep the work flowing. The outcome has been a much reduced flow. With regard to having more lambs on farm now and looking into the uncertain future - we have to focus on keeping them i...

Respiratory disease in youngstock

Respiratory disease in youngstock is unfortunately never as cut and dry as we’d hope. There are many causes of coughing and breathing difficulties from pneumonia, calf diphtheria to lungworm. There are also many factors which influence the calves’ ability to fight disease; from trace elements, nutrition, disease status (e.g. BVD, IBR) to environmental challenges. Lung disease can start early - in the calf shed. Pneumonia of dairy calves is a disease of young, housed calves. The cause of the ...

Scrotal mange

Chorioptic or Scrotal Mange is an major cause of poor breeding soundness in New Zealand rams. The causative mites, Chorioptes bovis, live and feed on the skin of sheep, goats, cattle and horses. In sheep, both rams and ewes can carry the mite, however it is often of more significance in the rams, where the mites can cause a hypersensitivity reaction. This hypersensitivity reaction leads to an increase in testicular temperature, resulting in poor fertility, testicular hypoplasia or testicular atr...

A Salmonella Hindmarsh case study

This case study is an account of a recent outbreak of Salmonella on a client’s property. At the beginning of January roughly 1.2% of the mob started dying over a period of about a week. Ewes that showed signs of sickness had drooping ears, were depressed and not wanting to eat or move. Some were scouring but others were not. We had a strong suspicion for salmonella, but couldn’t rule out an unknown toxicity at this stage either. The farmer decided to grab salmonella vaccine (Salvexin B) on ...

Covid-19: Level 4

As you will be aware, the Covid-19 Alert Level has now essentially been raised to 4. We have been informed that veterinary services are classified as an essential service, but that we will be restricted in how we operate. Please take time to read this information below. Small Animals We will be postponing all non-essential routine procedures for Small Animals at our clinics from Tuesday 24th March. We apologise for this but will rebook all these appointments from the 4th of May (or earlier if ap...

Covid-19: Doing our bit to flatten the curve

Even with all the changes related to the control of Covid-19 it's relatively business as usual for us - keeping your animals healthy and happy. However, you may notice that we are implementing a few changes to do our bit to flatten the curve. Unbelievably a government department has been first rate on its communications - giving very clear expectations on what we should all do. The Ministry of Health, led by Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, has communicated clearly on Covid-19's ...

Safe sheep transport

She’ll be right! Wikipedia described this frequently used saying as expressing the belief that "whatever is wrong will right itself with time". This is a common attitude for us Kiwis, but when it comes to stock injuries, it’s usually best to play it safe. Recently one of our vets went out to examine an animal for a transport certificate. It had a healed injury, but there was no record of us seeing the animal for its initial problem. When it came to writing the certificate, it was very diffic...

Hogget mating: Getting it right

While some farmers consistently achieve good results with hogget mating, for others it can turn into a disaster. Poor scanning percentages, lambing difficulties, effects on future performance and longevity in the flock can be reasons why hogget mating is not for every farm or should be performed every season. However, hogget mating does have the potential to greatly improve your on farm productivity, with extra lambs on the ground. If you are considering hogget mating for the first time, or if y...

Drenching deer – what’s the latest?

For most deer farms the threat of internal parasites represents one of the most significant animal health issues that their animals and business will face. At this time of year fawns are beginning to eat significant amounts of grass and with it, they will be developing a worm burden. Having had a Spring and Summer that have been mild and wet, it is likely parasites will be around in heavier numbers than during the dry Summers of the last two seasons. Hence, some farms will need to think about a ...

Twisted gut in working dogs

Gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), often referred to as “a twisted gut” is a common, life threatening condition in large, deep chested dogs around the world. In NZ there is a high incidence of this condition in Huntaway working dogs. GDV is invariably fatal unless treated with emergency surgery, and even with the most advanced treatment some dogs do not survive. A gastropexy is a procedure in which the stomach wall is adhered to the abdominal wall in order to prevent the stomach from twistin...

How is your milk quality?

To state the obvious, dairy farming is about producing milk, and for the most part, the focus has always been that healthy cows produce quality milk. For some farms it is not always that easy, and somatic cell counts or mastitis levels can get out of control. Did you know that for about every 100,000 cells/mL lower your BMSCC drops, milk production increases by about 3 %? Did you also know that a single case of mastitis is estimated to cost around $200 and can also hugely impact on conception ra...

Reducing antimicrobial use with VetSouth

Responsible antimicrobial use is not always straight forward and requires enhanced communication between farmers and vets as well as advisory support when navigating the challenge of change on farm. As part of a knowledge exchange trip to New Zealand, I have been helping VetSouth with farmer and vet workshops to discuss animal health, wellbeing and reducing antimicrobial use. In the UK, we have reduced antimicrobial use (AMU) across the food producing sector year on year. There has been a 53% de...

Calf rearing debrief

At our ‘Wean Soirée’ events in Gore and Winton, some of our local calf rearers shared some of their challenges and key learnings. While many are out of their control - such as the weather - they shared a great list of things they do. The discussions, bubbles and food was great and an interesting challenge was the interference of fathers/husbands and grandfathers! The biggest takeaway tips and tricks suggested by the calf rearers were: Weak Calves Get poorly calves on electrolytes asap.Using...

Stock die due to copper toxicity

As we all know, copper is an extremely important trace element that has a large effect on many different parts of the dairy cow. A cows’ copper status impacts significantly on; fertility, growth rates, bone structure, liver and red blood cell health, immune system as well as many other systems. Because of this it is really important to get their levels right to have a highly functioning modern dairy cow. Typically we think of copper status having its biggest effect on subclinical disease e.g. ...

Development of farmer-led regional Sustainable Health Groups

Are you interested in driving changes in disease management on farms, with particular reference to reducing antimicrobial use in animals? This project centres on a participatory, farmer-lead approach, providing support to farmers who have taken on practical strategies to reduce antimicrobial use on farms. Farmers across the Southland and South Otago regions, across all sectors (dairy, beef, sheep and deer) will have opportunities to be involved to varying degrees. Farmers will be given the oppo...

Christmas vaccinations

Holiday Season is fast approaching and it’s almost time for us all to take a well-earned break – including your dog. Holiday time for your dog, whether it’s at the local boarding kennels or at the crib, sees an increased risk of exposure to diseases....

Cow scanning – ultrasound for pregnancy

Pregnancy scanning is a great management tool to work out which cows are empty for next season as well as aging pregnancies to create groups based on calving dates. Early aged scanning also allows you to get 3 and 6 week in calf rates which are key performance indicators for how your mating season has gone. It also allows for greater information to work out which areas need to be improved on for next season....

Animals and fireworks

While Guy Fawkes can be great fun, looking at the sky full of fireworks, the noise and reverberations can be really traumatic to pets. Tips for owners Reduce visual exposure and muffle sounds.Keeping a radio going can distract from the noise outside.Provide a safe secure indoor space. Keep calm and provide quiet reassurance, avoid inadvertent reinforcement of anxiety by excessive treat giving or making a fuss.Microchip your pet to ensure they can be returned home if they do run off and become lo...

Bull semen testing

Although it may feel like calving has only just started, already it’s not long until thoughts shift towards mating. Whilst it is important to ensure your cows are in good condition and have plenty of feed, it is also vital to remember the other key player in your mating success - bulls. Bulls must be in tip-top shape in order to achieve maximum success at mating time. Condition should be on target (BCS 6-7) and they should not be suffering from any disease or illness. In addition, all bulls sh...