Benefits of a healthy weight

Keeping your pet at a healthy weight lowers their risk of certain health problems like arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing problems, back problems, kidney disease, and some forms of cancer. It also can reduce your pet’s risk of joint injuries associated with excess weight.

Fireworks phobias

Does your pet have a hard time with fireworks? Here’s some hints and tips to help everyone get through (hopefully!) stress-free.

Managing calf scours

Calf scours is the most common disease of neonatal calves in New Zealand and is responsible for the greatest economic losses.

Vaccine storage

For vaccines to be effective when injected they must be stored correctly including when you collect them from the clinic as well as how they are handled when you are on farm. There is no sense going to all the trouble of vaccinating if the vaccine has been degraded by how we have handled it.

Scabby mouth

Scabby mouth is a viral infection that causes painful lesions in affected animals. Infection occurs through breaks in the skin and can occur anywhere on the body. Areas commonly affected are the mouth, feet, udders, and the poll of rams. Thistles and fibrous feed often predispose animals to the mouth lesions.

The ongoing benefits of good calf nutrition

New Zealand data shows that only 36% of our heifers meet pre-calving weight targets. This is significant as there is an approximate 2kgMS production loss per year for every 1% they are behind this target, and poorly grown heifers are unlikely to survive to the end of their second lactation, so won’t remain in the herd long enough to become profitable.

BVD – Bovine Viral Diarrhoea 

BVD is a common but complicated disease. The production and reproductive costs of the disease are insidious and difficult to calculate. Eradicating BVD often comes with significant productive and reproductive improvements.

B12 supplementation in lambs

Over the last couple of seasons, we are observing significant growth responses in lambs where they have received Vitamin B12 supplementation.