Science is always evolving, so our veterinarians are passionate about continuing their learning to keep up to date with the latest in the veterinary world. This means we have a plethora of animal health articles written by our vets, available right here to assist you with your farming business or pet care.
Whether you’re a first time pet owner looking for the basics or a seasoned fur parent looking for some inspiration, we have everything covered from nutrition, vaccinations and grooming, to common health issues, behaviour and general wellbeing.
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.
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 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.
Over the last couple of seasons, we are observing significant growth responses in lambs where they have received Vitamin B12 supplementation.
Early spring often brings about the onset of lame cows and on some properties the problem can be severe.
Trace element supplementation in the modern dairy herd is vitally important.
To avoid confusion over the timings and uses of pre-lamb vaccinations, here’s a quick summary. While these vaccines will help protect the ewe, their main benefit is to provide the lamb with protection during the first few months of life against clostridial infections via the transfer of immunity in the ewe’s colostrum. This protection includes pulpy kidney and tetanus.
Ability to apply first aid to your cows around the calving period is the role of the farmer or his assistant and only after attempting and failing should a veterinarian be rung.
Calves, like all young animals, can deteriorate rapidly when they get sick. To have the best chance of treating sick calves successfully, rapid identification and treatment is essential.
Many farmers and lifestyle block owners buy in weaner calves from sale yards and the like. Unfortunately, most do not know the background or what the calves have been treated with, often they only have a knowledge of the size and weight.
Factors that affect fertility, hormones, and fresh Tararua Breeding Centre semen
A warm, very wet summer and autumn certainly brings with it an abundance of feed for grazing livestock and nearly all the stock we are seeing is in excellent condition.