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It's scanning season

Aged pregnancy diagnosis (scanning) allows for clearer expectations and better management in spring, as you will accurately know when cows will be due to calve. Scanning also allows the mating season to be evaluated through conception rates, which may influence how you look to improve in the future. We age scan by measuring biometrics of the foetus, either body length, trunk diameter or head length. Based on how long these are we calculate the equivalent days. To accurately age a pregn...

Summer is here! But do cows like warm weather?

When summer arrives, we finally find ourselves taking those extra layers off and our bodies are enjoying warming up. But what about cows? They cannot take a layer off and often have a black coat... Cows feel hot sooner than we do. Dairy cows need to maintain a constant body temperature of around 38-39°C. They are sensitive to any factor which influences the thermal exchange with the environment – like air temperature, wind, and humidity. When an animal’s heat load is greater than ...

Out of sight, out of mind: Facial Eczema

It can be hard trying to focus on what we don’t see! For every clinical case of facial eczema (FE) there are 10 subclinical cases.FE is caused by a fungus, pithomyces chartarum, which grows on dead pasture litter. In late summer and autumn, when periods of warm humid weather are common, the fungus can multiply rapidly producing large numbers of spores which contain a toxin called sporidesmin.  When livestock ingest pasture with high spore loads, the toxin can cause severe liver damage and...

Copper and selenium in calves

We talk about trace elements a lot for your dairy cows, but sometimes youngstock can be forgotten about!When trace element status is in the optimal range, it gives animals the best chance at fighting off other diseases and parasites. Along with excellent nutrition, trace elements like copper and selenium should be at the top of your mind for ensuring the ideal growth and health of your youngstock....

Careful with pets and Christmas treats

Christmas treats are something we all look forward to, but for our furry friends, some of these can be extremely toxic, so it is important to keep them out of reach. If you have a pet with a penchant for opening gifts, this may mean not putting wrapped treats under the tree!Some festive foods to be cautious of around pets include:1. ChocolateWhy it's toxic: Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which are stimulants of the central nervous system and heart. They also act as diuretics, which...

Caring for pets over the holidays

The Christmas holidays are fast approaching. If you are heading away, now is a good time to start thinking about what plans you need to make for your pets.  Will you leave them at home and get someone to come and care for them?  Is booking them into a cattery or kennel a better option?  Or, can you take your pet away with you? Leaving your pet at home You may decide to leave your pet in the comfort of its own home, with a neighbour or friend either house-s...

Lepto vaccine update

There has been a lot of communication from Westland lately regarding supply of the lepto vaccine. In the end, we were never approached for a 5-year tender for the vaccine and we turned down the option of the whole West Coast as a logistical impossibility for the timeframes Westland were after, and the legal aspect of treating animals that are legally not under our care.Following last Friday’s communications, we will be continuing to p...

Caring for cows' hooves

Hoof care in dairy cattle is a critical aspect of herd management, particularly in regions with challenging environmental conditions. The high rainfall and rugged terrain in our area presents unique challenges for maintaining cattle hoof health. Proper hoof care is essential for animal welfare, production efficiency, and reducing costs related to lameness.  ...

Keep an eye out for coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease that can occur in calves from as young as 4 weeks of age, but normally between 3-8 months. Infection is by ingestion of coccidia oocysts, from contaminated pasture, feed, water or grooming each other. Paddocks that are used by calves each year are at a higher risk for contamination. The oocysts survive well in moist environmental conditions. The incubation period is about 2-4 weeks for clinical disease, depending on environmental conditions. It is a parasi...

Quick in-clinic FEC testing available

We are pleased to announce that we have invested in a Parasight faecal egg count (FEC) machine, which will enable us to quickly test samples in-clinic.  Created and developed in Australia, this machine can give a FEC for a calf sample in less than 6 minutes. We have previously had to send samples away to the laboratories in Christchurch, or spend around 20 minutes preparing and then manually counting the samples. The machine, which works for cattle, sheep, horses and poultry sampl...

Mastitis testing: Mastatest vs Jupiter

We now have two machines in-clinic that we can use for milk sample testing. The Mastatest machine, which has been around a few years, can run up to four cartridges for clinical mastitis and eight samples of subclinical mastitis in a 22-hour turnaround period. It can also identify bacteria as well as antibiotic sensitivity. The Jupiter machine, which has been available for around a year, uses more traditional agar plates and an incubator, however, uses AI to detect what species are present.&...

Taking mastitis milk samples

We know that this season to date has been particularly challenging with mastitis levels and SCC higher than usual. For clinical and subclinical mastitis (diagnosed either via paddle or herd testing), we can test these to determine which bug is causing the mastitis and give recommendations for the best treatment options. We now have a couple of different testing options available, both in-clinic or sent to the lab, so if you are wanting to get some milk samples tested, please make sure ...

This season's passive transfer results

This season, we had a few farms do passive transfer (PT) testing on their calves to check for absorption of immunoglobulin from colostrum. Below is a quick comparison of the results: ...

Choosing the right pet

Pets bring so much joy to a family. They give affection and love, make us laugh, and have a positive effect on our mental health. However, before choosing a new furry addition, it is important to put thought into what kind of pet is the most suitable for your household.  Things you need to consider are:  Your lifestyle Do an honest assessment of your lifestyle and think about how a pet will impact this. Your daily routine with children, work hours and other commitments, as well as...

Itchy dogs

Is your dog scratching, biting, licking, rubbing his skin, or rolling on the ground? Allergic skin disease can cause significant discomfort to companion animals and is a common reason for dog owners to seek care for their pets. The cause of the itchy problem will most commonly be due to: ectoparasites (usually a flea allergy); food allergy; bacterial infection, or an environmental allergen, such as tree and grass pollens, moulds and dust mites. This condition is known as...

Giving 90% this mating

Did your calving period seem to drag on this season? One way to try and compact your calving for next year is to have a good 3-week submission rate.  To be on track for a successful mating, the industry target is to have 90% of cows submitted for mating over the first three weeks. Herds that hit this target will have more early calving cows, lower empty rates, less late calving cows, and ultimately more days in milk in the following season.  If your 3-week submission rate was...

Anxiety in dogs

Anxiety is a normal emotion experienced by all dogs from time to time.Some dogs, however, are more prone to experiencing it than others. If they display disproportionate levels of stress, there is a risk they may develop an anxiety disorder, which may lead to behavioural and other issues. Some of the most common causes of anxiety in dogs are fear, separation, and aging. Fear Fear-related stress can be brought on by different things, including loud noises, strange people, or animal...

Stress-free vet visits: Preparing your pet

Getting any sort of treatment can be stressful for your pets, no matter how great our vets are!Travelling into clinic and being exposed to a new environment can also be challenging for some of our animal companions.  While we work hard to ensure your pets are at ease in-clinic, there are also several things that you can do to prepare them and make vet visits a more positive experience. Exercise before the visit If possible, take your dog to a favourite place, such as a park o...

Getting repro ready

As calves hit the ground, we are starting to cast our eyes forward to another important part of the cycle - mating. It may seem quite a way off, but time very quickly disappears and it is important to ensure cows have enough time for their uteruses to prepare for another successful conception. This means shrinking from something that can hold up to 100l (about the volume of a mini fridge) to something about the size of a cucumber! The uterus must clean itself of all material (calf and membr...

Are your bulls up to the job?

In the lead up to repro season, it is vital to remember the other key players in your mating success – bulls.Bull condition should be on target (BCS 6-7) and they should not be suffering from any disease or illness. In addition, all bulls should meet minimum scrotal circumference targets for their age and breed prior to mating. Other key points to remember about bulls prior to mating: Ensure high sperm quality: Have they got adequate magnesium, copper, selenium and zinc levels?&...

Managing ‘dirty’ cows

‘Dirty’ cows are problematic but, come with a quick and easy fix. To check for evidence of infection or slowed healing after calving, we can metricheck your girls 10 days-4 weeks post-calving.  This is a quick and simple procedure, where a checker is inserted into the cow’s vagina to scrape out any discharge, which is then examined and scored as either clear or purulent. It is a quick and fast test that can be done at milking time and we can simultaneously draft and treat any pos...

Dairy cows: the Olympic athletes of the farm

By the time you read this, the Olympics and Paralympics will be over. All those top athletes had to be at peak performance at the right time to be able to get to the event and be medal contenders! This was only possible with lots of training, excellent nutrition and coaching. Our dairy cows are comparable with Olympic athletes. Cows are expected to produce plenty of milk, while not losing too much body condition, and to get pregnant every 365 days. All of this has to happen on a diet consis...

Protecting your herd from BVD

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a challenging and costly viral disease, affecting both dairy and beef herds in New Zealand. Cattle of all ages are at-risk, including the fetus of pregnant cows. There are two types of BVD transmission: Transient infection (TI) This is when an animal of any age comes into contact with the disease and mounts an immune response. The infection lasts about 2-3 weeks, during which time the animal is shedding the disease, before clearing the infection.&nb...

Why dogs should not be fed bones

Floyd is a 7-year-old labrador retriever and, like most in his breed, will eat anything, anytime, anywhere. While his owners do not feed him bones, he managed to find something ‘delicious’ while down at the beach. A day or so after his beach escapade, Floyd started feeling very unwell and was unable to keep any food down. His owner also noticed he was straining to go to the toilet and was only passing a small amount of runny poo, so decided to bring him into West Coast Vets Hokitika to ...

What should I feed my pet?

Just like us, our pets need good quality nutrition to remain healthy and active. High-quality foods give them the balance of nutrients their bodies need and help them to have healthy skin and coats and a strong immune system.Conversely, nutrient deficiencies, or excesses, can lead to problems such as allergies, heart disease, kidney disease and other organ dysfunction.With so many pet food options available - ranging from budget ‘home brand’ options to specialty feeds designed for different ...