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Multimin magic!

It’s well known that a newborn calf is the most susceptible animal to disease on the farm, and that trace elements are essential for cattle production and immunity.So, it makes sense to ensure that every calf has enough trace elements to give it the best chance of fighting off the challenges they’ll face in their first weeks of life. Multimin ticks all the boxes when it comes to supplementing trace elements, with a formula that contains copper, selenium, zinc and manganese.These support...

Calf nutrition

As another calving season approaches and the calf sheds are getting prepared, it's time to think about nutrition for calves. It isn't as simple as ‘just feeding milk’.The target for rearing calves is to have fully grown, in-milk and problem-free 20-24 month old heifers in the future. This is NOT the same as weaning a 100kg calf in the fastest and cheapest way possible.Research shows that how calves are fed pre-weaning affects their future milk production and fertility. It also impacts on the...

Calf shed prep

Before we know it, the first calves will be dropping. Ensure you set aside a couple of days to get the calf shed prepared, so it isn’t a last-minute scramble. Make sure all team members on-farm (experienced and new) are aware of your farm's protocols. For example, recording of cows and tagging calves, collecting calves, spraying navels, colostrum management....

Wrapping up repro results

Back in May, we had our Repro Round-up evening. Thank you to all those that attended - it was great to see the numbers growing and the discussion flowing.Here is a short summary of our results for the season and a little of the discussion around them....

A crash course in calving

Calving time is round the corner and, while we hope most cows will successfully calve unassisted, it pays to be prepared to step in when necessary.Here are some top tips to help you navigate calving difficulties:1. If you are assisting a cow to calve and have made no progress after 10 minutes, call your vet for a hand.2. Head ropes - never place the rope around just the calf's jaw, as this pulls in the wrong direction and can break the jaw if the calf is alive. Instead, place the rope behind the...

Calving kit checklist

Now is the time to ensure everything is in order for spring time. One thing to sort is your calving kit, so when that first one arrives that needs pulling you are ready to go.  Some things we recommend are:Container or bucket with a lid - tape a list of container contents to inside to make restocking easierNotebook and penEar tags or necklaces for calvesGlovesDisinfectantLubeCalving chains or ropes - cleaned after each usePulley or calving jackDrugs:Bovipen (antibiotic)Metacam or Ketom...

Preventing zoonotic illnesses

They can be bacterial, viral, parasitical, or fungal. Below are some of the main ones to watch out for and ways to help protect yourself against them: ...

Arthritis in pets – How we can help.

It affects one in five adult dogs and is even more common among older dogs. Cats can also develop arthritis as they get older, with around 90% of cats over 10 years old developing arthritis in at least one joint!  Many cases go undiagnosed because owners interpret the subtle changes in their pet to "slowing down" or "getting old". Unfortunately, arthritis is a progressive condition and there is no cure. However, you can work with your vet to design a treatment plan that will allev...

Joining the herd: Kate

Hi there, I'm Kate. Originally from Wellington, I first left to pursue a career with horses, initially in NZ, then further afield in Australia and the UK. I was fortunate to work across various equine industries, including stud, stable, tourism and veterinary nursing.Twenty years ago, an opportunity arose to become involved in the dairy industry. This led to several years on dairy farms, then back into veterinary clinics, in a number of roles.For the past 10 years, I have been managing a ru...

Tackling liver fluke

Liver fluke (fasciola hepatica) is a parasite of the trematode family. It affects a whole range of animals - not only cattle and sheep, but also people and horses! It has a very complex life cycle, requiring the mud snail as an intermediate host. Because of the mud snail, it requires a wet and humid environment, which is why it is only really prevalent in New Zealand here on the West Coast and up in Northland.Once the immature fluke leaves the snail, it waits on vegetation to be ingested by...

Managing nutrition during the transition period

Although this season has officially not ended yet, we must look to next season already. There are diet changes ahead and every change requires time for the rumen to adjust. The first upcoming diet change is going from a milking diet to a dry cow diet and then, a month or two later, back to a milking diet. These changes must be done slowly and in little steps. Adjusting to the new diet takes about 2 weeks and, if not done properly, you will have down cows, lame cows, slips and...

Scours vaccines

Before we have even finished drying off, it is time to start looking ahead and getting prepared for next season.At an already stressful time of the year, sick and scouring calves is frustrating and demoralising. Extra time spent having to look after these calves means:Less of a break for the calf rearer.Less time spent putting your energy into the healthy calves.Lower growth rates in calves.Potentially less replacements than required due to deaths. Calves are born with no immune system, so ...

Growing great girls!

As the dry period looms, it is important to be thinking about how to maintain or improve the body condition of your herd to meet spring targets.Body Condition Scores (BCS) are a great indication of the fat reserves and overall health of your cows. The team at West Coast Vets are accredited body condition scorers and can come out to BCS your herd prior to dry-off.You should be aiming to have your herd at a BCS of 5 in spring. There are several strategies that can be adapted to achieve this, ...

Keep your furry friend smiling

Nothing warms your heart more than your happy, smiling dog welcoming you home at the end of the day. Just like us, to keep that happy smile, cats and dogs rely on healthy teeth and gums for their overall health and wellbeing.The build-up of dental plaque (a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on the teeth) can lead to oral health issues in your pet, such as gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth loss....

Lameness: Part 3

For the final instalment of the lameness trilogy, we are going to look into the last couple of conditions commonly seen and a procedure to remove incurable toes....

Joining the WCV herd: Molly

Hi,My name is Molly and I’ll be hanging out on-farm with the vets as their new tech.Before I took this job, I was working as a barista in one of the local cafes and as an AB assistant and technician -I generally washed my hands in between :-).Outside of work, I enjoy playing netball. My mood on a Monday may depend on whether or not we won on Saturday!I’m also a very crafty person, so don't be surprised if you see me knitting in the WCV utes.Looking forward to getting to know you all on-farm ...

Prevent down cows at the works

With cull cow season in full swing, now is a good time for a refresher on some essentials your animals need, before being loaded onto a truck, to avoid down cows on arrival at the works. The local works has already had some cases of down cows, despite relatively short travel distances! The local MPI vet has sent through the below reminder:...

Salmonella vaccination

Salmonella is a zoonotic disease, which means it not only affects cattle, but can be passed to humans too. Immuno-compromised or pregnant people are the most at risk of infection.There are four main strains of salmonella that can affect cattle: S. Typhimeriem (gut),S. Bovismorbificans (gut), S. Brandenburg (abortions) S. Give (gut). This is a newer strain, discovered in 2019. Nationally, cases were on the rise until 2021, after which they started to slightly decrease....

Bulk milk somatic cell count and cow health

The bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) refers to the concentration of white blood cells produced by the entire herd into the vat. Cell counts above 400,000 cells/ml are regarded as unfit for human consumption. BMSCC's are correlated with the occurrence of mastitis in the herd. As a (rough) rule of thumb:Herds with BMSCC of 400,000 cells/ml have (clinical and/or subclinical) mastitis cases in 40% of cows.Herds with BMSCC of 300,000 cells/ml have mastitis cases in 30% of cows. Her...

The end of an era!

As some of you will be aware, Harold has been reducing his days at West Coast Vets for the last few years and has now decided to step back and retire from his role in the retail team. He is still intending to stay on the Coast, but is keen to spend a lot more time with his grandchildren in Christchurch and Nelson, as well as making the most of the sunny days on his bike with his wife Mary.Harold has been a constant presence at the Greymouth clinic since the 80s and the days of 'Grey Vets', ...

A new leptospirosis vaccine

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, caused by a family of bacteria, that can infect multiple species, including people. Three groups of people who are at high risk of contracting lepto are:Meat workersFarmersHunters. Lepto is spread through contact with infected urine or waterways. Once the bacteria gets into the body through the mouth, nose or eyes, it can lead to flu-like symptoms and, potentially, kidney failure. In people, the disease is known as Weils disease.With the high risk t...

Can cows have a Christmas hangover too?

The time after Christmas is for recovery, as our stomachs recover from too much food and our livers from being too merry! Every year, this seems to become harder and take longer. Do cows have these problems after the festive period too?Yes! Cows do have problems with recovering their livers from Christmas onwards and, sometimes, this lasts till March! Unlike us, this is not because of too many mince pies and bubbles, but from eating too low down in the sward where the spores of the facial eczema...

Foot rot and white line disease

Continuing on with our lameness theme started in the last newsletter, we will look at two of the most commonly seen causes of lameness on the West Coast:...

Preventing Polio (B1 deficiency)

Polio, short for bovine polioencephalomalacia, is a disease of the brain most commonly caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. It is something we see sporadically each year (we have already seen a couple of cases this season, just before Christmas).Cattle rely on bacteria in their rumen to produce vitamin B1 daily. If factors upset these bacteria, it can lead to either less thiamine being produced or an increase in specific thiaminase enzymes that destroy the thiamine already prese...

Minerals: you can't improve what you don't measure!

Our advice is to check the mineral status of your herd before mating, to which the common response is often "but I haven’t changed anything", or, "our results have always been ok". Unfortunately, each season is different and, therefore, results can be different. This season was very abnormal!We took liver and blood samples from different farms and the milk production varied from 300 to >500MS/cow. The results showed: 38% of farms had a deficiency in copper;31% had&n...