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Managing internal parasites in calves

Internal parasites (worms) can have a large effect on calf growth rates if not managed correctly. Drenching your calves is important to help reduce worm burdens, but it is just one tool that we should be using in combination with other management strategies.Maintaining animal health is one of the most important things for ensuring they are able to fight off worm burdens; this includes good nutrition and ensuring trace element levels are correct.The main roundworms that affect our youngstock are&...

Lameness - no tip-toeing about

Lameness is a painful condition that can rob your herd's productivity, health, welfare and fertility, as well as your back pocket! ...

Chicken care 101

Recent regulatory changes banning battery cages for layer hens in NZ mean supermarkets are now only accepting cage-free eggs. This is a great win for our feathered friends, who now have the room they need to be happy and productive, but it has left our egg shelves a little bare! In a bid to ensure we have eggs to go with our bacon, there has been a dramatic rise in Kiwis taking matters into their own hands and buying chooks.TradeMe reported a whopping 190% increase in searches for...

Chocolate - the sweet but deadly treat

Chocolate is delicious - to both humans and dogs. Unfortunately, dogs are much slower to metabolise theobromine, one of the chemical components in chocolate, making even a small amount potentially toxic for them.While at the time it might seem funny that Fido the golden lab has had a good nosh on the block of chocolate left on the table, within a few hours, we might not be laughing so much. ...

Weight management for pets

Weight management is a crucial part of taking care of your dogs and cats. Ensuring your pet maintains a healthy weight minimises the risk of disease or injuries that can be associated with obesity or malnourishment. As a society, we are accustomed to seeing overweight pets as healthy pets, which means obesity is now becoming a major problem. Over 40% of dogs and over 30% of cats in NZ are at least 10% over their ideal weight.We weigh your animals every time they come to see us, which c...

A healthy guide to feeding pets

When feeding your beloved pet, whether it be a new puppy or kitten, or an older cat or dog, there is such a thing as ‘loving them too much’. Overindulging your pet can lead to health problems if they become overweight, so knowing how much, how often, and what to feed them is important.Pet food bags have feeding guides on the back which help you with the ‘how much’. This healthy amount of food can be tailored to suit your pet and could be split up into many feeds throughout the day, depen...

Protect your calves with Covexin10

Clostridial disease is an easily preventable deadly disease in cattle and sheep. We know vaccination works really well in preventing death in animals. Last season we introduced the use of Covexin 10 at disbudding time. This year, this is on offer again....

Winter tips for pets

The seasons have changed, and the togs have been replaced with jackets and hats. Not only do we feel the change, but so too do our pets. During this time please consider what you can do to keep your pets happy and healthy.Here are some key things to keep in mind for our pets this winter.Older Pets: Senior pets are likely to struggle more, particularly if they have joint issues such as arthritis. Keep them warm and comfortable in a snug bed with extra padding. Check-in with a veterinarian if you ...

Poison of the Season – Rat Bait

Every autumn and early winter we see a number of cases of rat bait poisoning in dogs, either via direct ingestion of the rat bait or less often by ingestion of rats/mice that have died from eating the bait. It is clear that dogs find these baits very tasty. Cats on the other hand are fussy about what they eat and prefer their prey to be alive and therefore are less likely to be poisoned. ...

West Coast Vets proud to support Meat the Need

West Coast Vets are proud to be a sponsor of the Meat the Need charity, a kiwi based operation aiming at connecting the dots and getting New Zealand meat into our food banks. This was founded by one of our Hoki locals - Siobhan O’Malley and her husband Christopher.Whilst there has been a need for a charity like this, to date, there has been a missing link between the willing farmer with livestock and the community organisations with the demands for a regular, reliable supply.Here at ...

Ukraine's Paws and Peeps Fundraiser with NZ Vets

Times are tough at the moment, but can be and are even tougher for others.With the current situation in Ukraine, we did our bit with a fundraiser from NZ to support animal welfare and those that provide it in Ukraine.What is more important in this situation: animals or people? It’s a tough call, but we know we can do a little something to ease the suffering so far away.We are stoked to share that our business along with our generous staff, clients and the NZ community, we raised $3,000 in...

Meet TJ!

Many of you recognise our senior Vet Nurse TJ from our Hokitika clinic. Her role is an essential part of our small animals operations and our staff and clients alike benefit from her vast expertise and knowledge. We took five to catch up with TJ and find out a little more about the lady in scrubs!...

Clinical case: Kovu and his prophylatic gastroplexy

We recently shared an article on the dangers of twisted stomachs and the danger in deep-chested dogs. Let’s meet Kovu, an at-risk dog that came into our clinic for some preventative surgery.Kovu is a very handsome, nine-month-old German Shepherd, whose owner booked him into our Hokitika clinic to have a prophylactic gastropexy under the same anaesthetic as his castration. Prophylactic – meaning preventative. Gastropexy – meaning surgical procedure where the stomach wall is adhere...

Is your pet at risk of a twisted stomach?

Did you know that you can do something for your dog to prevent a life-threatening condition you may not even realise he or she could be at risk of?Bloat is something that gets most people's attention, especially those who associate with large animals, like horses and cattle. Bloat is serious in any animal, but in the small animal clinic, when a pet arrives suffering bloat, it’s a big red flag! Respiratory distress, a distended (swollen) abdomen, retching and tryin...

The Tasty, and Dangerous, Fishy Morsel

Are you ready? I know I’m ready! The season is here. The mercury is rising, the days are longer and it’s time. It’s time to relish in the Summer sunshine and I hear our stunning West Coast is due for a cracker!Many of our favourite sports and activities rest in an awkward hibernation during Winter, only to have the dust blown off them at the first peek of Summer. The water skis come out, the mountain bikes get a service, the fishing rods come off the rack and walking shoes come out of...

A short Kōrero with Simon Hewitt

When Simon Hewitt first came to the West Coast, it rained for 20 months straight. Battling through and believing he was “solar-powered”, this rain was a new challenge he hadn’t quite experienced before at his previous clinic in Darfield. Simon is one of our large animal veterinarians and local owner at our Hokitika clinic. Seven years on from that 20-month-rain-welcome he had, we catch up with Simon to find out a little bit more. ...

What is your 3 week submission rate target?

How many cows are you putting up each day? Do this quick calculation:The number of cows in your herd x 0.9 / 21 days = Target Number of Cows per Day. If you are not getting as many cows up per day as you should then call your KeyVet to discuss. It is challenging to achieve a 6-week in-calf rate target of 78% if you do not get enough cows up in the first 3 weeks. The average Submission rate for 69 dairy farms in our area was 78%. Below shows data from the 2020/21 season:...

Catching up with Tara Hewitt

If you have ever stepped into the West Coast Vets clinic in Hokitika, you will have most likely met our Practice Manager and one of our local owners, Tara Hewitt. Smiling from behind the desk, it's a welcoming feeling – especially when you can feel quite nervous about bringing your furry friend in for their visit. We recently caught up with Tara to discover what her role is within the clinic, what brought her here and her life on the mighty West Coast. ...

Are your cows pointy or plump?

As we flick our calendars over to March it’s time to begin thinking about making adjustments to your milking herd management. How you manage your herd in the next couple of months will have a significant impact on BCS at calving, which as a result, will affect your reproductive performance and milk solid production.The first step to meeting calving BCS targets is to BCS all milking cows. This allows you to draft out groups of cows with the intention to implement a mixture of strategies su...

Beef and Lamb Facial Eczema Talk

On February 16th Briar Huggett from Beef and Lamb, Angela Leslie from Dairy NZ and myself put on a presentation about Facial Eczema (FE), with more emphasis on sheep and beef farms. Unfortunately, we did not get a great turn-out, but those that did make it got some valuable information and discussion about FE. Below is a summary:Facial eczema was diagnosed in Dairy Herds on the West Coast for the first time in 2016. No doubt it had been lingering around for longer than this undiagnosed. It ...

Fake Facial Eczema

Although the spore counts have been zero to low in the last two months, there seem to be some signs of facial eczema around. How can this happen?If you are grazing turnips, rape or swedes as a summer feed there is a chance you see photosensitisation signs, the same as with facial eczema. This doesn’t have to be caused by facial eczema spores but rather caused by progoitrin (a compound in turnips and rape).Normally this progoitrin is broken down in the rumen. BUT if animals are suffering from r...

What is a Dry Cow Consult?

A lot of us are only just pregnancy testing at the moment, but the seasons come around faster each year (or that is what it feels like to me). We want to support you and help make the best decisions going forward both for the health and welfare of your animals but also financially and for responsible antibiotic usage. ...

Listen up Ikamatua!

It’s always great to enjoy the company of who you work alongside and I’m now a little further away from the team in Greymouth. Luckily pretty much every day we get a visit (even if just for a break) from one of our vets, and the phone rings regularly so we’re always in touch with the Greymouth and the Hokitika teams. Being based that little bit out the road means the space is a bit more rural. It's a nice space to get to know all the locals out this way a bit better - whatever their animal...

Facial Eczema

Facial eczema is caused by the spores of a fungus (Pithomyces chartarum). These spores contain a compound which is toxic to the liver. The damaged liver leads to photosensitivity, making all the white areas of the animals or bare skin a lot more susceptible to sunburn. Lesions are normally seen around the face, the white sections of the back and the udder....

Late calvers

With November already upon us and the year speeding by, hopefully, we have had all the cows calved or if not – we are only waiting for a small handful to uncross their legs. However, as mating has started for some and just about to for others, we are left with the issue of these late cows. Generally, once a cow becomes a late calver she remains so until either she drops out of the herd as an empty cow or becomes a carryover. This has become a lot more of an issue for farmers since the abo...