OUR APPROACH

West Coast Vets offer a range of services for our Dairy farms mainly focused on animal health programmes aimed at preventing disease occurrence. We are continuously aiming to ensure we provide the right services for our farmers.

We know farming is a tough job – here are the services we provide to cater to your animal needs:

  • Lameness control with Dairy NZ’s Healthy Hoof programme. Working to improve lameness in dairy cows through improved management of cows and people with a trained healthy hoof consultant.

  • Mastitis control and milk quality management including grade busting and whole herd paddling with trained vets and technicians.

  • Dairy reproductive services including pregnancy testing and routine non-cycler and synchronisation services.

  • Trained “In Calf” advisors in all  clinics. Aiming for a continuous improvement process by challenging farmers to take a systematic approach towards a sustainable improvement in reproductive performance.

  • Trace element monitoring at critical and regular periods during the year i.e. Pre-calving, pre-mating and pre-drying off.

  • Gastrointestinal parasite and liver fluke monitoring through milk tests to ensure treatments are targeted and accurate.

  • Dry off treatments are available in conjunction with a full consultation with a large animal veterinarian to determine the best product for your farm and the right cows to treat it with.

  • Restricted veterinary medicine consultations are carried out yearly and are a detailed look at your entire farm system to spot areas for improvement and reduce reliance on medicine. These RVM’s also act as a prescription to ensure that medicine is available quickly when you need it.

  • Body condition scoring by one of our trained technicians or veterinarians to ensure that your herd is on target for maximum production.

  • Drench programmes for all ages and types of stock from our experienced team to provide maximum growth.

  • BVD is a growing problem on the coast and through West Coast Vets you can sign up for the LIC BVD monitoring programme which gives you multiple milk tests at critical times of the year.

  • Sign up for yearly Johne’s disease monitoring through West Coast Vets to combat the growing problem, our  tests are carried out at the same time as your herd milk test.

  • Disbudding at a very competitive rate and includes sedation, local anaesthetic and your choice of long acting pain relief to help them get back on their feet as quickly as possible after what can be a stressful experience.

Technical Services to Help Management on the Farm

West Coast Vets run a calf disbudding programme in the spring which each season disbuds calves painlessly and with minimal stress for operator and calf. Regular pre-booked visits can be arranged and the work will be done by our vets and techs so that farm staff are free for other tasks. Regular fertility visits in the spring and teatsealing in the winter are two more areas where our teams of vets and techs can help with on farm tasks.

We are always here to help – so don’t hesitate to get in touch, anytime, anywhere!

THE BENEFITS

Why West Coast Vets is a great choice

We're locals

We’ve been located throughout the West Coast area for decades. It’s where we’re from and where we raise our families.

Wide network

We’re plugged into the Veterinary world and our team can call on expertise from all over the world, then deliver it locally.

Handy clinics

We’re close to you for consults, supplements, supplies...whatever you need. Pop on in or organise a delivery.

FURTHER READING

Latest news

Lepto vaccine update

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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 uniqueRead more

Keep an eye out for coccidiosis

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Quick in-clinic FEC testing available

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Mastitis testing: Mastatest vs Jupiter

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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 herdRead more

This season's passive transfer results

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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, theRead more

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 importantRead more

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 anyRead more

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 weeksRead more

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! ThRead more