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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, 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...

Clinical case: Dogs and 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 ...

Gastroenteritis in your pet

Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (stomach and the intestines) and is a common condition in cats and dogs. There are many factors that can lead to the condition, including: Changes in intestinal floraA food allergy or sensitivityGastrointestinal (GI) ulcersForeign bodiesIntestinal obstructionGenetic disease or predispositionIngestion of spoiled or raw foods, or of non-food itemsViruses (parvovirus, distemper, etc.)Intestinal parasitesGI cancers Signs to...

Is your cat a Fat Cat? Avoiding feline obesity

A trend of increasing numbers of obese cats has been seen worldwide, and New Zealand is no exception, with one in four cats here classified as overweight or obese.  This extra weight has an impact on our feline friends’ health and quality of life. Many health concerns are linked to obesity, for instance arthritis and diabetes. It is common for owners not to recognise when their pet is overweight, or the health implications of being “cuddly.” This is backed up by research tha...

Is pet insurance worthwhile?

We were recently asked about the value of pet insurance, so here are a few thoughts. As we all know, having a pet in the family is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and a privilege that comes with great responsibility. They give us unconditional love and loyalty, and in their time we all wish for them to receive proper care. Pet owning families hope that a serious accident or illness will never happen to their pet, but it often does. Pet insurance is a proven method to allow pet owners to be ...

Joining the herd: Marvin

Hi!I’m Marvin, and I’ve just arrived with my family of three from Paraguay, the heart of South America, where I was born and raised.After gaining a degree in veterinary medicine from the State University of Asuncion in 2017, I spent the next six years working as a rural vet in a Mennonite Colony, located in an arid region, working mainly with beef and dairy cattle.My focus over those years was on clinical cases, emergencies and surgery in cattle and horses, performed exclusively in-field.Sum...

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...