News & Resources

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Heifers are home from grazing - is there liver fluke lurking?

From testing over the years we have found Liver fluke infection in grazing heifers, particularly from the King Country and areas where cattle graze on wet marshy pastures and margins of streams. The problem is that once infected, the adult fluke will live for years in your cows.

Often the first indication will be the presence of liver fluke on the killing sheet from cull cows. These are usually old flukes that have been living in the liver since they were grazing heifers.

Low levels of liver fluke cause decreased fertility, increased susceptibility to other diseases and parasites as well as decreased weight gain in growing cattle, and decreased milk production.

If you would like to know if you have an active infection in your heifers, a blood test from a group of animals will provide the answer.

Controlling fluke requires a flukacide and these drugs have a significant milk withhold so treatment needs to be carried out well before calving.

Drenching with Flukecare + Se is the most effective treatment, killing adult and immature fluke, BZ sensitive intestinal worms and four weeks of Selenium supplementation. It has a milk withholding of 35 days and meat and bobby calves of 28 days.

Alternatively, Ivomec Plus injection is effective in the control of adult fluke as well as mectin sensitive intestinal parasites and lungworm, as well as aiding in the control of lice. It has a milk withholding of 14 days and meat and bobby calves of 28 days.

https://nz.virbac.com/products/parasiticides-drenches/flukecare-plus-se#image

Abscesses in cows are localised, pus-filled infections that can develop due to injury or infection, or bacteria entering the body through open wounds or compromised skin.  An abscess is a defence mechanism that helps prevent the spread of infection to other parts of the body. Abscesses have a wall, or capsule, that is formed by adjacent healthy cells in an attempt to keep the pus from infecting neighbouring structures. However, this capsule will also prevent immune cells and antibiotics from reaching the bacteria in the abscess.

Abscesses usually appear as firm, swollen lumps, often found around the neck, shoulder, flank or the back of the legs, but can occur on almost any part of the body. They may start small but can grow rapidly. It is not uncommon to see an abscess the size of a football, containing upwards of five litres of pus.

Many cows with abscesses appear otherwise healthy, but, if left untreated, an abscess is likely to cause discomfort, disrupt milk production, and even lead to systemic infection.

The most important aspect of treatment involves lancing and draining the abscess, ideally by a veterinarian. An X-shaped hole is recommended to prevent the wound sealing shut too early, which could allow the abscess to fill up again. Where possible, the hole should be located to enable it to drain freely via gravity, and it should be big enough to insert a finger into the abscess to allow exploration for foreign bodies (sticks, bits of wire, pieces of bone, etc) or pieces of firm pus or necrotic tissue that can block the hole and impede drainage.

The abscess should be thoroughly flushed, ideally with dilute iodine or chlorhexidine, but if drainage of the abscess is good, tap water will be ok.

I would strongly recommend administering local anaesthetic before lancing an abscess, as it is necessary to make more than one cut through thick cow skin, sometimes also through muscle, as well as through the abscess capsule. Although the area is under pressure from the abscess, this will still be a painful procedure for the cow. An anti-inflammatory, such as Metacam or Ketomax, may also be given to provide further pain relief and help reduce inflammation and swelling at the abscess site. Antibiotics are usually not given due to the abscess capsule.

The abscess should continue to be flushed out for a further two to five days, and during this time, it is good practice to continue to explore the hole with a gloved finger to search for any objects that could contribute to the infection, or that may block the drainage hole.

Preventing abscesses can be difficult, but if there is an outbreak of abscesses with a common location, consider investigating broken gates and rails, faulty equipment, and injection hygiene and technique.

Regularly inspecting cows for signs of injury or infection is crucial, as early detection leads to easier treatment.

Warning:

‍A dry autumn significantly increases the risk of lethal nitrate poisoning outbreaks. Spikes in nitrate levels often occur in seasons like the one we are experiencing when seasonal conditions combine in the autumn and winter, particularly following summers and autumns that are drier than normal as rapid uptake of nitrate from the soil by plants occurs with rains following drought conditions. Nitrate levels then build up in pasture when nitrate is taken up by the plant faster than it can be converted into protein.

This can be due to deficiency in plant energy due to plant stress or low sunlight levels, especially in annual grasses and crops with a high nitrate demand. Nitrates can be absorbed quickly by plants when temperatures are low, but conversion to protein occurs very slowly during cold weather causing nitrates to accumulate. The nitrate converts to nitrite in the rumen and then binds to haemoglobin in the blood stopping it from carrying oxygen. Death can occur rapidly due to lack of oxygen to the brain.

Signs of poisoning include muscle tremors staggering and collapse but animals are often found dead. Mucus membranes and teats have a distinctive bluish chocolate colour and blood looks like dairy milk chocolate.

Surviving animals will often abort due to lack of oxygen to the foetus. To reduce the risk of poisoning cattle should not go onto newly sown pasture hungry and should have been fed something high in fibre e.g. hay or silage prior to grazing Introduce stock to high risk paddocks in the early afternoon so that plants have had the sunlight necessary to convert excess nitrate to protein. Warm, dull and overcast days will be more dangerous.

Do not leave on risky pasture overnight. Restrict grazing time to around 1 hour and control the area they have access to. Give time to adjust to the feed by gradually increasing the intake. (This gives time for the rumen microflora to adjust). Check cattle regularly for signs of poisoning. It usually takes 4-5 hours for signs to develop.

To ensure your herbage is safe can test your herbage with a nitrate test kit available from your clinic or we can test it for you. We can help by treating affected cattle with methylene blue, so if you are suspicious of nitrate poisoning or have down cows or young stock after grazing new pasture please call us immediately as time will be of the essence!

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KENNEL COUGH ALERT – What every dog owner should know

CANINE INFECTIOUS TRACHEOBRONCHITIS aka “KENNEL COUGH”

What is it?

Kennel cough is a viral disease similar to the dog “flu” which can be caused by multiple different viruses and bacteria. The kennel cough vaccination your dog gets protects against some of these viruses but not all so even if they are vaccinated, they can still get the cough if another virus is going around, but often they will have milder signs.

How can my dog get it?

Kennel cough is often caught when at doggy daycare, at the groomers or around other dogs, but they still can pick it up just from walking past another dog as it is spread by small droplets from sick dogs that cough and sneeze.

Even if your dog has contracted kennel cough, they may not show any signs until 10 days after the contact. And the cough itself can last up to 2 weeks!

What does it look like?

A sudden dry hacking cough

Retching and gagging, even bringing up foam

Being “off” and a bit lethargic

Runny nose and loud snorting / sneezing

It is most important to protect young and old dogs, and this is when it can become complicated with pneumonia.

When should you come to see us?

Kennel cough can be mild and your dog may clear the virus with some TLC, however, secondary inflammation can cause a lot of discomfort and can result in your pup feeling unwell. If you think your dog may have kennel cough, please contact your clinic to assess if he or she needs to be seen.

Please DO NOT come into the clinic when you arrive, wait in your car and call us to let us know you are there.

If you want to know more, give your closest Vetora clinic a call!

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We were called out to perform a postmortem on a cow that had died suddenly despite showing no symptoms prior to this. This was the second cow this had happened to, and the farmer was concerned about a serious underlying problem in the herd.

Following a thorough, systematic approach we checked the cow from nose to tail trying to find the underlying cause. We started to get concerned as everything appeared completely normal… that was, until we cut into the heart and a large spurt of pus glazed my wet weathers! This cow had a large abscess INSIDE her heart muscle!

An intramyocardial abscess. These are extremely rare and occur when bacteria make it into the blood and establish themselves inside the heart muscle. It is likely that the cow had a minor underlying infection somewhere previously, allowing the bacteria to enter the bloodstream. In this case, the abscess likely just got so large that it disrupted the electrical conduction in the heart, ultimately resulting in a heart attack. This was likely an isolated event, and we found no evidence that this presented a threat to the herd.

The answer to the question of when to dry cows off depends on your plan for winter feeding and the trade-off between production this season and next season. Having said that, the rule of thumb is :

• Dry off any cows that are producing less than 5L and/or have a high SCC immediately.
• Minimum 42-day dry period to allow for udder repair and avoid limiting next season’s production.
  • For a 10th July calving that means drying off by 29th May.
  • But 95% of cows calve up to 12 days either side of their due date, so to adding another 12 days means dry off is 17th May for a 10th July calving.
• It takes 100 days to put 1 BCS on a cow with minimal supplement/crop fed during the dry period.
  • For 10th July calving (plus 12 days for calving spread) and cows at BCS 4, dry off before 20th March.
  • Yes, that date has been and gone already so if you missed it and have cows at BCS 4 or less, they will need supplementary energy to put on condition before calving.
  • Cows can’t gain BCS in the month before calving.

There are a couple of tools available to help guide your decision beyond the rules of thumb:

1. Infovet dry-off planning report

• This report takes your aged scanning data and a whole herd BCS to produce a list of cows to be dried off each week.
• The idea behind this report is planning to give every cow enough time to reach BCS target at calving (5.5 for first and second calvers and 5.0 for older cows).
• Talk to your vet if you would like to organise a herd condition score to be done, then we can produce the report with the click of a button.

2. DairyNZ milk on/dry off tool (https://www.dairynz.co.nz/tools/milk-on-dry-off/#)

• This tool is designed to test scenarios for milking on when feed is short and tries to answer two questions:

1. Do I have enough feed to keep on milking?
2. Is it profitable to keep on milking?

Talk to your vet or local DairyNZ area manager if you would like help to use this tool.

Here is your Vetora mid-April - Spring calving e-Update

Lovely to see some rain finally after a record breaking autumn drought! Spore counts are still reasonably high and with the rain may increase, so don’t relax on the zinc just yet – those spores are tough little sods and they don’t break down as quickly as you’d like them to, even with a few cooler nights.

COWS

• Milk quality and RVM consults are well underway. This is a good opportunity to review your milking season, ask us any questions you have on animal health, and to set up your dry-cow plan for this season.
• Drying-off of high SCC cows and your lighter animals. Remember cows need 25-30 days to gain half a body condition score. They won’t put weight on 10 days after dry-off nor 30 days pre-calving, so you need 10 weeks for 0.5 BCS gain, and 14 weeks for 1 BCS gain before calving. Get us to come out and body condition score the herd if you’re unsure, and we’ll help you make decisions about when to dry off each animal based on her calving date.
• If you’d like us to help administer dry cow to the herd, book in now! It’s always a bit tricky to fit everyone in, so the more notice you can give us the better.
• Herd lepto vaccinations are starting now.
• Zinc supplementation should be continuing.
• Liver Mineral checks can be performed on any late culls to check trace minerals going into winter. Let us know if you need a cull cow submission form which is also available on our Vetora App.  If you contact Denise Adamson (denise.adamson@vetora.nz) and she will help set you up with our Vetora Members App.
• Keep balancing the maize minerals. Milkers will need calcium, magnesium, salt and DCP added to the maize to avoid becoming deficient. Call us if you need help working out the doses or if cows are going down after starting maize.
• Please order your dry cow, ideally with 24 hours notice, so we can have it ready for you for the time that you want it.
• FREE SEMINAR - Are wearables really for the future?  If you use wearables or just thinking about it don’t miss this seminar Kio Kio Hall Tues 29th April 1030am. RSVP Otorohanga clinic on 07 8737089

HEIFERS

• Give them a visit to make sure the feed is adequate for them and they come home big and beautiful and BCS 5.5 for calving. There is still time to get them pregnancy tested if not yet done.
• Don’t forget their Lepto/ Rotavirus boosters.
• Think about their B12/Selenium/Copper requirements.
• Book in Teatsealing.

CALVES

• Worm larvae numbers will be up with autumn rain. Ensure regular drenching to keep on top of this and avoid growth checks.
• Autumn Calves dehorn + 5in1/10in1 vaccinations
• Spring calves 3rd lepto vaccination should be considered if their first and second shots are given before Christmas but the heifers are not usually done until the autumn. The ideal gap between the annual lepto vaccinations is, well, 12 months. Please talk to your vet if you have any questions about this.
• Calf Rearing Workshop - Te Awamutu 6.30pm 26th June. Pop it in your diary

All the best for the last few weeks of the season.

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What is it and how does it spread?

Parvovirus is a virus which is highly infectious and resistant to normal disinfection. It can live in the environment for extended periods of time (months to years) There is no set amount of time because it depends on enviromental factors such as humidity and temperature¹) with young puppies being the most susceptible² . Some dogs may be “subclinically infected” meaning they carry the virus but don’t appear sick and because of this the virus will continue to spread. It only takes a small amount of the virus to create an infection in a new host.

The virus is shed in the faeces of infected dogs and transmitted via direct (sniffing the fecal matter) or indirect (licking paws after walking along grass which had the virus present). There is a three to seven day incubation period before signs of illness start to show.

How is it harmful to my pet?

Parvovirus attacks the digestive systems, bone marrow and in puppies under 4 weeks old the heart. The viral attack on the digestive system means patients are unable to absorb nutrients from food, they have diarrohea which leads to severe dehydration (loss of fluid) if left untreated. The barrier between the digestive system and bloodstream also breaks down resulting in bloody diarrohea and allowing bacteria to enter the body.

Parvovirus’s attack on the bone marrow is also important to mention because this is where new immune fighting cells are created. Destroying these cells leaves the patient with a low defence system to fight the virus as it progresses further into the body. Without treatment the mortality rate for puppies is around 91% ³.

How do I stop Parvovirus?

Prevention is key! This is why vaccination is so important especially with puppies. Those patients most at risk need to be protected from possible exposure (no little puppies at the dog park please!). Puppies do get antibodies passed to them through their mothers milk. However these antibodies are just what the mother has been exposed to during her lifetime, so if she hasn’t been vaccinated/exposed to the virus then these antibodies won’t be present .

Following your veterinary clinics vaccination protocols allows your pet to have safe exposure to the virus (and build antibodies and immunity to Parvovirus) without getting sick.

What about my adult dog?

Infection in adult dogs is uncommon due to widespread vaccination ⁴. So it is important to follow your veterinary clinics vaccination protocols. Often for adult dogs this is a yearly booster which can often be given during your pets yearly check up.

What should I do with this information?

If your pet has been vaccinated be sure to check when they’re next due and what they’ve been vaccinated against (Parvovirus, Kennel Cough, Canine Distemper etc.). If you’re not 100% sure or have any questions give your local vet clinic a call, we’re more than happy to answer any questions or concerns about your pet.

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[1] Parvovirus: How it Happens - Veterinary Partner –VIN. Wendy Brooks DVM DABVP Rev: 05 Oct 2023

[2] BSAVA 6th Ed. 2020 (ed.B.Cooper, E.Mullineaux and L.Turner). Chapter 18 pgs. 587-588

[3] https://perthvetcare.com.au/pet-library/parvovirus-in-dogs/

[4] Parvovirus: How it Happens -Veterinary Partner – VIN. Wendy Brooks DVM DABVP Rev: 05 Oct 2023

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‍COWS

• Facial eczema season is upon us and most areas have spore counts above 100,000 (see Spore Counts | Vetora).  As covers are very low, stock are grazing very close to the ground so maintain prevention with Zinc supplementation or fungicides. Young stock at grazing will need ongoing protection with King Country spore counts up to 350,000 at the moment.
• Spore counting on your property gives you the best indication of your current facial eczema risk.
• ‍RVM, milk quality, and Animal Health Plan consults are starting now. Again, we will be asking anyone buying dry cow or teatseal to sign a consent form, irrespective of whether you’re inserting it yourself or getting us to do it. This helps us make the complaince paperwork easy for you.
• ‍Fonterra Co-operative Difference Animal Wellbeing Plan – can be done with your RVM consult but you will need to allow extra time.
• ‍Herd Lepto vaccinations are under way. If fitting it in before dry-off is important for you, please book it in soon.
• ‍Cull Cow mineral check on livers – Don’t forget that if you are sending cull cows to the works, you can request mineral liver checks. A minimum of five cows is needed to get a representative sample and a meaningful result.  Remember to send the completed form with the cows on the truck. Late in February we emailed you a liver works form, this is also on our Vetora App under Forms.
• ‍Balance your maize – remember to add the right amounts of calcium, magnesium and salt to your maize being fed to milkers. Call us if you need help working it out, or talk to us about the Vetora Maize Balancer.
• Dry off light conditioned early calvers so they have enough time to put weight on before calving. It’s poor economy to milk them to the bitter end and have them calve light next season!

HEIFERS

• End of pregnancy testing – review any high rates & perform testing to find out & fix any problems before next year.
• Keep the feed up, and contact graziers to have a plan to buy in extra to keep them growing as feed is short – make sure they come home big and beautiful.
• Lepto boost as required to tie in with the herd’s annual vaccinations.
• Autumn Drench – worm numbers have been fairly low with the dry summer, but when rain comes we can expect a worm explosion!

CALVES

• Autumn calves due for disbudding soon – as well as BVD/DNA testing & 5 in 1 vaccination. Book in now & plan to do it together if needed, as it’s often easier while they’re asleep!
• Keep up with the Autumn Drenching, as per your R2’s.
• Top up any Zinc Boluses as needed (you’ll have got 6 weeks out of the first Faceguard).
• Ensure calves are well-fed to keep up the growth rates.

We are looking forward to catching up with everyone soon during RVM consults!

Recently one of our farmer members noticed a tiny sore spot on his finger. A swelling quickly spread to his wrist and forearm, so he saw his doctor who referred him to hospital where he was put on intravenous antibiotics.

Despite this it quickly got worse, and tests revealed antibiotic resistant bacteria in the wound. In the end the hospital was able to change to an effective antibiotic which made a big difference. However, due to complications and delayed treatment he required surgery and was off work for weeks

Antibiotic resistance is a significant global health threat. In 2019, it was directly responsible for approximately 1.3 million deaths worldwide and contributed to nearly five million deaths.  Projections indicate the number will continue to increase.

Antibiotic resistance occurs in animals too, and the impact of antibiotics from animals entering the environment also impact on humans. A concerted effort is being made by vets to reduce the use of critically important or “red light” antibiotics that are the last line of defence for some human infections.

We also aim to use antibiotics to only treat infections as antibiotics are not indicated for preventing infections.

This is particularly important when using dry cow therapy.  Most cows in a herd will have a cell count below 150,000 which indicates they are not infected and don’t need antibiotics.

Teat sealants like TeatSeal don’t contain antibiotic and stay in the cow for the long run to prevent mastitis through the longest dry period and that high-risk period at calving.

Talk to your vet at your annual dairy review about how they can work with you to reduce antibiotic use on your farm.

In the midst of a particularly hot Summer you may have noticed that your working day has gotten particularly sweaty over the past few months. Now if you add a black leather jacket and pants to your attire as well as a many-fold increase in water requirement you may have some idea of how a dairy cow in a Waikato Summer feels.

Heat stress occurs when a cow’s body is unable to regulate its temperature effectively due to hot weather and/or high humidity, leading to discomfort and physiological strain. Heat stress is generally due to high air temperatures, especially those above 25°C though other factors like humidity, direct exposure to sunlight and lack of ventilation can amplify the effects. Below is the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) which you can use to assess your herd’s risk of heat stress on a given day.

Heat stress may manifest in your herd as shade seeking, gathering at water sources, panting and drop in milk yield through to collapse and death in extreme cases. It is also a common cause of early abortion which explains some of the empty cows that never cycled again after mating that we find during summer scans.

So what can you do?

• Providing Shade: Shade from trees, shelters, or shade cloths helps cows avoid direct sunlight and stay cooler.
• Cooling Systems: Fans, sprinklers, and misters in barns or feed areas can help cool cows by increasing air circulation and moisture evaporation.
• Water Availability: Access to clean, cool water is critical in hot weather. Cows will drink more to stay hydrated, and farmers should ensure that water troughs are plentiful and easily accessible.
• Deferring Milking: Move milking times so that the hottest part of the day is avoided.

In this particularly hot Summer you will never fully combat the effects of heat stress but there is plenty you can do to help. Remember that if it’s hot for you, it’s hot for them!

Does your cat or dog get very anxious when visiting the vets? Here are a few pointers that may help reduce the stress for both you and your pet.

Dogs:

Call in to the clinic when not having a checkup to have staff give a treat to increase the times your dog comes without anything negative happening to them. Some dogs may be able to be examined in the car or car park – check with your clinic if this is possible on arrival.

DAP – dog appeasing pheromone can be purchased in the clinic to spray in the car on the way to the clinic.

Calmex tablets can be bought without a prescription to help mild cases of anxiety, just ask the reception staff as it is kept in our drug dispensary.

Anxiety medications – we can script out medications to give your dog an hour or two prior to their appointment to help take the edge off their anxiety. Examples include Gabapentin, Trazadone and Lorazepam at varying doses. Ask your vet about what “Chill protocol” is best for your dog.

Cats:

Feliway spray – this can be purchased in the clinic to spray into the car and cage on route to the clinic, or it can be used in a diffuser in a room the day before a visit.

Anxiety medication. Gabapentin capsules can be prescribed by a vet to be given the night before and the morning of an appointment to reduce anxiety.

If all else fails, we can sedate your pet on arrival to examine them for any painful procedure (nails, sore ears etc) or blood taking. If you think they may need to be sedated, do not feed them that morning as they will be required to have been fasted to safely sedate them.

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Exciting Changes at Our Cambridge Clinic: A New Lunchroom and Revamped Cattery Suites!

February has arrived, and we couldn’t be more excited to share some great news – we’re in the process of creating a dedicated lunchroom for our team! This new addition has been long-awaited and will make a positive impact on our daily operations. To make room for the lunchroom, 10 of our single cattery suites have been removed, and this change will greatly improve both the work environment for our staff and the experience for our feline boarders.

With the new lunchroom, our hardworking team members will be able to enjoy uninterrupted breaks in a peaceful space. This will help them recharge during their busy shifts, without being disturbed by the usual hustle and bustle. We know how important it is for our staff to have that moment of quiet, and this change will allow us to create a more balanced environment. Plus, our lunching staff members won’t interrupt the veterinary team while they’re hard at work – it’s a win-win all around!

But that’s not all! We’re also thrilled to announce that we’ll be putting the remaining cattery suites through a transformation of their own. With a bit less floor space, we’re dedicated to ensuring that our boarding cats have an even better experience while staying with us. Our goal is to create an enriched environment that mimics the natural behaviors of cats, so they can feel at home and more engaged during their stay.

Some of the exciting upgrades to the cattery suites include:

Wall Scratching Plates: Cats love to scratch, and we want to provide them with plenty of options to express this natural behavior.

Additional Shelving: Cats are natural climbers, and by adding more shelves, we’ll give them even more places to perch, observe, and relax in comfort.

Connecting Cat Doors: For multi-cat bookings, we hope to have the ability to connect two single suites with a cat door, giving them a larger space to enjoy together.

We understand that every cat is unique, and we’re passionate about making sure they have the best possible experience with us. By creating a stimulating environment where they can engage in natural behaviors, our goal is for every feline guest to feel relaxed, happy, and entertained.

At our clinic, it’s always our priority to not only provide excellent care for our boarders but to also create a space where they can thrive. These changes reflect our ongoing commitment to ensuring your cats are as comfortable and content as possible.

We can’t wait to share the finished results with you, and as always, we look forward to welcoming your furry friends for their next stay with us!

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A 12 year old greyhound recently presented to the Cambridge clinic in distress, after falling at home & crying in pain. The dog was incredibly agitated & panting. It was noticed that the patella (knee cap) had an unusual amount of movement & there was crepitus (crunching) when the stifle and hock were flexed. The thigh was swollen, so x-rays were taken and diagnosed a pathological fracture of the femur due to weakening of the bone from an osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcomas are an aggressive form of bone cancer that primarily affect large or giant breed dogs, such as greyhounds, rottweilers, and Saint Bernards. Osteosarcomas may be found in any bones, but typically develop in the long bones, such as the limbs (usually “away from the elbow and towards the knee”). Signs of osteosarcoma include pain, swelling, or limping in the affected limb. The condition is most common in middle-aged to older dogs, though it can occur in younger dogs as well.

The exact cause of osteosarcomas in dogs remains unclear, but genetic predisposition, rapid bone growth, and trauma are considered potential contributing factors. The cancer typically spreads (metastasises) to other parts of the body, particularly the lungs, making early detection crucial for improving prognosis.

Diagnosis can involve a combination of physical examination, x-ray, and biopsy to confirm the presence of cancerous cells.

On x-ray, a bone with an osteosarcoma will appear “moth-eaten”. This is due to a process called osteolysis, which is resorption of bone matrix, and is essentially the reverse process of bone growth and development.

This leaves the affected area of the bone weakened and therefore vulnerable to a “pathological fracture”. Treatment of osteosarcomas is usually limited to amputation of the affected limb, however development of new tumors in other areas of the skeletal system is unfortunately very common.

Cows:

• Facial eczema should be at the forefront of your mind now with current counts up to 55,000 around Te Awamutu and Hamilton. Keep an eye on the regional trends from our monitor farms, but better still, weekly spore-counting of grass samples from your own farm will give you a much more accurate picture of what’s going on. Remember that giving cows zinc through the water is an unreliable method to prevent facial eczema.
• Our Vetora App gives you instant access to spore counts, newsletters and other useful resources. Contact Denise denise.adamson@vetora.nz to sign up.
• Plan for maize harvesting & storage – remember there are losses in feed value that occur before the stack is fully sealed, so communication with everyone to lock it in is important.
• Autumn calving is just around the corner: remember Rotavec/Scourguard boosters, draft up your springers, start the magnesium supplementation, get your calving gear ready…
• Think about body condition at calving now –  With the prolonged dry we have been experiencing; you need to plan your once-a-day milking vs dry-off timing strategy to make sure all cows are at 5 (or 5.5 for the 2- & 3-year-olds) at calving. Remember that Vetora have DairyNZ- accredited body condition scorers who can give you a hand with this important information.
• Take some milk samples from RMT positive, high SCC cows – this helps us to advise on the appropriate treatments for next season & allows us to prescribe your dry cow appropriately.
• Animal health plans will soon be up for their annual review, so it’s worth tallying up the mastitis, mortality and lameness numbers so this information is available.
• Pregnancy testing is well underway. If you have any questions or concerns about your results, it is worthwhile sitting down with your vet to start planning for next season.
• ‍Monitor trough levelsTwo troughs per paddock is ideal   This may involve giving cows access to two paddocks
• If you are planning an earlier than usual dry off please book in your Milk Quality Consult and RVM Meeting with your vet.

Heifers:  

• Pregnancy testing is now underway. Scanning close to five weeks after the bull is removed gives us more information on conception patterns to help with planning for calving - and also helps if we need to drill down on a problem.
• Zinc, usually in the form of a Faceguard bolus, should be underway for them now.  
• Keep weighing the heifers particularly during periods of lean pasture growth, so that you know they are on track to meet growth targets.

Calves/R1s:

• Zinc, usually in the form of a Faceguard bolus, should be underway for them now.  
• Keep the feed up so you’re achieving top growth rates. Even a couple of weeks short can make a difference to their first year’s milk production & ability to get back in calf, so keep in good communication with your grazier.

Youngstock are an investment in your future herd. It is likely that your well-grown heifer calves have now left the home farm for grazing. Whether this is with a grazier, or on your property, you need to ensure they are set up for reaching their goal of joining the herd at the required mature liveweight.

The first challenge after leaving the home farm is continuing to grow well through summer. Calves need a consistent supply of energy, protein and fibre in the right balance to grow optimally.

There are two main reasons that calves don’t grow adequately on pasture in summer. Either they are not receiving enough pasture, or the pasture available is not suitable quality for growth.

Offering quality pasture is particularly challenging over summer when both the protein and energy content of pasture declines. To receive enough protein and energy to grow, calves grazing dry stalky summer pasture would need to eat more than is physically possible. Protein is particularly important for youngstock to develop their skeletal frame size. Failure to provide enough protein to growing calves pre-puberty can stunt growth, and this is something that cannot be corrected by improved feeding post-puberty.

Why does this matter? To achieve good reproduction in heifers, the target is to reach 60 percent of mature liveweight by mating time. A 500kg cow would need to average 700 grams per day from birth to achieve her mature weight.

Knowing the likely challenges heading into summer, declining growth rates and pasture low in energy and protein, what can we do to minimise the impacts?

As pasture quality decreases during the summer, closely monitor the pasture available. Consider other options like grass silage and well-balanced calf meals as supplements. High temperatures can reduce feed intake, so ensure calves have access to shade and cool clean water to help them cope with the heat. Weighing calves every 4 to 6 weeks to ensure they are meeting their target liveweights and identify drops in weight gains allows for early intervention. Prevent health challenges with strategies against parasites, facial eczema and trace element deficiencies.

Don’t get burnt this summer!

With spore counts rising and the risk of facial eczema growing it’s important to consider purchasing your Faceguard now!

Faceguard is an elemental zinc bolus that provides up to 6 weeks protection from facial eczema in a single treatment. A further half dose delivered after 6 weeks will give you an additional 4-week cover. 10 weeks total coverage!!

There is a complete range that includes flexible treatment options for cattle ranging from 90-250kg and 251-660kg. This means the range allows treatment of calves of 90kg right up to adult cattle and bulls of 660kg.

Flexibility- Individual animal dosing is much more reliable than any trough/pasture treatment. Easy convenient dosing for all Cattle sizes from 90 – 660kgs

Longevity – A single application lasts up to 6 weeks with the option of topping up to give additional cover in a longer season.

Durability – Try as you must, but the boluses will not break when dropped!

REMEMBER - If you are bolusing on a hot sunny day leave the boluses in their polystyrene packaging with lids on as direct sunlight can soften them.

Please be careful whenever bolusing animals, whether it is zinc, trace mins, magnesium or Rumensin – we see throat injuries every year which could be avoided. Remember, don’t force it! Take your time and take breaks, it is not a fun job we know.

If you would like a hand treating your animals consider booking one of our technicians, we are more than happy to help!

Sometimes you have to leave to realise that there is no place like home!

Having just returned from a two year working holiday in England, I don’t have many NZ relevant case studies for this time of year. I do have a plethora of photos of the variety of animals I saw while working in North Yorkshire. I apologise if you were hoping for an in-depth article on cancer eyes.

Sheep were a major portion of my work, the variety of breeds within the small area where I worked was impressive. From the dale-bred Mules, local Teeswaters, and rare breed Ryedales; it seemed like every second farmer had a unique breed of sheep!

Dairy practice is quite different as most of the dairy herds are housed and on a total mixed ration. Many of the farms had milking robots to reduce staff requirements. Some farms even had robots for pushing up feed and cleaning yards. Year-round calving meant you could calve a cow and then turn around and be presented with a late lactation sick cow at the same visit. Vaccination recommendations and animal health protocols made up a large portion of the vets work, especially for the high input/high output herds.

A large proportion of beef herds (suckler cows in English lingo) meant lots of caesarians in spring! There were some calls I turned up to where the cow was clipped and prepped for surgery before I even got there. The largest was a 74kg calf that had to be delivered with the help of 2-3 other people to lift the calf out of the side of the heifer.

While in the UK, I trained and was certified to TB test cattle and buffalo. Buffalo are very similar to cattle in terms of husbandry and disease, they are just more stubborn and tend to sit down when they don’t want to move. You can imagine how annoying that is when trying to move them through a crush.

Living overseas and working with a new system of farming was an excellent learning experience. UK farmers and vets are very good at monitoring disease status and using vaccination to reduce the number of cases and severity of disease. Some of this is not directly applicable to NZ, but it has helped me to think more critically about how and why we do what we do.

As well as deepening and widening my understanding, it has also increased my appreciation for NZ! There are many benefits to being an island, biosecurity being one of the biggest. Diseases like Louping ill, Anthrax, Bluetongue and Brucella are rare or exotic and mostly we don’t have to worry about them.

COWS

Plan for pregnancy testing – Six weeks after the last mating is the earliest that empties can be called. Please book your scan in early so we can give you the date and time of your choice. Most farms will need 2 scans for accurate ageing of all cows (the window is 40 to 90 days pregnant). After 100 days pregnant the accuracy of aging decreases. Make sure ear tags are clear & readable, replace any missing tags, and sort out any MINDA queries, double-up cow numbers, etc, to make the scanning day smoother and to make sure the information flows correctly when synchronising into Infovet.

The facial eczema season is coming – the best way to know if you need to start zinc is to bring in some grass so we can perform a spore count for your own farm. A week after you start providing the cows with the full recommended dose of zinc, you should check to see if the cows are actually getting this zinc at a therapeutic level, by either blood testing 10-15 cows, or doing a bulk milk zinc test. The cows must get zinc at the correct level, or they will not be protected against facial eczema (and you are wasting your money).

BMSCC is starting to increase for some – we have several trained mastitis assessors within the clinics to help keep a lid on it. Some milk cultures are a good place to start, along with a Mastitis Warrant of Fitness.

Plan your autumn-calving drying off – work out timings to allow for any dry cow withholdings and remember to order product early.

HEIFERS

Pregnancy testing heifers is important. Heifers, too, can be pregnancy tested from as early as six weeks after removing the bull. Keep a watch for any early abortions – diagnosis of a cause usually requires both blood from the heifer and fresh aborted material.

Have a summer feed plan with your grazier in case feed gets short – everyone likes to know so they can help early on rather than seeing under-sized animals returning home.

CALVES

Get them ready for grazing, and let the grazier know their status: lepto / 5 in 1 / BVD vax / last drench / last mineral treatments (copper capsule, B12/Selenium injection) so they can carry on after your hard work rearing them through spring. We have Animal Health Arrival/Departure cards which can capture this information for the grazier.

Weight gain and growth is key. Regular weighing will help identify those that are struggling and will allow targeted feeding or other interventions to make sure none are falling behind.

Lepto vaccinations are continuing: 4 – 6 weeks in between first and second ( + BVD + Salmonella…).

There's been a couple of pink eye cases in calves, outbreaks can occur if it's not dealt with promptly. The pinkeye vaccine is not available at the moment, so early detection and treatment is key.

Look after yourselves in the sun (when it’s out!), and hopefully you each enjoy a break off farm at some point.

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Lameness in our dairy herds is a persistent and consistent problem for most. Lameness can be reduced with excellent stockmanship, but is it fair enough to say we will never be without lame cows?? I think so.

So, if lameness is going to be a persistent problem, then the way we treat lame cows is very important. It’s imperative to identify lame cows early, effectively treat them, and minimise their time out of the main milking herd.

Also, is it safe to say that no one “loves” doing lame cows?? I don’t mind it, I find it satisfying to relieve the pain from the cow, but I’m not going to say that I love it. This emphasises the importance of having a simple and efficient process for treating lame cows. This is my process:

1. Lift the foot up.
2. Check between the claws for a stone or lesions such as foot-rot.
3. Use your hoof testers to localise pain– (look at the muscles higher up the legs for twitching).
4. Trim the good claw – shape out the inside of the claw, trim the toe and make the surface flat for a block.
5. Place your block on the good non-painful claw.
6. Trim the painful claw – shape out the inside of the painful claw. Trim the toe if needed and trim off any underrun sole.
7. Spray any foot-rot, or bleeding areas with magic purple or blue spray.
8. ‍Give pain relief (could also do this at the start)

And…. That’s about it for most cases.

Some helpful tips:

• As soon as you have identified the painful claw put a block on the non-painful one – then trim the affected hoof, this allows more time for the glue to cure. My view on using blocks is – there must be a good reason for me not to use a block. Sometimes both claws are painful – either put the block on the less painful claw or shape the block so it isn’t contacting the painful site on the claw.
• ‍Have a good reason to not give pain relief. Pain relief will help the cow feel better faster and return faster to the milking herd.
• Do not stress if you do not find a specific lesion or problem – from trials currently in progress, we have seen dramatic improvements from applying a block (lifting the painful claw off the ground) and giving pain relief.
• A grinder is very useful to prepare the foot for a block by making the contact surface as flat as possible. A grinder can help us lift the painful claw off the ground by reducing the thickness of the painful claw’s sole.  Please wear safety equipment and ask us for a demonstration of grinder use.

Please give us a call at the clinic if you want us to give a demonstration to your staff on some of your lame cows.

‘A cow with long hooves or lameness drains every farmer’s finances. I frequently share this advice with my clients: neglecting hoof care leads to adverse financial results. No calculator can show positive numbers when it comes to lame cows.’ (Koos Vis, Diamond Hoof Care)

As an industry, our ultimate responsibility to dairy animals is their welfare, and this is non-negotiable. It is a bonus that we also make better profits.

Our challenge is to resist willful blindness – if you cannot decide if a cow is lame or not, then she is lame. When it is obvious and she is limping, we are days late in detection.  

The hoof wall grows about 5cm per year. The inner and outer claws generally wear away at a different rate which leads to some areas being higher as the hoof changes shape. This changes hoof angle and weightbearing, leading to strain and damage to both hoof and limb. Comparable to us wearing odd shoes and walking on our heels.

There are three bones in each claw in the hoof, equivalent to our toe.

‘Teetering on their tiptoes like a 600kg ballerina is no mean feat for our wonderful cows.’ Tomas James, LLM UK

The discomfort of long claws reduces feed intake even in the face of adequate rations. When feed is tight, she cannot harvest sufficient nutrients to maintain either milk production or body condition. Down goes your profit, up goes your workload, down goes your morale, up goes your costs.

If we continue to turn a blind eye, the compromised hoof is likely to break apart with white line disease and sole ulcers. More misery for cow and staff, more work and cost for less return; dramatic plunge in profit.

I recently visited a mixed age cow whose gait was getting so slow she could barely get to the shed before milking was over.  The photos below demonstrate just how overgrown her toe had become.

Because we didn’t have access to a handling crush with supportive limb and belly belts, the first trimming aimed to debulk the claws. This kept the time on three legs to a minimum so that she could cope with the discomfort to her hoof, hock, stifle and hip joints. Furthermore, tying the leg to rails invariably impedes access with both knife and grinder, making the work slow and laborious. Hoof trimming is an art best done with good light and 100% access to all parts of the claw, for both trimming decisions and assessment.

Once she settles into her ‘temporary feet’ we will return to further shape and optimise weightbearing of the wall, until she can grow out new hooves and restore limb posture.

COWS:

• The BLOAT risk period continues, especially silage aftermath with clover present.
• HEAT DETECTION – keep it up for a few more weeks and make the last ones count. Using some short gestation semen can help compact your calving spread at the end.
• LAME cows – Lift the foot of EVERY lame cow and treat them early with pain relief and blocks. Talk to your vet if you or your staff would like some lameness training.
• MASTITIS – Bring in milk samples to check the cause and select the best treatments. Also consider samples for culture for those cows over 500,000 on herd test. Perform liner changes when they are due and arrange a milking management visit if you are getting unexplained spikes in BMSCC.
• PROVIDE SHADE/COOLING – On hot days, the heat will impact cow performance – both production and conception rate. Heat mitigation is also an integral part of Animal Wellbeing Plan for the Fonterra Cooperative Difference.
• BOOK A HOLIDAY – Taking time away from the farm after a busy calving and mating period is very important for mental health and wellbeing.

YEARLINGS:

• CHECK BULLS are all working and healthy still, to catch any returns/stragglers. Retire and replace any that are injured or lame.
• FEED THEM WELL - so they grow AND stay pregnant. Make a plan now with your grazier in case feed is tight over the summer and autumn, so you don’t get caught out.

CALVES:

• VACCINATIONS…Lepto, 5 in 1 / 10 in 1 boosters, and BVD for those going away grazing (let’s not forget their Salmonella vaccinations too!)
• GRAZING FORMS – Great resource on our website for Arrival and Departure forms.

https://www.vetora.co.nz/news-and-resources/grazing-departure-form

https://www.vetora.co.nz/news-and-resources/grazing-arrival-form

• DRENCH(+/- anti-coccidia for those that are weaned – Turbo Initial is an economical approach for this).
• TRACE MINERALS for those that are weaned.
• WEIGH THEM – Where are they at? Do any need to catch up? – a small difference now can be big gap later on…

All the best for the rest of mating.

In late November last year, on an otherwise quiet weekend on duty I received a rather alarming call out during the middle of afternoon milking for multiple cows down on the yard and race. Any herd level event with collapsed cows is considered a high priority emergency, and is often associated with feed or toxicity.

Upon arrival I found the shed was going, and cows were walking out the exit race without much fuss, but they appeared twitchy and stiff legged. Cows rowed up for milking appeared fine from a distance, but on closer inspection had a subtle head bob that worsened when they turned their heads towatch me. The herd had been absolutely fine in the morning, but in trying to get them to the shed this afternoon some would intermittently fall over on the race and be unable to rise. The same happened on the yard when the backing gate was put on, or when cows pushed to exit the shed. If left alone for long enough the down cows would eventually rise under their own steam and carry on like nothing had happened.

All of this together indicates a simple, but frustrating disease we more commonly see in calves – Ryegrass staggers. Not to be confused with grass staggers (which is caused by low magnesium) ryegrass staggers is caused by a toxin called Lolitrem B, and is characterised by an intention induced tremor. This means that the faster an animal tries to move, the worse the tremors become, but an animal standing still in a paddock will have next to no clinical signs of the disease.

Lolitrem B is produced by a fungal endophyte in many ryegrass pastures. The endophyte is included to reduce insect damage to growing pasture, and the toxin it produces is most highly concentrated in the base of the leaf sheath and in the flower heads. The toxin has no long lasting effecton the nervous system, and once removed from the unsafe pasture cows will return to normal fairly quickly. Most of the damage to stock with this disease process comes from misadventure – animals fall into drains or fences and are unable to get out.

Unfortunately, there is also no easy fix for ryegrass staggers except for removing the source of exposure, which is difficult in a pasture-based system! Affected animals should be moved to new pasture and should not be allowed to graze close to the base of the sward. Increasing the supplement on offer will reduce the amount of pasture eaten.

In any affected mob, move animals slowly and gently, and plan for longer milking and walking times. Frustration is never a good mix with moving stock, but with ryegrass staggers in particular it will only make the ob harder. If cows go down, especially on concrete, the best option is to move away, leave them undisturbed, and allow them to rise in their own time.

Broadly speaking, mastitis in New Zealand is separated into two groups: environmental and contagious. While the majority of cases throughout the season are from environmental sources, contagious mastitis bugs are also present and can become a major issue if not identified early on. Contagious mastitis is spread from cow to cow, often during the milking process where bacteria can sit on milker’s hands or inside the liners. The major contagious pathogen in New Zealand dairy herds is Staphylococcus aureus.

Clinical signs and disease process:

Clinically, Staph aureus mastitis occurs in many forms, ranging from the suddenly collapsed cow with black mastitis, to a chronic, low grade subclinical infection. Chronic infections are the most important cause for financial losses via reduced milk production, high somatic cell count (SCC), treatment costs, and/or culling. Chronically infected cows also pose a major risk to other cows in the herd.

New infections with Staph aureus occur when uninfected quarters are exposed to infected milk. The bacteria multiply in milk ducts, leading to inflammation, blockage, and atrophy of the milk producing tissue. They can form fibrotic tissue and tiny abscesses, which are difficult to penetrate with antibiotic treatment. For this reason, Staph aureus infections tend to have a poor cure rate, and early identification and treatment is important.

Detection:

Culture has been the standard way to diagnose Staph aureus infection, however, an infected cow will only shed Staph aureus intermittently, with a peak in shedding pattern every 6.5 days. Because of this, a single culture has only a 74.5% probability of detecting Staph. This number will jump to 94 and 98% when culturing 2 and 3 samples, respectively.

Staph aureus screening can also be done during your herd test, using a test called PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Basically, the test is looking for the genetic material of the pathogen but has similar limitations as milk culture due to the intermittent shedding from an infected gland. When positive, there will be no doubt about the presence of infection. However, a single negative PCR result does not rule-out presence of “non-shedding” Staph. Approximately 70% of Staph positive cows will be identified by a single herd test.

StaphGold™ is an antibody test detecting the immune response to the Staph infection. The test has a sensitivity (true positive cows) of over 90% and the specificity (true negative cows) is very high (95%). Because this test looks for antibodies to Staph, rather than the bug itself, it is not affected by intermittent shedding.

Control and prevention:

Once a cow is identified positive, it is important that she is separated and milked last to avoid transmission to her herd mates. It is also important that all operators in the shed wear gloves. If treating, the cow should not be returned to the main milking mob until it is certain she has cleared the infection. Due to its poor cure rate and the risk to other cows in the herd, culling is often the best option for chronically infected cows.

Events that involve fireworks are a spectacular sight which most of us enjoy, unfortunately for many animals it can be a very distressing and stressful time.  For our companion pets, livestock, zoo animals and wildlife fireworks can be unexpected and unpredictable.  The loud bangs and bright flashes of light can be very scary and frightening.

Animals may be injured if they get too close to a lit firework or if the noise spooks them, they can run away, become disoriented and are then unable to find their way home, injuring themselves or even being involved in a traffic accident.

Here are a few ways to keep your animal safe and calm during firework celebrations

• Keep your pets indoors. Ensure you have walked your dog earlier to avoid getting caught out when it is dark. -  5th of November is Guy Fawkes night but be aware that there is no set date when people will use them, so it pays to always be vigilant.
• Plan ahead. Create a plan for your pets to keep them calm and safe
• Make your home extra comfortable by creating a quiet calming space.  Provide places that your pet can hide. Close the curtains so they can’t see the flashes. Turn on the TV so the sound can muffle the loud bangs.
• Keep farm animals and horses in their familiar paddocks with their usual companions unless fireworks are going to be set off close by - then it would be advisable to move them in advance. Check that fences are secure and that there is nothing around protruding or anything else that may cause injury.
• Enrichment – Keep your pets busy while fireworks are happening by giving them something to do – either a tasty treat that will take some time to devour, a box or toy they can play with or play fetch with your dog or a ball of string to amuse your cat.
• Support and comfort your pet – stay home with your pet if possible.
• Check on your animals – regular checks mean you can prevent an issue escalating and help your animal in time.
• Never let fireworks off near animals.
• Don’t forget about smaller animals such as chickens, aviary birds, rabbits and guinea pigs. Bring them inside if possible.
• Microchipping your pet can be vital in identifying your pet and reuniting them with you if your pet has run away due to fireworks.
• Have emergency contact numbers available on hand – Vet/SPCA etc
• If you plan to let fireworks off on your property, consider letting your neighbours know so they can prepare.
• Seek veterinary advice – if you plan in advance our staff can help you with any concerns you may have. There are medications that our vets can prescribe and offer advice on products that can provide a calming, reassuring environment by releasing pheromones via diffusers, sprays or collars for dogs, we even supply a vest that your pet can wear. The gentle constant pressure of the vest provides a calming effect on most dogs and is like the concept of swaddling an infant.

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Waka – A two year old Huntaway working dog presented to our Otorohanga clinic with a harsh hacking cough and was finding it hard to bark and run without getting out of breath quickly. Waka normally loves herding the sheep and zooming around the farm, as a young dog he has lots of energy so naturally his owner was concerned about him.

When listening to Waka’s breathing with a stethoscope, the lungs sounded clear, but the trachea (windpipe) sounded harsh.

We sedated Waka so we could have a good look in his mouth/throat. Straight away we could see his epiglottis (this is the part that covers the trachea when the animal swallows and when it is open this allows air to pass from the mouth into the trachea) was swollen on the left side and covering over 60 percent of his airway. The left tonsil was also inflamed. No wonder poor Waka was so out of breath!

A needle was placed into the area where a fine needle aspirate was taken.  This sample was examined under the microscope, where a lot of inflammatory cells and bacteria were seen.

This gave us a likely diagnosis of an abscess, possibly caused by eating bones that injured the throat on the way down.

Waka was prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatories and made a full recovery. He is back out on the farm chasing sheep and cattle, barking freely!

Catch up on the latest cases and information from our Small Animal team!

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As veterinary surgeons we see cats for a variety of problems. A lot of these can be related to stress. Yes, our feline friends are very complex. Some of the well-known diseases that are stress-related are: blood in the urine, spraying, excessive grooming leading to furballs, bald patches and significant skin lesions; to name a few.

The good news is that for some cats all you have to do is improve your cat’s environment to make them happy. No medication, no diet changes.

To help you improve your cat’s environment there is a journal article, authored by feline behavioural specialists, on improving your cat’s home environment to make them happy.

PDF of guidelines here.

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Mating is upon us! Overall, most people’s cows were in good condition at calving and are milking well. Which is wonderful – but the downside is that the combination of rapid weight loss and high levels of milk production means that most people will have more non-cycling cows this season than they did last year.

Treat them early!

Things to put on the calendar for October:

COWS:

• BLOAT – this is usually the worst month, so prevention is key – Rumenox/Rumensin +/-Bloat Oil. Having some spare silage to feed out (long fibre) is important if it’s going to be a bad year too.
• NON-CYCLERS– Take action early. Whichever intervention you choose, the earlier you do it, the more chance it has to be effective, and the greater the return on your investment.
• MINERALS – Get them checked, and boost if needed. Remember peak milk = peak calcium and magnesium requirements too, so don’t stop these either!
• LAME / HIP INJURIES – treat them early. Hips need to be put back in as soon as possible after dislocation for the cow to stand a chance. Cows that are still using the dislocated leg a bit to walk have the best prognosis.
• HEAT DETECTION – vital for everyone. The more aids and eyes, the better. Time spent watching them in the paddock to see the extra cow each day pays for itself.

Share the link below with farm staff for a refresher: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/reproduction-and-mating/heat-detection/observing-cows-to-detect-heats/

• BODY CONDITION SCORING – Body condition scoring gives a visual estimate of a cow’s fat reserves. This in turn provides information on feed requirements and health status. Managing body condition is critical to help your cows perform their best for lactation and mating. Vetora’s DairyNZ accredited body condition scorers are available to assist you with your condition scoring requirements.

HEIFERS:

• BULLS– Check that they’re all working and not fighting, and that they’re physicallyable. If one goes sick/lame then replace him ASAP.
• Make sure bulls arriving are BVD test negative AND vaccinated.

CALVES:

• VACCINATIONS – 5 in1 / 10 in 1 boosters + 1^st Lepto due, as well as BVD if they’re off grazing, and Salmonella to line up with your herd.
• DRENCHING – most will start this month if it’s more than 3 weeks since they’ve been out on grass. If using an oral, this should be a separate time from their milk feeding.
• COCCIDIA – if still on calf meal, most contain a coccidiostat to help. If weaning some early together with reducing meal, calves may need a drench with Baycox C, or Turbo Initial.

Hope the start of mating goes well for you all.

An oral combination drench of Eprinomectin, Oxfendazole and Levamisole with Selenium and Cobalt.

This 'new to the market' product is only available through veterinary practices and will lead the way in premium quality calf drenches.

This makes Turbo Triple Minidose the ideal treatment for routine worm control until calves reach a size that makes oral drenching difficult.

Turbo Triple Minidose offers key advantages of being a highly potent endectocide combination but with an improved safety profile when compared to an Abamectin based oral drench. It can be used in calves under 120kg body weight while also having an endectocide potency advantage over Ivermectin based oral combinations.

Eprinomectin is the most potent broad spectrum active – it can kill worms at lower concentrations of active in the animal. So, with the combination of Oxfendazole and Levamisole Turbo Triple Minidose is a major leap forward in triple active oral parasite control.

Key Benefits include:

- World first Eprinomectin, Levamisole and Oxfendazole oral calf drench

- More effective at delaying parasite resistance than single or double active products

- High Safety margin – can be used on calves under 120kg

- Developed for New Zealand conditions by a New Zealand owned company

- Includes the addition of Cobalt and Selenium

- Available in 1L, 5L and 20L packs

Turbo Triple Minidose is available at all Vetora clinics.

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We see intestinal disasters reasonably often – not one a week, but probably one a month. Twisted guts, displaced stomachs, intestine that telescopes in on itself like an inside-out sock… The most common presentation seen by the vet is a cow with her eyes sunken back in her head, low temperature, rapid heart rate and a big round stomach even though she hasn’t eaten anything for 24 hours. In those cases, the poor animal is dying of septic shock and the best and kindest thing to do is put her out of her misery.

But just occasionally, we see an abdominal disaster that we can fix.

Last week I was called to see a Jersey heifer who had come in for morning milking kicking at her stomach. She hadn’t been sick for long – her udder was full of milk and her colour was good. She had a rapid heart rate because she was in pain, and when I did a rectal exam I could feel loops of distended intestine. Diagnosis: either a very recent twisted intestine or a nasty painful gas bubble. I gave her a shot of Metacam and an injection to make the gut relax, and asked the farmer to ring me in an hour with a progress report.

The Allflex collar report for this heifer. The computer diagnosed her sudden drop in eating and rumination as a heat – actually, it was due to a knot in her intestines

One hour later, the report was that she looked more comfortable but not completely happy. We decided to give her another hour.

At the two hour mark, she was about the same. Not really any worse, but not great. I went back out to have another look.

Loops of intestine still palpable on rectal exam. Heart rate high – not as high as it was before she had metacam, but nowhere near normal. She wasn’t particularly bloated – just a little bit rounder in the stomach than you would expect for a cow who hasn’t been fed that morning.

The problem with gut surgery cases is that quite often, it’s not entirely clear that you need to open them up until it becomes clear that it’s too late. Early in the course of the disease, there’s always the risk that you’ll operate on a cow who just needs to fart.

Anyway, we decided that the risk of doing nothing and having her deteriorate was worse than the risk of opening the abdomen for no reason. And having opened the abdomen, we found a couple of metres of angry looking, swollen, purple intestine, the hallmark of an intestine that has got twisted around and had its blood supply cut off. We untwisted it, pushed it back in and stitched her up. She made a rapid recovery and is doing well. Hooray!

As we head into Spring and the grass starts growing rapidly again, it’s important to consider managing the risk of bloat.

Bloat occurs when gas in the rumen accumulates in a stable foam, expanding the rumen and compressing vital organs. It is mainly caused by dietary factors. Rapidly fermentable feeds such as lush, high-protein, low fibre pastures (or legumes like clover) increase gas production in the rumen. Sudden dietary changes or overfeeding can disrupt the rumen’s microbial balance, also leading to excessive gas production.

Early detection is crucial for effective treatment - bloat can be life threatening if not treated quickly. The most obvious symptom is distension of the abdomen, especially on the left side, but early warning signs can also include rapid or laboured breathing, restlessness, reduced appetite, or excessive salivation. Severe cases can lead to sudden death due to pressure on the diaphragm and heart. 

Prevention is key. Dietary/pasture management is an important tool to reduce risk – always ensure a balanced diet with adequate fibre, and gradually introduce cows to high-risk feeds to allow their digestive systems to adapt. Rotational grazing can be used effectively to limit cows’ intake of high-risk feeds. Avoid grazing on excessively lush or wet pastures if possible. 

Even with ideal pasture management, often extra preventative measures are needed over high-risk periods. There are many anti-bloat products available such as Rumenox or bloat oils, which can be added to a water supply. These contain anti-foaming agents to stop the gas in the rumen forming a stable foam and getting trapped.

If an animal does develop bloat, it’s crucial to intervene immediately. In mild/early cases, an oral dose of bloat oil maybe enough to resolve the issue. In more advanced cases where the cow is severely bloated and/or in extreme discomfort, more aggressive measures may be needed. An emergency rumenotomy (stab hole into the rumen) can be used to immediately release pressure. Ideally a vet should perform this using local anaesthetic and a device that keeps the rumen open and attached to the body wall (trocar). In emergency cases where this isn’t possible, a stab hole can be made with a knife directly through the side of the cow and into the rumen. Always contact your vet if this has been done, as the wound will require stitching. 

Understanding and managing bloat is essential for maintaining dairy cow health and farm productivity. By implementing effective dietary and pasture management strategies, monitoring for early signs, and having a clear treatment plan, farmers can significantly reduce the risk of bloat. Feel free to reach out to your local clinic if you would like to discuss bloat prevention or treatment options.

Watch this space!

Do you have a diabetic cat?

Are you managing them with insulin injections?

Well, in the near future, things may be changing. There is a new treatment, Senvelgo, that has been licensed overseas to treat diabetic cats. The big difference with the traditional treatment for diabetes in cats, is that you are giving the medication orally, once a day; either directly in the cat’s mouth or on their food. This will make managing these diabetic cats a lot easier for all concerned. A recent paper in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine compared Senvelgo to conventional insulin injections and it was found to be non-inferior.

Read more on the study here: Efficacy and safety of once daily oral administration of sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 inhibitor velagliflozin compared with twice daily insulin injection in diabetic cats - Niessen - 2024 - Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Wiley Online Library

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It’s a busy time of year and you might not have the band width to be reading vet newsletters – but this month’s one is probably the most important of the whole year, so grit your teeth and read on!

COWS

• ‍Tailpaint is the order of the day – pre-mating heats should be recorded from 35 days before planned start of mating, so most farms should be seriously thinking about this now, if it is not already underway. You may not be planning on treating non-cycling cows – but if things go wrong in the lead-up to mating and cows aren’t cycling well, you’ll be really pleased that you did it!
• Plan your mating – be it heat detection aids, CIDR timings, Why-wait programmes or phantom cow prevention. A repro-ready consult with your vet is a good place to start and these are free for members. Don’t forget to book in your AB techs, especially for CIDR AB days, and train your staff in heat detection.
• Plan your bulls and make sure they’re blood-test BVD free and BVD vaccinated.
• Sort mastitis issues early – milk cultures are the best way to know what you’re dealing with and how to best treat it. Keeping all the machine parts and rubberware up to scratch will reduce teat damage and help prevent infection.
• Check your bulk milk BVD – if your herd has become positive this year, it’s important to remove the infection before mating.
• Bloat treatment should be starting now. For those using Rumenox/Rumensin this will help, but you may still need bloat oil if it’s a bad year.
• Metricheck the late calvers – this is probably the best intervention to help catch them up.
• Scan your autumn-calving cows.
• Draft for preferential feeding. Whether it’s once a day or just a smaller mob with more feed offered, it pays to look after heifers and light cows early to give them the best chance of cycling at PSM.
• Mineral check/pre-mating bloods – Especially coming into the repro season, it pays to make sure your trace elements are on track.
• Lame cows –identify and treat these girls early and appropriately. Lift up every lamefoot before giving antibiotics. Our vets enjoy sharing their knowledge of lame cows, so if you or your staff would like more training in this area, please do get in touch.

CALVES

• Booster vax for 5 in 1 / 7 in 1 / 10 in 1 – four to six weeks after the first vax.
• Dehorn the remainder of the calves.
• Avoid grazing calves on effluent paddocks/sick-cow paddocks to decrease the spread of Johne’s disease.
• Drench calves after they have been on grass for three to four weeks.

YOUNGSTOCK

• BVD vax, BVD vax, BVD vax – For most farms, the biggest risk of contracting BVD is sending unvaccinated youngstock out grazing. Make sure calves are vaccinated before going out grazing, and heifers are boosted before mating.
• Plan your synchro programmes – remember they still need to be well grown and cycling for the best results.

Have a good run-up to mating!

Vetora Waikato in conjunction with Agvance have produced a range of Dairy Cow Trace Element Blends available in each clinic.

These minerals are totally soluble and can either be drenched or dosed through the water system or directly into cattle feed.

If this product is to be drenched with Magnesium Oxide it is advisable to let the Magnesium Oxide solution settle overnight before adding the Vetora mineral blend.

Magnesium Sulphate, Magnesium Chloride, salt, or Calcium Chloride can be mixed immediately.

We also have two Maize silage balancing blends available:

Maize Balancer

Containing Lime-Salt-Monocalcium, Phosphate-Magnesium Oxide

‍Maize Balancer DCM Plus Trace Minerals

Containing Lime-Salt-Monocalcium, Phosphate-Magnesium, Oxide, Copper, Zinc, Cobolt, Iodine, Selenium, Boron, Chromium

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The Mineral blends are:

Vetora Platinum Mineral blend                                                                          

Selenium, Copper (Glycinate), Iodine, Cobalt and Zinc (Glycinate)

‍Vetora Gold Mineral Blend

Selenium, Copper (Glycinate), Iodine and Cobalt

‍Vetora Gold - No Copper mineral blend

Magnesium, Zinc, Cobalt, Iodine, Selenium, Boron, Sulfur

‍Vetora Mineral Blend

Selenium, Copper Sulphate, Iodine and Cobalt

They all come in 25 kg bags and are administered at 5gms/cow/day. There is also a customiser service available through the clinic where mineral

levels can be custom blended to your individual herd requirements, please ask your vet about this option.

With most of your herd calved now and September arriving, your attention will be shifting to peak lactation and mating getting started. Planning is always one of the keys to success. There are a lot of ‘moving parts’ so reviewing your plan and coordinating that with your team will set your herd up for success. Complete the following animal health stock-take:

• Metrichecking for endometritis is well underway for herds doing this in batches, while other herds complete this in a single whole-herd check towards the end of calving. Cows with untreated endometritis are more likely to be empty. Cows with uterine infections have lower conception rates. Even cows with mild endometritis will be two weeks later getting in-calf on average than ‘clean’ cows.
• Tail-paint all milkers one of two colours, 5 weeks out from Planned Start of Mating (PSM). Cows calved prior 5 weeks from PSM should be one colour (e.g. Red); cows calving within 5 weeks of PSM should be a different colour (e.g Orange). ‘Red’ cows should have cycled at least once before mating starts. Those that haven’t should be examined the week before PSM. This will diagnose why cows have not cycled. It can also identify if feed and condition may be limiting fertility. ‘Orange’ cows that have not cycled within the first 3 weeks of mating should be examined with ‘Red’ cows that have failed to cycle in the first round.
• Blood sample cows for energy (BOH) and mineral status (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, copper, selenium, vitamin B12/cobalt). Correcting deficiency BEFORE mating starts is essential for achieving optimal fertility. A liver biopsy on 6 or 7 milkers is ideal for confirming copper status and fine-tuning copper supplementation. Liver copper reserves often reach their lowest in September/October right when they are needed most.
• September is the perfect month to review what milk tests need to be booked-in. Discuss these test options and their relevance for your herd with your vet. Here is a summary:

• Check yearling heifer weights and confirm they are up to date for drenching and trace mineral supplements. Are they on a rising plane of nutrition? Have synchrony programmes and bulls been booked and is there sufficient bull power for the heifers needing to be serviced?
• Review your dry mob. Are there cows that are getting too fat? These cows are higher risk for calving ketosis. Cows older than 8 years are more at risk of metabolic complications. Check the teeth on these cows. Give them a magnesium bolus as a precaution- it may save their life and enable you to milk them one more season.
• Have you had your Repro-Ready Review with your vet? This confirms what interventions need to happen on which dates and avoids oversights.

Recently, I saw a two-year-old autumn calver that had been lame for a while. The onset of lameness coincided with her spending more time on concrete. She had been transitioned onto a feed pad two weeks before calving. She gave birth to a dead calf. Due to her lameness, she was kept with a sickies mob and allowed ad lib maize. The lameness increased in severity, and laminitis was suspected. She had a corrective trim to remove overgrown horn and was turned out into a flat paddock to recover.

Despite this, the cow’s lameness worsened, especially after being walked around a concrete yard to assess her gait. She carried a lot of weight on her heels, causing the toes to be tilted upward, see Figure 1. She had an arched back when walking and was struggling to move. The prognosis was poor, and she was euthanised.

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A postmortem exam showed signs of chronic laminitis, see Figure 2 and 3.

All four feet had a pink discolouration around the white line, due to haemorrhage of the corium. The corium is like the quick in the human fingernail. It supports the claw bone, contains blood vessels and nerves and is responsible for producing new hoof. Growth rings were also seen. These are grooves which occur when horn growth is disrupted. Horn typically grows ~1cm per month. So, the main laminitic event here looks to have happened ~5 months ago. Multiple rings would indicate multiple bouts of laminitis.

Laminitis is a multifactorial disease involving inflammation of the corium. Damage to the corium impairs hoof development. Where all feet are affected, it’s likely the animal has been systemically unwell. There are several risk factors for laminitis including nutritional factors (e.g. excessive carbohydrate intake/low fibre diet), metabolic disease and infections (e.g. mastitis, metritis, liver abscesses). Heifers are more prone to laminitis during calving, likely due to the massive metabolic and nutrition changes occurring. Signs of laminitis range from nothing to an animal with a stiff gait, a reluctance to move and a posture where the limbs are placed further forward than normal. It can be a single event which carries a reasonable prognosis. Alternatively, it can be a chronic illness. Once the hooves start to become misshapen, regular corrective trimming is required and they are at risk of other types of lameness e.g. white line disease and sole ulcers.  This combined with the associated pain carries a poor prognosis.

We know that the calving pattern has a huge impact on herd production and sustainability.

Effective management of non-cycling cows is a key lever in maintaining (or improving) your calving pattern.  The goal is to unlock the greatest cost benefit from any intervention.

A non-cycling cow is a cow that has not had an observed heat and is more than 6 weeks post calving; some of these cows will be cycling with no visible heat and some will have ovaries that have not started cycling

Checking and marking your cows on heat at least 5 weeks prior to the planned start of mating (PSM) will give you information about how ready your herd is for mating. This can be done by tail painting or using wearables data. Even if you don’t plan on doing a non-cycler treatment programme, knowing which cows have heats will give you information on what to expect for mating.  

Ten days prior to mating you will have an idea about how many early calving cows are cycling. These are the most valuable cows in your herd.  Ensuring that they are mated early will provide you with the best return.

The industry target is to have 75% of cows cycling 10 days before PSM.  If you have less than 65% of the herd cycling 10 days prior to PSM you will struggle to get a good 3-week submission rate and have a poorer 6 week in-calf rate.  

Switching your non-cycling cows to once a day at this stage has not been shown to help in getting them cycling in time.  If the cows are moved to once a day, it is not recommended to move them back to twice a day for the rest of the season (I have seen disastrous results when this was done during mating).

There are a few different non-cycling cow treatment options which you can discuss with your vet.   Most non-cycler programmes will take 10 days. New trial work has shown an extra 5.6% improvement in conception rates from a 13-day programme with an extra prostaglandin shot given 3 days before the CIDR is inserted.  

After pregnancy testing this year, I collected the data from some of our farms which used CIDR programmes pre-mating and had an early/accurate aging pregnancy test.  From this data I had 769 cows that were treated prior to PSM, with a 10-day CIDR programme that included Novormon eCG with the prostaglandin injection at day 7.  

The average conception rate for these non-cycling cows was 51%.  The average conception rate for Vetora farms in the first 3 weeks was 58% last season.  This was a great result considering we expect non cycling cows to have lower conception rates than normal cycling cows.  

Contact your vet for a reproduction consult and get ready for mating this season!

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Spring always brings surprises! Early in calving I received a call out to an adult dairy cow with some unusual clinical signs. The day before her owners had noted a bit of a head tilt, and that she seemed to be consistently circling to the left, combined with her lack of appetite and the fact that she had recently calved, she had initially been treated as a metabolic cow. When this treatment did not resolve the circling, we were promptly called in for a look. In addition to the circling and head tilt, we also noted that she had mild facial paralysis on the left side, with a droopy eye and lip.

Neurological diseases are many and varied and can cause a wide range of clinical signs depending on the area of the brain which is affected, however the combination of circling, inappetence, and one sided facial paralysis is fairly characteristic for one disease in particular – Listeriosis.

Listeria monocytogenes is a hardy bacteria which is widespread in the environment, found in both soil and faeces. Soil contamination of feed is often the source of infection, cases are often associated with the feeding of poorly fermented grass silage. The low pH of well fermented grass silage inhibits the growth of Listeria, however even good silage can have areas of break down (often indicated by mouldy spots!) and Listeria can easily multiply in these patches.

Infection occurs via small wounds in the mucous membranes of the mouth or nose.  Once in the body, the bacteria invade the nerve roots of one of the major nerves originating from the brain, called the trigeminal nerve and uses it as a highway up to the brain itself. This causes a meningitis, and the associated clinical signs.

Classic signs of listeriosis include:

• Inappetence and depression
• Reduced milk yield
• Weight loss
• Head tilt
• Facial paralysis
• Circling towards the side with facial paralysis

The incubation period for infection is usually 2 weeks or longer before clinical signs start to show. Listeria infection can also cause abortions, and a condition known as “silage eye”.

Treatment involves good supportive care, anti-inflammatory pain relief, and a long course of high dose penicillin. Prognosis varies depending on how long the cow has shown clinical signs, and the areas of the brain which are affected.

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When we talk about pets having worms, we are talking about internal parasites that live, for at least part of their lives, inside our pets in intestines.

These parasites can cause illness commonly vomiting, diarrhea, dull coat, anemia, and weight loss. Puppies and kittens are more susceptible than adult cats and dogs and can actually be born with a worm infection.  

The most common types of worms in pets are roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and the tapeworm.  

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Round worm – can measure up to 18cm in length, which is often longer than the puppy or kitten it came from. These worms can infest a puppy/kitten while still in the mother’s uterus.

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Tapeworms – did you know that fleas help transmit tapeworms? Tapeworms cannot develop without an intermediate host. This makes control of fleas more important. Infection occurs when the animal grooms itself and swallows an infected flea. Tapeworms are recognized easily; the dog/cat may pass segments of the worm that look like rice grains. This is not the whole worm; the rest of the worm is still inside the dog/cats intestines. The worm is obviously more common when fleas are common- in the warm humid months.  

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Hookworm – small worms 10-20cm long attach themselves to the intestines and consume the dogs/cats blood. Heavily infested pups/kittens develop blood-stained diarrhea. Adult pets may also carry the worm. Check your pets droppings for signs of blood.  

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Whipworm – seen in pups and adult dogs. The worms themselves measure 4-7cm. They cause gastroenteritis and diarrhoea. The stools are usually dark and foul smelling. These are rare to be found in cats and kittens.  

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Has my Pet got worms?

It is not always obvious. With puppies and kittens they can develop a big pot belly, if they have a huge burden, they can sometimes throw them up. Sometimes you can see them in your pets faeces or around the outside of the anus, but remember there will be others you cannot see.  

Treatment  

For puppies and kittens it is recommend to treat at the ages of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age, then treat every 3 months. It is best to weigh your puppy or kitten each time before going to pick up a worm tablet, so the correct dose is given.

Treatment options are Milpro and Drontal tablets.

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You may not recognise the signs of early Degenerative Joint Disease or Osteoarthritis in your pet or you may accept changes because slowing down is just part of ageing. Whilst old age is not a disease – osteoarthritis is!

Signs of pain and discomfort may be any of the following:

• Less playful, lost enthusiasm for walks, lost energy
• Hesitant to jump for example into or out of the car/sofa
• Still when getting up, slower to rise
• Postural changes, sitting with a leg out to the side
• Limping – more in dogs
• Not grooming themselves well
• Inappropriate toileting
• Being grumpy! Growl or snap on handling

How can you help?

Have a discussion with your vet. One supplement option is BomaZeal™ Mobilize™ which is the only nutraceutical with an ACVM approved label claim to aid in the treatment of non-infectious inflammatory joint disease, arthritis and osteoarthritis (OA) in dogs. Proudly made in New Zealand.

Monty’s story is nothing short of remarkable. He was struck by a car and rushed to Waikato After Hours Vet Hospital.

Diagnosed with multiple fractures and severe chest and lung injuries, Monty needed immediate, intensive care. He was later transferred to our Vetora Hamilton clinic for continued management of his pain, where the goal was to stabilize him for eventual surgery.

Given the complexity of Monty’s injuries, specialists in Auckland were consulted. A CT scan revealed fractures in his humerus, scapula, and spinal vertebrae. Fortunately, his scapula and spine were stable, avoiding the need for surgery, but his humerus was severely damaged.

Two orthopaedic surgeons worked together to reconstruct his forelimb during a lengthy procedure. Post-surgery, Monty faced a strict six-week confinement period to allow his bones to heal properly. With this dedication from his owners, Monty underwent post-operative X-rays confirming successful bone union.

To aid his recovery, Monty and his owners enthusiastically embraced physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions. Months later, Monty has made a remarkable recovery, his playful spirit intact.

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None of this journey would have been possible without the foresight of Monty’s owners, who wisely invested in pet insurance. This coverage alleviated the financial burden, enabling Monty to receive the extensive and specialized care crucial for his survival and rehabilitation. Monty’s story exemplifies the importance of pet insurance in ensuring pets like him can access lifesaving treatments and thrive once more.

- Faith Stevenson| BVSc

Read the latest Small Animal News here

Pasture is a hunting ground for parasites, albeit on a microscopic level. Though many worms cannot be easily seen with the naked eye, their effects on stock can be, ranging from reduced growth rates to death.

Common signs of parasitism:

• Diarrhoea/dags
• Weight loss
• Potbellied appearance
• Lethargy
• Decreased appetite
• Bottle jaw

Internal parasites are shed in the faeces. Stock become infected when they graze the pasture.  Young and immunocompromised animals are the most severely affected and shed the most parasites. As sheep and cattle get older, their immune system matures, and they are less affected by worms. Alpacas and especially goats do not develop a robust immunity to worms with age.

Effectively managing worms requires a multipronged approach. Below are some handy tips:

• Cross graze with other stock e.g. sheep with cattle – worms are often species specific.
• Graze young stock ahead of old stock.
• Pasture management – the most effective way to prevent worms! Ensure grass is long. Most worms are found in the bottom 5cm of grass. Grazing pasture >5 cm means less exposure to worms. Feeding supplement can help take the pressure off the pasture.
• Regularly drench at risk stock e.g. young stock once they are out on pasture, until autumn. Note: there is some drench resistance developing, so it cannot be solely relied upon. If in doubt – bring in a faecal sample and we can check it to see if worms are present. Oral drenches are best. Any new stock coming in should have a quarantine drench.

If you have any questions or want a sounding board, just call the clinic – we are always happy to help!

One could argue lambing is the most beautiful time of the year but there is always a chance something could go wrong so it is important to make sure you have everything you need to intervene if necessary.

Having a lambing kit available is key. A few items to consider include:

• Headlamp
• Lube + long gloves
• Bottle + nipple
• Colostrum
• Thermal blanket + towels
• Iodine – to spray on lambs navel
• Paddock with plenty of grass + supplementation(hay/silage/grain) when required
• Speak to your vet about having ketol for energy+ calcium on hand

First few days of life

Colostrum is essential to provide lambs with an adequate immune system. If they have been orphaned, not suckling on mum or do not look like they are receiving adequate amounts the best thing you can do is provide colostrum for them. Ideally use frozen sheep colostrum (or powder) but you can also use cow colostrum if needed.

Day 1 – give 5 warmed feeds spaced out evenly throughout the day. Lambs need a total of 10-15% BW of milk daily = 4kg lamb needs ~125ml per feed.

Day 2-4 – colostrum should be continued for the first 4-5 days before transitioning onto milk replacer. Larger well doing lambs can reduce to 3-4 feeds a day otherwise keep it at 5

Day 5 onwards – transition lambs onto cold +/-yoghurtised milk

Don’t forget as the lambs grow they will need more milk/day.

If your lamb is weak or collapsed give your vet a ring as a simple dextrose solution into the abdomen may be the thing that can save its life.

Bloat:

Abomasal bloat kills up to 30% of bottle-fed lambs before weaning but there is a simple fix to avoid it – yoghurtise their milk and feed small amounts more frequently rather than large ones. Bloat occurs when there is a proliferation of gas producing bacteria which feed off the lactose in milk.

Rearing lambs on cold yoghurtised milk will significantly reduce the risk of getting bloat as the bacteria in the yoghurt eat the lactose and can help reduce scouring as well. Give us a call if you would like the recipe for this method – its quick and easy and could make all the difference!

Rumen Development:

Lambs should have access to hard feed such as meal, nuts, hay from the first week of life to help develop their rumens. Provide ad lib and initially they will not eat a lot but slowly over time they will increase their intake which is critical for adequate rumen papillae development.

Tips and Tricks:

• Spray every navel with iodine after birth to prevent infection.
• To prevent illness/infection lambs need to be kept in a warm dry environment with shelter and fresh water.
• Assume orphan lambs have no maternal protection against Clostridia – they should receive 3 doses of a clostridial vaccination.
• If lambs are scouring, try alternate milk feeds with electrolyte solutions.
• Estimated total feed per reared lamb = 5kg milk replacer + 20kg meal.
• Castration + docking is best done at 4-6 weeks old.

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Low magnesium grass staggers, also known as hypomagnesemia, is a common issue affecting cattle in New Zealand, especially in regions with lush pastures. This condition arises when cows experience a deficiency of magnesium in their system, leading to various neurological symptoms. Magnesium (Mg) is an essential element in the body and is required for helping maintain normal calcium levels, muscle and nerve transmission, energy/protein metabolism and much more. Cows cannot strip Mg from their bones like they can with calcium in times of deficit, they must get it through their diet on a regular basis.

For numerous reasons, July/August/September is a common time for this condition. Cold wet soils below 12˚C reduce the uptake of Mg by the plant. Short, lush rapidly growing pasture will naturally contain less Mg. In the first few days after calving cows will have a reduced intake resulting in not being able to eat enough to meet nutrient requirements which can be complicated with milk fever and sub-clinical ketosis. Lactation can play a factor as higher producing cows will be at more of a risk.

Clinical signs of low Mg grass staggers in cows can vary but often include:

• Muscle tremors + staggering gait
• Loud pounding + increased heart rate
• Tooth grinding + irritability/aggression
• Seizures/paddling
• Sudden death

When it comes to treatment, early detection is crucial. If a cow is displaying symptoms of Mg deficiency, prompt intervention is necessary to prevent further complications. Veterinary assistance should be sought to confirm the diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment. Treatment often involves administering Mg therapy and many cases require calcium as well.

Prevention plays a key role in managing this condition. One effective method is to provide magnesium supplementation through feed additives or mineral supplements. This ensures that the cows receive an adequate amount of magnesium in their diet to meet their nutritional requirements. Blood sampling cows pre-calving is a useful tool for monitoring Mg levels to ensure changes to supplementation are made early.

In addition to supplementation, consider the grazing risks – changing a cow’s diet from saved pasture to the 2nd round (fresh short regrowth, especially if quantity is limited) is often a big trigger for magnesium-based issues and supplementation over this period can be a cheap insurance. Monitoring the magnesium levels in soil and forage can also assist in identifying areas where supplementation may be necessary.

In conclusion, low magnesium grass staggers is a significant concern for cattle in New Zealand, particularly in regions with lush pastures. By implementing proper management practices such as magnesium supplementation, rotational grazing, and balanced nutrition, you can effectively prevent and manage this condition in your herd. Early detection, timely treatment, and proactive prevention strategies are essential in ensuring the health and well-being of cows affected by low magnesium grass staggers.

Only last week I was called out to see 2 cows on the same farm with very similar clinical signs.

Both cows were dried off mid-May and had been fine ever since and their Allflex collars had not flagged any health alerts. However, each cow had a large, very firm swelling of the maxilla (upper jaw) on one side of the face only. The cow in the photo(below) also had 4-5 areas where pus was exiting from the swelling and the discharge contained many small soft, gritty granules. One of the cows had some soft swelling behind her upper molars when I looked inside her mouth but otherwise all teeth were aligned well and there was no sign of drooling from either animal. The firm swelling was not painful to the touch and the cows were generally bright and alert.

These ‘sulphur granules’ seen discharging from the various sites are characteristic for Lumpy Jaw (Actinomycosis) and so at this stage that is the most likely diagnosis.

This condition is asporadic, relatively uncommon disease affecting mainly adult cattle. The bacteria, Actinomyces bovis, is a normal inhabitant of the mouth but needs some form of trauma to gain entry to the bony structures of the jaw. This can be due to eating sharp objects within feeds, drenching/bolus application or through tooth root injuries.

Once in the bone, the bacteria cause a chronic reaction to the underlying bony structures resulting in a firm enlargement on one side of the face and eventually small pockets of gritty pus appear at the skin surface.  As is often the case in vet practice, cows don’t always read the textbooks and follow the normal clinical picture! Normally the firm swelling is present within the lower jaw but in both cows, they were swollen in the upper jaw.

Having 2 cows show up with the same, uncommon disease in the upper jaw at the same time had me stumped a little. However, on quizzing the farm owner more closely, it sounds like one of the animals has had a swollen face for a little while. They hadn’t been drenched or had a zinc bolus recently but had access to some PKE which had quite a lot of gravel in it.

We decided to try and treat both animals as they were still eating, and they were otherwise bright and alert. The decision whether to treat or not depends on the degree of destruction and deformity of the jaw.

So, a long course of Vibrostrep was initiated and at this stage it seems to be helping to reduce the swelling for both cows. Chances are that the swelling will not fully resolve but the prognosis is relatively good as long as the cheek teeth are in alignment.

The other recognised treatment for this condition is Sodium Iodide solution given intravenously. Whilst not strictly speaking an antibiotic it is often used in the treatment of both Lumpy Jaw and Woody Tongue.

Fingers crossed we get a good outcome with these cows.

Rumenox is a rumen modifier (an ionophore) that contains the active ingredient monensin. Rumenox provides more energy to dairy cows by increasing the level of propionate produced in the rumen. This energy response is equivalent to feeding an extra 1.0 kg of dry matter at a portion of the cost.

Ketosis Prevention

Sub clinical ketosis is an energy robbing disease that has been associated with increased endometritis and a decreased 6 week in-calf rate. The cost per cow with sub-clinical ketosis is $86. Rumenox significantly reduces the incidence of sub-clinical ketosis in dairy cows by making more energy available and reducing blood ketone levels, this effect has been shown in a number of NZ studies. A recent analysis of New Zealand data showed a reduction in sub-clinical ketosis by 29.6%.

For optimum results Rumenox should be introduced pre-calving or, if not practical, it should be administered into the stock water as soon as the dairy herd returns to the milking platform in early spring.

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Milk Protein Production

The increased propionate produced in a cow’s rumen when Rumenox is introduced results in greater glucose production which leads to increased milk protein.

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Pasture Bloat

Rumenox is an effective bloat control strategy. The fermentation shift achieved in the rumen leads to a reduction in methane gas production. This shift has a lasting effect of 24-48 hours. This duration of activity is particularly important when relying on water medication for bloat control e.g. dosatron. Cows don’t always drink regularly, in fact they drink very little on wet days. Years of observational evidence strongly suggests that monensin out performs bloat detergents when relying on water medication for controlling bloat. When treating with conventional bloat detergents cows are still vulnerable to a bloat challenge when drinking is restricted, this is due to their shorter duration of activity.

COWS:

• Springers – if you had an issue with down cows last season – or if the cows are all obese and you’re wondering if you’ll have a problem this season – a pre-calving blood test is a great idea. Nice to get on top of any mineral deficiencies BEFORE they start going down!
• Getting a handful of older Colostrum cows checked on the day they calve is also a good way to pick up any milk-fever issues early – even subclinical low calcium at calving will have far-reaching effects into lactation and mating. These old girls are the canaries in the coal mine.
• ‍When calving cows - the earlier we are called in the birthing process, the more likely we are to have a successful outcome. If you’ve been trying for half an hour and you’re not getting anywhere, call us! Remember: Be gentle, use plenty of lube and try to be as clean as possible.
• Have your calving kit ready at the shed: lube/ropes/chains/handles/antiseptic/pulley or jack.
• Have your down cow kit on the bike ready – if your magnesium supplementation is going well, most issues will be low calcium.
• If she’s not up by sunset, there’s likely to be another reason for a cow being down… as per calvings, the earlier we’re called to a sick animal, the greater chance of success.
• ‍RMT colostrum cows to make sure the SCC is good BEFORE they enter the herd.
• ‍Autumn calvers should be hopefully holding their peak and be pregnant now, keeping them fully fed with minimal diet disruption is the main aim for them.

Just for fun… the following is taken word for word from the 1938 NZ Veterinary Handbook

‘The main factor contributing to milk fever is an easy calving which makes very little call for expenditure of muscular or nervous energy.’

Who knew?

YEARLINGS+/- AUTUMN BORN:

• It’s been a warm and wormy autumn, and it’s generally a good idea to drench yearlings coming out of their first winter. Easy to forget in the stress of calving, but time well spent!
• Keep up with feed so they’re all hitting puberty early and mating is a breeze.
• Remember BVD booster vaccinations.
• Autumn borns will be due their lepto/salmonella vaccinations if not already done.

NEWBORNCALVES:

• Setup calf sheds so they’re dry and disinfected. Keep the bobby collection area separate.
• Get a BRIX refractometer to measure your undiluted first milking GOLD colostrum for your calves’ first feed – 22% is the target. Get GOLD colostrum into the calves as soon as possible after birth, before the gut closes and can’t absorb essential antibodies.
• Iodine navel spray – both before they go on the trailer AND before they enter the shed.
• Multimin injection at 24h old is a proven option for an immune system boost resulting in less calf morbidity/sickness.
• Setup a footbath & wear some gloves to minimize any disease spread.

Lastly, it’s a busy time for everyone without getting sick, so: wash hands and change overalls to keep you & your family safe!

Hi Everyone,

Hope you’re all enjoying some down-time with the cows dry. It’s been a lovely autumn – not too much mud yet! Long may it last.

Below is our e-Update for June (apologies for all the talk of preparing for calving – it seems to come around quicker every year).

COWS

• Make sure you’re feeding dry cows enough to reach calving body condition score of 5 (or 5.5 for first and second calvers). An extra bale on a wet day is a good plan, as we all know it’s hard to gain weight on a water-based diet! If you are unsure about your herd’s condition, please contact the clinic about body condition scoring.
• Herd Lepto, Salmonella & Rotavirus vaccinations should all be booked in this month.
• Plan your minerals for the coming season. We’ve seen some low copper levels this autumn – if you haven’t tested cows for a few years, it might be a good idea!
• Nitrate test any new grass/oats/other rapidly growing winter feed crop – it’s better to be safe than sorry! Farm-side tests are available from the clinics. These are quick, cheap and give you a good indication of whether your paddock is safe to graze.
• Feed the winter milkers well – especially through any adverse weather that occurs during mating.
• Boost the springers for B12/Selenium – as they enter the springer mob is the best time pre-calving.
• Check your calving kits are ready to go with ropes or chains, pulleys or a jack, and lots of lube plus a lube pump. Also stock up on pain relief, starter drench and metabolics.

HEIFERS

• Train your heifers to the shed, to make it easier come milking time. (And much easier for the teatsealing team!)
• Remember to boost them for Lepto/Salmonella/Rotavirus as well as the herd.

CALVES

• Autumn-borns should be close to weaning, remember their second 5 in1/10in1 boosters.
• Your R1’s away grazing are shortly due their BVD booster – remember to ask the grazier about the bulls’ BVD vaccination and test-status too, as it’s often easier to tidy this up in the winter months.
• A winter drench after a warm autumn is usually recommended for a clean-out – now is probably the best time to spend the money on a top-end combination one.
• Make sure your calf sheds are ready for those early calves. If not yet done, replace bedding substrate, remove faecal matter and dirt, and give them a thorough clean, as well as any general repairs and maintenance.

A cow is classified as a “down cow” if they haven’t responded as expected to treatment or are down for more than two hours after treatment. Providing the correct care quickly can reduce complications such nerve or muscle damage, hip dislocations, mastitis, and pneumonia.

When you discover a down cow, it is important to assess her quickly – is she looking depressed or even non-responsive? Take this as a sign that she needs be urgently treated. If she is responsive, aware of her surroundings and bright, her treatment is still a high priority, but not as urgent as an unresponsive cow.

Assessing why she is down is the next step. Metabolic imbalance? Injury? Other illness? Knowing her diagnosis/prognosis will help with deciding the next steps - either treatment and nursing, or euthanasia.

When treating a down cow it is crucial to begin this process as soon as possible. Give her any treatments she may require and set her up to be as comfortable as she can. Move her to a nursing area with soft bedding where possible. Evaluate her surroundings and eliminate any risk factors that make her recovery harder or slower. Moving her is top priority if she is in a dangerous place such as close to a drain, electric fence or even if she is on a walkway as that may make her a risk to the rest of the herd. If she is down on gravel or concrete this can increase risk of more damage even if she’s only there for an hour or two. Good shelter for the down cow is required in extremely cold, wet or hot conditions.

While moving her is important, you also need to be careful not to cause any more damage and reduce her chances of recovery. Safe options include using a carry-all on the back of a tractor (safely secured), a sling, and a front-end loader bucket on the front of a tractor. Hip clamps may be used to move her short distances, but she MUST also be supported with a strap or belt.

Nursing areas need to have soft, clean and dry bedding to help reduce the load on their muscles. Having a non-slip surface will help her when she tries to stand. This, alongside a continuous supply of clean water and good feed is important.

Once she is in a suitable area note which leg the cow is sitting on each time she is checked. The circulation in the leg she is laying against may become compromised if she is unable to swap sides herself.  To prevent this, roll her to the opposite side every 3 hours. Flexing her hind legs out at the same time can help minimize nerve damage. Regular hand stripping and encouragement to get up is also very important. Lifting devices must only be used to get the cow on to her feet – she must not be left hanging in the hip lifter or sling.

Cows with serious illness or injuries have a lower chance of recovery. If treatment is not a viable option, the down cow must be euthanized as soon as possible. Down cows must not be left to suffer. Call your vet for further advice.

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Ensuring your calves get a great start requires focusing on boosting calf immunity through colostrum management by providing the right amount of high quality colostrum at the right time.  This goes hand in hand with reducing the challenge of disease through good husbandry, hygiene, facilities and nutrition.

An additional barrier to calf scours can be achieved by vaccinating your cows prior to calving.

Calf scours are one of the most stressful and costly diseases for vets and farmers to deal with. And we know that calves that recover, grow slower and have poorer outcomes than healthy calves.

The primary pathogens associated with calf scours in New Zealand include rotavirus which is recognised as the most common, E.coli, cryptosporidia, coccidia, salmonella and coronavirus.

Cows vaccinated for scours produce high levels of protective antibodies for Rotavirus, E. coli and coronavirus generally from two to twelve weeks after vaccination so cows should be vaccinated about three weeks prior to planned start of calving to protect your calves.

Salmonella is known to cause devastating disease in the Waikato and has been implicated in abortions and severe scour outbreaks in cows and calves. Fortunately, we have a vaccine to reduce the impact of these outbreaks.

Speak to our team to about management and vaccination options to protect your cows and calves this spring.

This autumn I was called out to a heifer grazing property where three R1 heifers had been found dead within the last 48 hours.

They were all in the same mob of approximately 70 dairy heifers. The third one had been found that morning and the owners were keen to get a post mortem examination done. The animal was a well grown cross bred heifer. It was slightly bloated, with no sign of struggling or evidence of scouring. The heifers were on pasture only - quite lush because of the favourable autumn conditions.

The causes of sudden death in this age group on a purely pasture diet are quite limited. We discussed possible poisons e.g. Lead, Cyanide, Nitrate, plant poisons such as Yew, Ragwort and Oleander but the conditions were not right for any of these causes. By eliminating these the most likely cause of death in these heifers was a Clostridial infection.

Their vaccination history was uncertain. They had been vaccinated with 5 in 1 as calves but may not have received a booster vaccination. I examined the carcase for signs of Blackleg. There were no characteristic swollen muscles with gas but there was some blood-stained froth from the nose. On opening the carcase, the intestines appeared v inflamed and contained bloody diarrhoea. The kidneys and liver were also swollen and inflamed.

Most of the changes were confined to the digestive tract. The carcass was putrefying quickly considering the heifer was only found dead that morning. Samples were taken for laboratory testing to try and identify the cause. We then looked at the rest of the heifer mob and they were well grown with no sick looking animals.

It was decided to give them a booster 5 in 1 vaccination due to the uncertainty of their vaccination status. Unfortunately we did not get a definitive diagnosis from the laboratory although we were able to rule out acute Salmonellosis. From the history and post mortem signs we made a provisional diagnosis of Clostridial Enterotoxaemia , which is as nasty as it sounds!

Fortunately, the 5 in 1 vaccine routinely used protects against the strains of Clostridia that cause this disease.

No more deaths have occurred in the mob which is a great relief. This case highlights the importance of fully vaccinating calves and on affected farms considering annual clostridial vaccination of heifers and the herd.

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As our pets age, we want them to enjoy their golden years, and remain as healthy and happy as possible. Although they may not need as much exercise and might be happy to sleep half the day away, we need to keep a close eye on any changes that are occurring in their bodies.

Below are some common conditions that older dogs can suffer from and signs for you to monitor at home.

Arthritis:  

•Stiff, stilted gait

•Struggling to rise or lie down

•Weakness in hindlimbs

•Lameness or pain

•Reluctance to walk or play

•Unable to settle and get comfortable while sleeping

Dental disease

•Bad breath

•Tooth discolouration, tartar forming on teeth

•Red, inflamed gums

•Missing or loose teeth

•Loss of appetite

•Sore mouth/oral pain

Cancer

•Sadly there are many types of cancer that pets can get, and they all cause slightly different clinical signs and symptoms

•Any lumps or bumps should be regularly checked, especially if they are growing fast or annoying your pet

•Any weight loss or appetite changes

•Changes to your pets behaviour

Kidney disease, diabetes or other chronic changes

•These are often associated with increased drinking or change of appetite as well as weight loss.

A lot of older pets diseases are progressive and early detection allows for better quality of life and treatment options. Regular vet checkups are the best way to ensure your pet is as healthy as they can be, and to discuss how to ensure your pet is happy in their golden years. Blood tests or other diagnostic tests may be recommended to help the vet diagnose any conditions early on, and blood tests can be run during a consultation.

Vetora are running a Golden Paws promotion in May to help us look after your older pets - both dogs and cats. Please call your clinic to book in for this promotion.

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Catch up on our latest news and specials for May.

Hi Everyone,

What a lovely autumn we’re having – it’s such a pleasure after lots of droughts in recent years.

We’re seeing a few cases of facial eczema around the place, unfortunately it takes more than a few chilly nights to destroy all those spores. Some herds have blood tested all their cows as part of a particularly cool trial with LIC looking at inherited resistance to facial eczema, and we’ve been horrified at the number of perfectly healthy-looking cows with blood results showing they’ve been badly hit. No wonder that often cows don’t milk, and young animals don’t grow as well as we think they should at this time of year, even when they’re being really well fed.

Below is our mid-month dairy vet e-Update for May:

COWS

• ‍Drying off time for most. Remember to reduce milk production in the week leading up, by restricting ME and reducing protein in the diet. The link below is to a short video on Facebook – super practical drying off tips. Facebook Link - click here
• Plan your dry off day – pick good weather, have a clean paddock for them to go to, and ensure as many staff as possible are present to help so cows aren’t standing around too long after milking.
• ‍Practice excellent hygiene - Clean your teat ends well, keep your hands clean between cows, insert the tube tip carefully and hygienically, and teat spray afterwards at the maximum label strength. If you haven’t already done so, watch the Teatseal Best Practice video at www.teatseal.co.nz to ensure everyone helping the dry off knows the expected standards.
• ‍Down cows – We’ve seen a few cases of milk fever, thanks to lots of zinc and lots of maize being fed to cows. Adding lime flour to the maize is always a really good idea at this time of year.
• ‍Winter milkers need to watch the SCC – milk those high SCC empties last to not spread the bugs.
• ‍Herd vaccinations should be planned now the heifers are home – Lepto, Salmonella, Rotavirus. We’re rolling out the new lepto 4-way vaccine this season – it gives extra protection against the lepto strains commonly spread by rats, which are responsible for more and more of the cases of human lepto seen in NewZealand.
• Now is a good time to start thinking about your risk of nitrate toxicity and how to mitigate the risk. Drought conditions are a risk factor as plants under stress accumulate nitrate. Other risk factors include new grasses or cereal crops, and cool cloudy or foggy days. Affected cows are often found down or staggering, with distinctive brown mucous membranes. This is an emergency. On-farm nitrate tests for pasture and crops are available.

HEIFERS

• Most are arriving home, if not home already. Settling them and using the time to train them to the shed will pay dividends in the spring.
• ‍Heifer teatsealing is underway, please help us help you by: having the hot water turned on, having as many staff as possible on hand to help during the job – for both our and the heifers’ safety, making sure the heifers are fed a high dry matter feed in the 48 hours before – hay/straw/dry grass silage – to firm the faeces and improve hygiene, and have a clean paddock for them to go to. There is always the risk that some get mastitis afterwards, but the more you can do to help the job go well, the better we can perform.
• ‍Boost their vaccinations as required, in particular Lepto & Rotavirus.

CALVES

• Now is the time to ensure trace minerals are supplemented going into winter and after a long zinc season – Copper, B12 & Selenium are all essential for good growth rates.
• With the warm autumn weather continuing, a high worm burden is likely to carry on, so keep up with the drench interval – commonly 6 weeks between a pour-on/injectable drenches.
• ‍Keep the feed up throughout winter – a 2 month check in growth rates means later hitting puberty & beginning to cycle, severely impacting their ability to get in calf and thus their future production.

All the best for the rest of May.

With Spring calving approaching fast and most cows now dry, it is a good time to check your herd vaccination status and catch up on these if needed.

There are many vaccinations available, so it is worthwhile talking to your vet about what is best for your herd and farm, depending on your individual risks.

Briefly, the options and rationales are as follows:

‍Leptospirosis vaccination

‍Leptospirosis infection, potentially caught from infected cow urine, is a major human health and safety issue, which in some individuals can cause severe flu-like symptoms, and even death. The vaccine does confer some protection to the cows to help prevent various symptoms of infection, including decreased milk yield, blood in the urine, anaemia, and abortion. However, the primary reason to vaccinate your herd is to protect farm workers, and anyone else who may come into contact with your cows (or their urine).   

Scour vaccinations

If you have ever dealt with a major outbreak of calf scours, or if you want to avoid such a traumatic and devastating event, then consider vaccinating your herd with a scour vaccination – these cover for Rotavirus, Coronavirus and E coli (but NOT cryptosporidium). Calves can become infected from carrier cows (no symptoms), other calves, or from an infected environment(incorrectly cleaned calf sheds). Vaccination does not eliminate the diseases on its own, but is a tool to help reduce the risk, in conjunction with strict hygiene, and meticulous colostrum management.

Salmonella vaccination

Salmonella infection can result in a sick cow, often very unwell, with a high temperature and profuse diarrhoea that may include blood, mucus and rotten intestine. Death may occur without early treatment. Salmonella can be caught from the environment, contaminated water or food, or more likely from carrier animals who shed salmonella in their faeces in times of stress.

BVD

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVD) is a complex disease that can cause usually mild gastro symptoms in young stock and dry cows, but in pregnant cows it can cause reproductive losses, abortions, and the birth of unthrifty calves and persistently infected (PI) calves. Vaccination is part of your BVD control toolkit, which also includes biosecurity measures, BVD bulk tank milk monitoring, and removing PIs from your herd.

Clostridial diseases

This is a group of diseases that includes tetanus, blackleg, malignant oedema and others. Infection is from spores in the environment. Animals are usually found dead, though there may be some signs that indicate a clostridial disease was responsible, otherwise it is difficult to definitively diagnose clostridial disease. A number of “random” sudden deaths on farm may in fact be due to clostridial infection. Calves are routinely vaccinated, but it is good practice to vaccinate the herd too. The vaccine is relatively cheap, so if an average dairy farm were to lose one cow every two or three years to a clostridial disease, the vaccination would be economically worthwhile.

Other injections

While we are on the topic of turning cows into metaphorical pincushions, trace element supplementation should also be considered, and injections are available for copper, selenium and B12, or as Multimin (copper, selenium, zinc, manganese).

An oral combination drench of Eprinomectin, Oxfendazole and Levamisole with Selenium and Cobalt.

This new to the market product is only available through veterinary practices and will lead the way in premium quality calf drenches.

Once calves have developed enough immunity to coccidia infection, after treatment with Turbo Initial, then with to Turbo Triple Minidose. Animals remain very susceptible to gastrointestinal parasitism but will still be young enough to treat with an oral drench.

This makes Turbo Triple Minidose the ideal treatment for routine worm control until calves reach a size that makes oral drenching difficult.

Turbo Triple Minidose offers key advantages of being a highly potent endectocide combination but with an improved safety profile when compared to an Abamectin based oral drench. It can be used in calves under 120kg body weight while also having an endectocide potency advantage over Ivermectin based oral combinations.

Eprinomectin is the most potent broad spectrum active – it can kill worms at lower concentrations of active in the animal. So, with the combination of Oxfendazole and Levamisole Turbo Triple Minidose is a major leap forward in triple active oral parasite control.

Key Benefits include:

-         World first Eprinomectin, Levamisole and Oxfendazole oral calf drench

-         More effective at delaying parasite resistance than single or double active products

-         High Safety margin – can be used on calves under120kg

-         Developed for New Zealand conditions by a New Zealand owned company

-         Includes the addition of Cobalt and Selenium

-         Available in 1L, 5L and 20L packs

Turbo Triple Minidose is available at all Vetora clinics.

It was typical day in May, very overcast and foggy conditions and I was called to check out a sick cow. She was a Friesian Jersey cross bred cow, 5 years old and recently dried off. She had suddenly started scouring the previous day. The faeces were very loose, a light green colour with some blood present. The temperature was normal at 38.6C and the heart rate was elevated to 80 beats/min. The cow appeared to be fully hydrated despite the acute scour. All the other herd members appeared to be healthy and unaffected.

A faecal sample was taken for salmonella culture and a blood sample was collected for Johnes disease testing. The cow was also confirmed as pregnant from rectal examination.

Treatment was started with an injectable antibiotic and Ketomax an anti-inflammatory drug. Oral fluid therapy is often given to suspect salmonella cows but was not required in this case.

An unusual Salmonella species was cultured at the animal health laboratory which was then sent to the ESR Wallaceville lab for salmonella serotyping. The Johnes blood test result was negative. Ten days after the faecal sample being collected the salmonella bacteria was fully identified as Salmonella Give. This is a relatively new salmonella serotype in New Zealand cattle that has increased in the numbers of affected herds in the last few years. In other herds that have had Salmonella Give, the bacteria causes scouring cows and also abortions in some cows. Salmonella Give can also result in scouring, septicaemia and death in young calves.

The dairy farmer was reminded that Salmonella is a zoonotic disease and can affect people with acute vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and septicaemia.  In salmonella outbreaks we advise that gloves and PPE are worm by all farm staff and hands are carefully washed and cleaned prior to eating or drinking. Salmonella is also excreted by infected animals in the milk, so raw milk from the vat should not be consumed by any farm staff. Health & safety notices should also be displayed in the shed advising on the salmonella risk to people and that no eating or drinking is allowed in the shed.

Farms affected with salmonella are requested to notify their milk and meat supply companies to enable these organisations to take food safety precautions.

Advice was also given on removing any aborted material from yards and paddocks should any cows abort.

Salmonella vaccination provides good protection against the specific salmonella serotypes of Bovis-morbificans, Typhimurium, Hindmarsh & Brandenburg. There may be minor cross protection from these serotypes to Salmonella Give. The farmer decided to go ahead and vaccinate the herd for salmonella. All the cows and heifers were given two vaccinations 4 weeks apart.

The affected cow made a full recovery and no further cases of salmonella occurred in the herd which was an unusual outcome, however vet and farmer were both very grateful and relieved!

COWS

• Milk quality and RVM consults are underway. This is a good opportunity to review your milking season, ask us any questions you have on animal health, and to setup your dry-cow plan for this season. This is also a good occasion to complete your Animal Health Plan for the Fonterra Cooperative Difference and demonstrate that things are being done well.
• Drying-off of high SCC cows and your lighter animals will be happening soon – remember, cows need 25-30 days to gain half a body condition score. They won’t put weight on 10 days after dry-off nor 30 days pre-calving, so you need 10 weeks for 0.5 BCS gain, and 14 weeks for 1 BCS gain before calving. Get us to come out and condition score the herd if you’re unsure, and we’ll give you a very classy table telling you when to dry off each animal based on her calving date.
• If you’d like us to help administer dry cow to the herd, book in now! It’s always a bit tricky to fit everyone in, so the more notice you can give us the better.
• Herd lepto vaccinations are starting; fitting them in before drying off is often easier.
• Zinc supplementation should be continuing.
• Liver Mineral checks can be performed on any late culls to check trace minerals going into winter.
• Keep balancing the maize minerals. Milkers will need calcium, magnesium and salt added to the maize to avoid becoming deficient. Call us if you need help working out the doses or if cows are going down after starting maize.
• Please order your dry cow, ideally with 24 hours notice, so we can have it ready for you for the time that you want it.

HEIFERS

• Give them a visit to make sure the feed is adequate for them and they come home big and beautiful and BCS 5.5 for calving. There is still time to get them pregnancy tested if not yet done.
• Don’t forget their Lepto/Salmonella/Rotavirus boosters.
• Think about their B12/Selenium/Copper requirements.
• Book in Teatsealing.

CALVES

• Worm larvae numbers will be up with autumn rain. Ensure regular drenching to keep on top of this and avoid growth checks.
• Autumn Calves dehorn + 5in1/10in1 vaccinations
• Spring calves 3^rd lepto vaccination should be considered if their first and second shots are given before Christmas but the heifers are not usually done until the autumn. The ideal gap between the annual lepto vaccinations is, well, 12 months. Please talk to your vet if you have any questions about this.

All the best for the last few weeks of the season.

‍How did scanning go this year?

Every scanning season we get asked how the results have been going so here is the answer. Across our clients there is a wide range in performance. Below is a graph showing the 6 week in calf rate for Vetora Waikato clients for 2023 mating. Each farm’s result (total of 244 farms) is shown as a vertical blue bar from the lowest (37%) to the highest (85%). The average across all farms was 69% (blue horizontal line). The industry target is 78% (green horizontal line).

The range in empty rates is even more variable and depends on mating length. The take home message is that for the majority of our herds there is huge potential for improving the 6 week in calf rate and empty rate.

‍How to improve your herd repro results

There are many ingredients that go into making a good repro cake in your herd, from BCS to genetics to how young stock are grown out. Some ingredients will be more important for your herd than others. To get an idea on where to start, work through your fertility focus report with your vet. This report gives a great overview of which ingredients are already working and which ones can be improved.

Once you have identified what you want to work on you can choose how you want to work on it. Just because you are getting advice from a vet doesn’t mean you’ll be doing more metrichecking and CIDRs. The main thing to remember is that improving repro is a long-term game and it will take more than one season to get real results. 

A case study‍

The case farm is spring-calving and milks around 700 cows. The graph shows the in calf rate by week of mating for the last 3 mating’s compared to the industry target. The 2021 results were 69% 6 week in calf rate and 23% empty (77% in calf) after 9 weeks. Before mating 2022 the herd was fitted with collars but mating performance got worse. The collar data was used to identify the issues and a plan was made for 2023 mating specific to the case farm. The result was a 12% increase in 6 week in calf rate and 12% drop in empty rate (although mating was 1 week longer).

Using the industry figures of $4 per % improvement of 6 week in calf rate and $10 per % improvement in empty rate multiplied by herd size, the value of the improvement was worth around $115,000.

The next step for this farm is to review the 2023 collar data and make a plan to get another step closer to the herd’s potential.

As many of you might have heard already, the criteria for authorising dry cow therapy has changed.  Last year the Veterinary Council updated their professional standard for veterinarians regarding authorising dry cow therapy.  The Veterinary Council of New Zealand is a body which upholds and regulates veterinary standards.  It is the body in which veterinarians must be registered to in order to practice in New Zealand.

The new standard released can be found at https://hub.vetcouncil.org.nz/authorisation-of-dry-cow-therapy.

A big part of these changes is to ensure antibiotic therapy is only used in infected animals. Overuse of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance. Blanket dry cow therapy means a lot of healthy (non-infected) animals get antibiotic treatment that they do not need thus increasing antibiotic exposure and chance for resistant bacteria.  

High risk farms have a higher chance of having infected animals fall into the ‘clean cow’ category. Therefore, these farms will still be allowed to do blanket antibiotic therapy.  The high-risk farms will have at least 3 of the following criteria:

·        BMSCC average above 250,000

·        More than 2% of herd with mastitis over the dry period

·        More than 10% of herd had mastitis in first month of lactation.

·        More than 25% of herd over 150,000

·        More than 15% of cows had a significant increase ISCC over the dry period (going from <150,000 at last herd test to>150,000 at first herd test of season)

Farms with a blanket dry cow authorisation will need to be making steps towards resolving these mastitis issues, for example doing cultures, antibiograms, or mastitis WOFs.

Internal teat sealant when used correctly are effective in reducing cases of mastitis over the dry period and as cows are calving down.  It provides a plug to stop new infections entering the udder which gives long term protection up until the point of calving.

However, there can be a great risk in using teat sealant alone if not done correctly. Administration of internal teat sealants must be done to an absolute gold standard to avoid severe mastitis. Without the additional coverage of antibiotic dry cow, careful attention to cleanliness and good technique as well as good pre and post dry off management is essential to avoid a poor outcome. The tubes need to be kept clean and dry to avoid any contamination of the tube. The teat end must be completely clean.  There are bacteria all over the skin surface. When the tube enters it can push bacteria/yeast/other microbes that are on the skin up into the teat canal.  So, the teat end needs to be clean and then another teat wipe used to sterilise, and then the tube can be inserted.  It is important to concentrate on making sure the teat sealant tubes tip doesn’t come into contact with anything other than the clean teat end.  

We can provide on farm training to all staff involved in drying off the herd.  We also have technicians which are all trained and assessed at the start of each season who can do the teat sealant administration for you. Correct teat sealant administration is crucially important.

Johnes disease is a chronic infectious disease of cattle (and other ruminants) characterised by diarrhoea and wasting. It is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis .

Johnes is a poorly understood and often largely ignored disease due to its slow onset and long incubation period but it can be costly in terms of production losses and premature culling of animals.

There is also an increasing concern to food safety authorities and the consumer public with the similarities between Johnes disease in cattle and Crohn’s disease in humans. There is ongoing debate as to whether there is an identifiable link between these two diseases.

It is generally accepted that calves are infected before or at birth or can be infected up until about 12 months of age when they become more resistant to becoming infected. They are most likely to be infected in the first few days or weeks of life by:

1) Transplacental infection from infected mothers

2) Drinking infected colostrum or milk

3) From faecal contamination of teats, grass, or water

4) By the respiratory route.

The most important and common route of infection is 3) the faecal/oral route.

After infection there is a long incubation period and it is not until around 3 years of age or older that cows will become “clinical”; losing weight, dropping production and a profuse scour (sometimes referred to as a “pipe scour”).  This scour ends up shedding large numbers of bacteria especially after a period of stress, (e.g. Calving) which then contaminates the environment.

As the disease progresses the lining of the bowel becomes thickened resulting in malabsorption of nutrients with fluid and protein loss from the bowel.

With Johnes disease; cows aren’t usually “off colour”, generally have a normal appetite, and are bright until the latter stages which can be 1 to 6 months or longer.

The number of cows showing clinical disease is generally a small percentage of the total number of animals infected with the bacteria.

There are no effective treatments for Johnes disease so once a diagnosis is made the animal should be culled to limit the contamination of the environment and spread to other animals-especially calves.

Testing of individual animals can be done by blood test or herds can be screened by an individual cow milk test with a follow up blood test for those found to be positive or suspicious on milk test.

Control of Johnes is best achieved by:

1) Early identification and elimination of infected animals

2) Reducing faecal/oral spread by having clean calving areas, not allowing or limiting time that newborn calves can suckle from their mothers, feeding colostrum from low-risk cows, ensuring feed and water is not contaminated with faeces, and limiting calves’ contact with cows’ faeces (effluent paddocks).

3) Management of milk and colostrum intended for consumption by calves either by the use of calf milk replacers or by the use of colostrum and milk from low-risk cows after thorough cleaning of the teats and udder before milking.

If you feel that Johnes Disease could be a significant problem in your herd with a number of fading and scouring cows then contact us to have a chat and make a plan.

So . . It’s that time of the year again where we start to think about heifer teatsealing.

This year we are encouraging our farmers to get in early to get the most benefit out of teatsealing their heifers. Heifers are your future herd in which you have invested a considerable amount of money prior to them entering the herd. This means we want to avoid heifers developing mastitis post calving to reduce them being culled early.

Heifer mastitis rates on some NZ farms have reached 25% so it is important to try to minimize this problem and the costs associated with it. Teatseal is a non-antibiotic that is inserted into a heifer’s teat canal to form a physical plug preventing bacteria from entering the udder leading to a 70% reduction in clinical mastitis.* Using it anytime from 1 to 135 days prior to calving*is just as effective in reducing the risk of clinical mastitis up to 30 days after calving. (*NZ published studies)

Why would you want to get it done early?

• Get the most out of the product and cost itself.

• Can be done during less stressful times of the year (pre herd dry off).

• Lower risk of clinical mastitis within the first 30 days of calving when does earlier.

• Use of the trailer is available at any time if there is a race and yard set up.

We have two purpose-built trailers up and running between the Vetora teams. The trailer allows us to teatseal 5-6 heifers at a time at nearly any location which has access to yards and a race.

Benefits of using the trailer:

• Don’t need to train through shed (time consuming)

• Used to going up races due to previous health treatments

• Can be done off farm at grazing before returning home.

• A lot safer for both the techs and heifers due to the structure of the trailer.

If you would like to get in early or have a chat with our teams, please feel free to contact us at any time.

With Autumn approaching, herd Leptosporosis vaccinations are just around the corner. Leptosporosis (lepto) infection is spread by contact with urine of an infected animal, either directly or indirectly (eg. from contaminated water). In young calves, lepto can cause fever, “red water” (discoloured urine), and loss of appetite. Less commonly, adult cattle can be affected causing reproductive losses, sudden decreases in milk production, and jaundice. Human infection with lepto can be severe, causing flu-like symptoms and in some cases hospitalisation.

Traditionally herds have been vaccinated with Lepto 3-Way, however, Lepto 4-Way has recently come onto the market. Lepto 4-Way offers protection for all three strains present in the 3-Way vaccine (Hardjo, Copenhageni and Pomona) as well as the strain Pacifica.

Lepto Pacifica has been labelled as New Zealand’s emerging lepto strain, with recent research suggesting that Pacifica could be present in almost 75% of dairy herds. Cases of lepto in dairy farm workers on vaccinated farms have spiked in the last few years, suggesting many of these infections may be from this new strain, and often with more severe symptoms seen. Cattle seem to be the “maintenance” host for this type of lepto, so do not show signs of disease.

Vaccinating cattle with Lepto 4-Way provides an immune response against the Pacifica strain, reducing shedding in the urine, helping to protect farmers, workers, and other people on farm from being infected.

Because the Pacifica strain has not been available in vaccines before and the vaccination does not contain live bacteria, a booster in 4-6 weeks after initial vaccination is required. This stimulates the body’s “memory” to provide immunity until the following annual booster. In calves, it is important that the vaccination programme is started early to limit the risk of animals becoming carriers of lepto prior to vaccination.

While vaccination for lepto is important to limit the spread of disease, other factors for protection need to be considered as well. Staff training is important to make sure everyone is aware of lepto and the risks; avoid contact with urine by wearing appropriate PPE and implement good personal hygiene. Lepto can survive in wet conditions for up to six months, so effluent and waterway systems need to be well managed. As rodents can be hosts for some strains, bait stations should be well maintained, and food sources need to be rodent proof. New stock on farm should be vaccinated prior to entry, and if there are sheep, deer or pigs on farm they should also be vaccinated.

Vetora will start using Lepto 4-Way this year, with 2024 born calves being vaccinated and boosted with the 4-Way, and herd immunity developing over successive years. If you’d like to jump straight in to vaccinating your herd with Lepto 4-Way, we can organise a booster shot for the herd four to six weeks later.

‍COWS

• Facial eczema season is upon us – you should be supplementing the herd with zinc. Water treatment is VERY hit and miss – zinc oxide drenching or in-feed supplementation is the way to go. It’s a great idea to check that your supplementation programme is working by blood testing 15 cows.
• Any cows with facial eczema need shade, zinc cream and a painkiller – if they’re bad, dry them off too to give their livers a rest!
• ‍RVM, milk quality, and animal health plan consults will be starting soon. This year, we’ll be asking anyone buying dry cow or teatseal to sign a consent form, irrespective of whether you’re inserting it yourself or getting us to do it. This is a new legal requirement for our insurance.
• ‍Fonterra Co-operative Difference Animal Wellbeing Plan – In most instances these can be done with your RVM consult. If you have done this in previous years, the process should simply be a matter of updating last year’s plan, unless you have made fundamental changes.
• ‍Herd Lepto vaccinations are beginning. If fitting it in before dry-off is important for you, please book it in soon.
• ‍Cull Cow mineral check on livers – Don’t forget that if you are sending cull cows to the works, you can request mineral liver checks. A minimum of five cows is needed to get a representative sample and a meaningful result.  Remember to send the completed form with the cows on the truck.
• ‍Balance your maize – remember to add the right amounts of calcium, magnesium and salt to your maize being fed to milkers. Call us if you need help working it out, or talk to us about the Vetora Maize Balancer.
• Dry off light conditioned early calvers so they have enough time to put weight on before calving. It’s poor economy to milk them to the bitter end and have them calve light next season!

HEIFERS

• End of pregnancy testing – review any high rates & perform testing to find out & fix any problems before next year.
• Keep the feed up, and contact graziers to have a plan to buy in extra to keep them growing if feed is short – make sure they come home big and beautiful.
• Lepto boost as required to tie in with the herd’s annual vaccinations.
• Autumn Drench – worm numbers have been fairly low with the dry summer, but now that the rain has come we can expect a worm explosion!

CALVES

• Autumn calves due for disbudding soon – as well as BVD/DNA testing & 5 in 1 vaccination. Book in now & plan to do it together if needed, as it’s often easier while they’re asleep!
• Keep up with the Autumn Drenching, as per your R2’s.
• Top up any Zinc Boluses as needed (you’ll have got 6 weeks out of the first Faceguard).
• Ensure calves are well-fed to keep up the growth rates.

We are looking forward to catching up with everyone soon during RVM consults!

The time has come to protect your animals against facial eczema. This is a disease that can affect sheep, cattle, alpacas and deer, causing serious damage without an effective preventative plan in place. It can occur when animals ingest fungal spores which grow at the base of grass swards in warm humid conditions especially during the months of January through April. When the spores are ingested they release a toxin (spore desmin) into the bloodstream which accumulates in the liver, causing severe damage. Exposure to large number of spores can damage the liver but regular exposure to moderate numbers can do the same. It is highly recommended to bring in grass samples from where your animals are grazing so we can look at the level of spores on your property and assess your risk level.

The damage to the liver can lead to:

• Photosensitisation
• Poor growth/weight loss and lowered milk yield
• Jaundice
• In some cases death

This is a painful condition for the animals and only 20% of them show the typical facial eczema skin lesions so it often goes undetected.

Prevention is key to successfully protecting your animals against this condition and zinc is the best way to do this. Contact your vet to discuss the best way to give zinc to your animals. It is critical to provide shade and avoid grazing paddocks too low as this is where the highest number of spores reside. Providing supplementary feed such as hay and silage over this high risk period is also a good idea to help dilute the number of spores ingested.

Ryegrass staggers is a disease caused by a fungus which can grow in perennial ryegrass producing a compound toxic to the nervous system. The fungus is found in all areas of the plant but mostly concentrates in the seed head and base of the leave in the grass. Clinical signs will usually develop within 2-3 days of ingesting the pasture.

The main clinical signs seen closely resemble a “drunken” animal including:

• Muscle and head tremors
• Incoordination
• Decreased production and loss of condition
• Heat stress and dehydration

Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment, but supportive care is required. It is important to remove the animals from the affected pasture but vital to reduce their stress while doing so to avoid collapse. Affected stock can suffer from misadventure through drowning and getting caught in hazards, so ensure they are put in a safe paddock.

Treatment:

• Remove animals from affected pasture immediately and provide alternative feed
• Provide shade and fresh water

Diagnosis is usually made through clinical signs along with diet and the recent weather conditions. It is common to find multiple animals affected if they are eating the same pasture.

Prevention requires avoiding overgrazing so the animals cannot eat to the base of the grass and cut hay or baleage before the plant can flower to help minimize the toxin in the plant. Mixing your pasture with other grass species and legumes will also help to reduce intake of the fungus.

There are plenty of toxic plants/substances that can cause these clinical signs and may require different treatments so give your vet a call if you are concerned so we can make the correct diagnosis and help your animals to recover as soon as possible.

Cows:

• Facial eczema should be at the forefront of your mind now. Keep an eye on the regional trends from the monitor farms on the Vetora app, but better still, weekly spore-counting of grass samples from your own farm will give you a much more accurate picture of what’s going on. Remember that giving cows zinc through the water is a highly unreliable method to prevent facial eczema.
• Plan for maize harvesting & storage – remember there are losses in feed value that occur before the stack is fully sealed, so communication with everyone to lock it in is important.
• ‍Autumn calving is just around the corner: remember Rotavec/Scourguard boosters, draft up your springers, start the magnesium supplementation, get your calving gear ready.
• Think about body condition – despite the relatively green pastures, now is a good time to start thinking about your once-a-day milking vs dry-off timing strategy to make sure all cows are at 5 (or 5.5 for the 2 & 3 year olds) at calving. Remember that Vetora has a number of DairyNZ - accredited body condition scorers who can give you a hand with this important information.
• Take some milk samples from RMT positive, high SCC cows – this helps us to advise on the appropriate treatments for next season & allows us to prescribe your dry cow appropriately.
• ‍Animal health plans will soon be up for their annual review, so it’s worth tallying up the mastitis, mortality and lameness numbers so this information is available.
• ‍Pregnancy testing is well underway. If you have any questions or concerns about your results, it is worthwhile sitting down with your vet to analyse and pick apart your statistics. 

Heifers:

• ‍Pregnancy testing is underway, remember to have the conversation early with your vet if you have more empties than expected.
• ‍Zinc, usually in the form of a Faceguard bolus, should be underway for them now.
• Keep weighing the heifers so that you know they are on track to meet growth targets.

Calves/R1s: ‍

• ‍Zinc,usually in the form of a Faceguard bolus, should be underway for them now.
• ‍Keep the feed up so you’re achieving top growth rates. Even a couple of weeks short can make a difference to their first year’s milk production & ability to get back in calf, so keep in good communication with your grazier.

Woody Tongue is a relatively common disease in cattle. It is a bacterial infection caused by a pathogen called Actinobacillus lignieresii. This bacteria normally lives in the cow’s mouth without causing any trouble, but when there is damage to the tongue or inside of the mouth, the bacteria takes the opportunity to invade the damaged tissue and start a particularly painful infection. The damage usually comes from coarse feed, gravel or weeds. The affected tissue appears massively thickened and is very tough. It often appears yellow as it contains many small abscesses and may have associated ulcers. Externally you may see swelling and drooling, and you will likely see a drop in production as the cow won’t be eating much due to the pain. The bug that causes Woody Tongue is not susceptible to treatment with many types of antibiotics, but when the correct drugs are used this condition is usually treated successfully. It is important to include some form of pain relief in your treatment of Woody Tongue as it is exceptionally painful.

There are several viral diseases in New Zealand that can cause lesions that look similar to Woody Tongue, including BVD and MCF. It is highly important that a veterinarian rules out these conditions as they will not respond to routine treatments, and there is risk for them spreading from cow to cow. Although not present in New Zealand, Foot and Mouth disease can cause ulcers that are similar in appearance to Woody Tongue. Foot and Mouth disease poses significant economic and animal welfare risk to New Zealand’s livestock industry so it is important we investigate mouth issues thoroughly to rule out FMD as a possibility. There are also a number of other diseases that cause swelling under and around the jaw. These include Johne’s disease and heart failure and are very commonly misdiagnosed as Woody Tongue by farmers.

Lumpy Jaw is another condition that can look quite similar to Woody Tongue, however this is caused by a different pathogen which can behave differently. The way in which an infection occurs is much the same as with Woody Tongue, but this bug (Actinomyces bovis)typically won't just stop at the soft tissues in the mouth and will spread infection to the bones of the jaw and face. The infection can cause permanent changes to the shape of the bones that you may notice externally. This change is irreversible. Lumpy Jaw doesn’t respond well to antibiotics, the recommended treatment is a highly irritant injection that should be given by a vet, but even then is not guaranteed to resolve the problem completely. If treatment is started earlier in the course of disease, success is more likely. Once again, the provision of pain relief as soon as the problem is noticed is paramount due to the highly painful nature of the condition.

Ultimately, there are a number of diseases that affect the mouths of cows, most of which are very painful and can cause dramatic issues with the welfare and productivity of affected animals. Some can be very insidious and may not respond to routine treatments. A quick and accurate diagnosis can be achieved by calling your vet out as soon as symptoms are noticed and gives the greatest likelihood of providing a successful treatment and more rapid return to normal function.

I was called on a Friday afternoon just before Christmas to see a cow that had been slow all day and was now unable to walk straight. She also had a head tilt and appeared blind. The farmer thought this may be ketosis which was plausible to me given the signs, though it would be strange to see it this far into the season.

When I examined the cow, she showed all the signs described by the farmer with the addition of pus leaking from the nose due to a forest’s worth of sticks being stuck up there. She was negative for ketosis as measured on a ketone meter, had a low body temperature (around 36 degrees), slow heart rate and evidence of mild dehydration. The cow was also clearly in a considerable degree of pain as she was grinding her teeth and not reacting to any part the exam including me jamming a finger up her nose.

I made a tentative diagnosis of meningitis(brain infection) secondary to nasal infection from the sticks in the nose and offered a poor prognosis. After discussion with the farmer, it was decided that it was best to put her down as she was in a lot of pain and it would take an aggressive and expensive treatment plan to have even a chance of saving her. I also mentioned that this cow would be eligible for the TSE surveillance program which is a scheme from the MPI offering farmers $250 for brains from cows presenting similar to this so that they can do nationwide surveillance for Mad Cow Disease. I hoped that in taking the brain for this program I might also confirm my diagnosis.

I opened the skull and exposed the brain revealing pockets of pus through its lining with a trail of infection starting deep in the nose - this confirmed my diagnosis. With the sheer amount of pus in the brain I was confident that there was nothing that we could have done, and treatment would have put her through unnecessary suffering.

COWS:

• Pregnancy testing is getting underway. There’s still time to book in if you haven’t already done so. Remember the reliable ageing window is 40 – 90 days of pregnancy (otherwise we rely on AB dates and an element of guesswork), and empties can only be called six weeks after the bull has been taken out.
• ‍Clean & update your eartags & MINDA/CRV records - regardless of how you are pregnancy testing, knowing which cow is which is crucial!
• ‍Keep the cows cool – as the weather heats up, think of methods to minimise heat stress as much as possible, be it shade, fans or sprinklers. Minimising walking distances, especially at afternoon milking, can make a big difference. Consider changing milking times, or milking once a day, if this can be worked into your farm system.
• ‍Book the culls in ahead of time, to ensure you have one of the limited spaces at the works for yours.
• ‍Milk culture high cell count cows after herd test to make sure the bacteria present is not becoming resistant to the antibiotics you’re using, or that a new bug is appearing.
• Fonterra have introduced a bulk milk zinc check to help see if your zinc supplementation is protective – let us know if you’d like to discuss the results.
• Blaze pour-on can be useful for those of you struggling with nuisance flies, if your sprinkler isn’t cutting it.
• Autumn calving dry off – plan the day and staffing, making sure you get those teat ends clean!

R2 HEIFERS:

• Book in their pregnancy testing ‍
• Keep in touch with your grazier and ensure the communication is working to over come any feed shortages this summer.
• Plan your zinc bolus for them, remembering the highest counts are often at the end of the season.

CALVES:

• Keep an eye on the spore counts, over 20,000 = time to bolus with Faceguard.
• Keep up with the drenching for worms as they love the warm humid weather.

One of these conditions we see in clinic more often than the other but what is the difference?

Hyperthyroidism – Is a condition commonly seen in older cats and very rarely in dogs. Affected patients have an overactive thyroid gland which results in increased production of the thyroxine hormone (T4)[1] and triiodothyronine (T3)[2]. These hormones act in regulating the animal’s metabolic rate (the speed in which the machine runs). High production of these hormones leads to an increase in metabolic rate. Patients with this condition show symptoms such as increased hunger, increased thirst (fuel for the speed machine) and weight loss. A fast metabolic state also increases the workload of the cardiovascular system, so symptoms such as an increased heart rate or an enlarged heart may also be seen[3]. Thankfully there are treatment options available to “slow the machine” which include radioactive iodine treatment, anti thyroid medications (Vidalta or Methimazole), surgery to remove the glands or changing to a prescription diet (y/d)[4].

Hypothyroidism – This condition is commonly seen in middle aged mid to large breed dogs and rarely in cats. These patients have a decreased production of the thyroid hormones leading to a slower or sluggish metabolism (like starting an old car on a frosty morning). This leads to symptoms such as lethargy, poor coat condition, hair loss, trouble maintaining body warmth and weight gain without an increase in diet. In non-spayed females with hypothyroidism there is a decrease in litter survival rates due to the necessity of thyroid hormones for growth and development of the pups. There is also an increased risk of both male and females to become infertile due to this hormone deficiency[5].Treatment involves supplementation of thyroxine and regular appointments to check T4 levels and improvement of presenting symptoms[6]

So Hyperthyroidism is a speed machine vs Hypothyroidism which may need an oil change, full service and supplemented petrol!

[1]BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing 6th edition Ed. B Cooper, E Mullineaux andL Turner. Chapter 18 by R Gear pg. 568

[2] The thyroid gland in animals by MPeterson Ed. 2022 https://www.msdvetmanual.com/endocrine-system/the-thyroid-gland/the-thyroid-gland-in-animals?query=thyroxine

[3] Disorders of the thyroid gland incats by M Peterson and J Kretchevsky Ed. 2022 https://www.msdvetmanual.com/cat-owners/hormonal-disorders-of-cats/disorders-of-the-thyroid-gland-in-cats

[4] https://www.hillspet.com.au/cat-food/pd-yd-feline-dry

[5] Disorders of the thyroid gland indogs by M Peterson and J Kretchevsky Ed. 2022 https://www.msdvetmanual.com/dog-owners/hormonal-disorders-of-dogs/disorders-of-the-thyroid-gland-in-dogs

[6]BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing 6th edition Ed. B Cooper, E Mullineaux andL Turner. Chapter 18 by R Gear pg. 569

COWS

Plan for pregnancy testing – Six weeks after the last mating is the earliest that empties can be called. Please book your scan in early so we can give you the date and time of your choice. Most farms will need 2 scans for accurate ageing of all cows (the window is 40 to 90 days pregnant).

Make sure eartags are clear & readable, replace any missing tags, and sort out any MINDA queries, double-up cow numbers etc, to make the scanning day smoother and to make sure the information flows correctly when synchronising into Infovet.

The facial eczema season is coming – the best way to know if you need to start zinc is to bring in some grass so we can perform a spore count for your own farm. A week after you start providing the cows with the full recommended dose of zinc, you should check to see if the cows are actually getting this zinc at a therapeutic level, by either blood testing 15 cows, or doing a bulk milk zinc test. The cows must get zinc at the correct level, or they will not be protected against facial eczema (and you are wasting your money).

BMSCC is starting to increase for some – we have several trained mastitis assessors within the clinics to help keep a lid on it. Some milk cultures are a good place to start, along with a Mastitis Warrant of Fitness.

Plan your autumn-calving drying off – work out timings to allow for any dry cow withholdings and remember to order product early.

HEIFERS

Pregnancy testing heifers is important. Heifers too can be pregnancy tested from as early as six weeks after removing the bull. Keep a watch for any early abortions –diagnosis of a cause usually requires both blood from the heifer and fresh aborted material.

Have a summer feed plan with your grazier in case feed gets short – everyone likes to know so they can help early on rather than seeing under-sized animals returning home.

CALVES

Get them ready for grazing, and let the grazier know their status: lepto / 5 in 1/ BVD vax / last drench / last mineral treatments (copper capsule, B12/Selenium injection) so they can carry on after your hard work rearing them through spring. We have Animal Health Arrival/Departure cards which can capture this information for the grazier.

Weight gain and growth is key. Regular weighing will help identify those that are struggling and will allow targeted feeding or other interventions to make sure none are falling behind.

Lepto vaccinations are continuing: 4 – 6weeks in between first and second ( + BVD + Salmonella…).

Yersinia has been rearing its head with the lush pasture. Getting a correct diagnosis and treating early will avoid any checks in growth rates. It’s certainly on the list if they’re looking poor/scouring despite regular drenching.

Look after yourselves in the sun (when it’s out!), and hopefully you each enjoy a break off farm at some point.

Have a great Christmas and New Year.

I was called to see a sick calf on a large dairy farm towards the end of the day. The farm is nestled right in beside the Pureora forest up the end of a long gravel road. Absolutely beautiful part of the country with gorgeous views from the road. So I made my way up there wondering what I would find when I got there. I met the farm worker and he showed me to the calf which they had noticed earlier that day was not right and had later gone down.

Well things had got a lot worse since they had seen it last because it was now dead. Since I was already there, I decided that if we open the calf up we may discover why it died. So I began the post mortem and the calf was still warm so had only just died. The first issue I noticed was digested milk in the abdomen. That's not where it was supposed to be and I immediately suspected a hole in the abomasum (4^th stomach). I searched for the likely organ and sure enough there was a hole in the abomasum, leaking stomach contents all where it was not supposed to be.

I explained to the farmer that it was probably a good thing it died before I got there as I was unlike to diagnose that in a live calf and it would have died regardless.

What is interesting about this is last season they had several dead calves and I had done post mortems on a couple and they had both had the same thing. So this farm clearly has factors that make it higher risk for abomasal ulcers. So I looked into things that cause stomach ulcers in calves.

Turns out the stomach ulcers in calves are quite common and if they get severe enough, this can result in a stomach perforation. What is less clear is the factors that cause them. Some say not enough fibre in the diet can lead to ulcers, others say too much fibre is the cause. A colleague had an outbreak of stomach perforations years ago where they attributed it to having the fibre length too short. Overseas stomach perforations are mainly found in veal calves which are feed a lot of milk. The farm I have found them in does give ad lib milk to their calves, so that may be a factor, but we can’t be sure. A quick look in the text book mentions the following risk factors: bacterial infection of the abomasal wall, failure of passive transfer from colostrum, foreign body ingestion, poor milk hygiene, once a day feeding and the use of cold milk.

This case does highlight the benefits of post mortems on animals if you are getting more deaths than expected. Because we at least know why these calves have died.

Pinkeye

As we head into the drier months of the year, you might start to see more pinkeye on farm. Pinkeye is a common and contagious disease caused by a few different bacteria. It can result in ulceration of the eyeball which can lead to loss of the eye. It generally requires damage to the external surface of the eyeball before an infection can take hold; this is commonly caused by the eyeball scratching on dry grass, hay, or dust but even UV damage can be enough to cause it. Once the eyeball is damaged, the offending bacteria are easily spread around by flies and facial contact. Both the bacteria and the immune system ‘melt’ the surface of the eye, and a large ulcer quickly forms. It usually has a pus-filled centre with angry pink inflammation around it (see photo).

Treatment is with antibiotic eye ointment, but severe cases may need a bit more help. Anti-inflammatories(eg Ketomax or Metacam) are always helpful too. If the wound is so large that the eyeball is at risk of rupture, it is a simple surgery for the vet to come out and stitch the eyelids closed to protect the eye while it heals.

There is a vaccine for prevention of pinkeye, called Piliguard, but once an outbreak is occurring, it is often too late to vaccinate. Making sure that you are not overstocked and removing affected animals from the mob is the best way to prevent pinkeye or to reduce the severity of an outbreak.

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Grass seeds

A similar-looking disease is the damage caused by a foreign object to the eye; often grass seeds at this time of year. You will need to properly restrain the animal to have a good look in its eye and remove the grass seed. A bit of eye ointment and a shot of anti-inflammatories (eg Ketomax or Metacam) doesn’t hurt either.

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Cancer eye

Cancers of the 3^rd eyelid and eye tissues are very common in dairy cattle. They occur due to UV damage and progressively grow and get worse. Cattle won’t be able to be transported if the growth/tumour is too large (over 2cm) or if it is leaking blood or fluid, so it’s best to remove them early.

When the growth is restricted to just the third eyelid, it is a simple procedure for a vet to come out and remove the cancer. When the cancer has grown into the other tissues surrounding the eye, the eye might be able to be removed entirely.

Otherwise, slaughter on-farm may be the only option. Recurrence of removed eye cancers is unfortunately fairly common. If you are unsure about whether an animal is fit for transport, ring your local Vetora clinic to get a vet out to have a look.

‍

COWS:

• The BLOAT risk period continues, especially silage aftermath with clover present.
• HEAT DETECTION – keep it up for a few more weeks and make the last ones count. Using some short gestation semen can help compact your calving spread at the end.
• LAME cows – Lift the foot of EVERY lame cow and treat them early with pain relief and blocks. Talk to your vet if you or your staff would like some lameness training.
• MASTITIS – Bring milk samples into your nearest clinic to check the cause and select the best treatments. Also consider samples for culture for those cows over 500,000 on herd test. Perform liner changes when they are due and arrange a milking management visit if you are getting unexplained spikes in BMSCC.
• PROVIDE SHADE/COOLING – On hot days, the heat will impact cow performance – both production and conception rate. Heat mitigation is also an integral part of your Animal Wellbeing Plan for the Fonterra Cooperative Difference.
• BULLS – Get them ready for the big day
• BOOK A HOLIDAY – Taking time away from the farm after a busy calving and mating period is very important for mental health and wellbeing.

YEARLINGS:

• CHECK BULLS are all working and healthy still, to catch any returns/stragglers. Retire and replace any that are injured or lame.
• FEED THEM WELL - so they grow AND stay pregnant. Make a plan now with your grazier in case feed is tight over the summer and autumn, so you don’t get caught out.

CALVES:

• VACCINATIONS…Lepto, 5 in 1 / 10 in 1 boosters, and BVD for those going away grazing (let’s not forget their Salmonella vaccinations too!)
• GRAZING FORMS – Great resource on our website for Arrival and Departure forms. Grazing-departure-form Grazing-arrival-form
• ‍DRENCH (+/- anti-coccidia for those that are weaned – Turbo Initial is aneconomical approach for this).
• TRACE MINERALS for those that are weaned.
• WEIGH THEM – Where are they at? Do any need to catch up? – a small difference now can be big gap later on…

All the best for the rest of mating.

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November is here, and with it the long hot days of summer are close.

Cows feel the heat, just like we all do - they produce a lot of heat during the rumination and fermentation process, which is helpful during winter, but not great during the heat of summer. It has been well proven that when cows are unable to manage heat load, their feed intake and production will be significantly affected. The Dairy NZ website has some great information about heat stress and the impact on production. The combination of summer warmth and humidity in the Waikato means for our cows on average there are 70 to 80 days per year that will stress the herd enough to reduce production, with an average annual impact of 6 to 7 kg MS per cow. These numbers are for Friesians and Crossbreds – Jerseys are a little more heat tolerant.

Any shade is great, but nothing beats the shade from a leafy green tree. It has also been proven that cows will choose trees over artificial shelter - you can feel the difference yourself between a sun shelter or a tin roof versus a tree. The best advice I’ve been given about planting trees is don’t just plant a tree for a single reason. Summer shade is a great reason, but think about benefits of a deciduous tree for more winter sun, or an evergreen to give more shelter during storms. You might want to plant trees that can double as firewood species, or timber, or to attract birds and pollinators. And don’t overlook the dollars - trees can add to a farm value purely due to aesthetics.

November is a terrible time to be planting trees, but it is a great time to get some trees ordered for a planting program for next autumn or winter. It can be a bit discouraging if you want shade right now and don’t have the patience for trees to grow! Another reason to start planning as soon as possible. Poplars and eucalypts grow rapidly, and will start producing really useful amounts of shade within 3 or 4 years.

In the short term, things you can do to help a little include making sure cows have plenty of access to water around the shed, putting up artificial shelter around the shed and altering milking times to avoid the heat of the day. Sprinklers are useful, but need to soak cows to the skin to be effective - fans help assist evaporative heat loss. There is a proverb that says ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best is now’. Maybe not right this second, but start making plans and get it done!

We are at the end of my favourite period of the year - ‘the calving season’. Compared to last year, the season was relatively slow with less difficulties. But I did run into a few “odd” calvings.

While on a routine farm visit, the farmer asked if I could check a heifer as she is not in calf but “there is something hanging out.”
After an inspection, there seemed to be something stuck in the vaginal area making it impossible to get my hand in. The Rectal exam gave me even more question marks because I could feel the mass before the cervix with a small little uterus behind it. I decided to push it out with my hand in the rectum, and out came a dinosaur looking creature. A mummified calf that looked like apterodactyl. The heifer was never sick, and she was even cycling.

Mummification of a foetus can happen in certain circumstances. If the foetus dies in the womb during late pregnancy and the conditions of the reproductive tract prevent adequate decomposition and fluid drainage. As a result, the foetal tissues gradually dehydrate and mummify. It is considered to be a rare event.

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At another calving where I had students with me, after a quick check, I knew something strange was going on. I felt a big balloon with loose bones and a sort of socket with some tissue sticking out.  I found some ears on the big mass and teeth. So I knew it must be a head. We then decided to cut it out which was a good training exercise for the students with handling the fetotome and the use of wire.

Unfortunately, the head shown in the picture below does not depict how big it actually was, the fluid drained as soon as it came out. The eyes were out of the eye sockets, and loose skull bones were floating in the skin.

Hydrocephalusis a rare condition characterised by abnormal accumulation of cerebro spinal fluids within the brain. There are various causes and risk factors, some may be congenital, an infection or exposure to toxins during pregnancy, and nutritional imbalances could also contribute.

Although cases like these are unfortunate for both the farmer and the cow, they do make our job more interesting.  All the best to you all!

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The BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea) bulk milk results will have no doubt been flooding many of your mailboxes now or within the next month. This article is not about the disease itself but focussing on what the graph means.

To get the most out of it we will break down the graph for you so

a) you understand what you are looking at and

b) that together we can evaluate the risks and costs of having BVD infection on your farm (or keeping it free from BVD).

These stars quantify the antibody test result which indicates your herd’s exposure to BVD. The level of antibody needs to be interpreted with care and in context with your herd’s individual management and biosecurity risks. Most herds that have had BVD infection in the past few seasons will have a result that sits in the high to very high range.

The arrow at the top of the graph is very important as it represents the test for detecting the BVD virus. The white arrow is a negative result, meaning that there were no cows infected with BVD milking into the vat on that day. A red arrow means there is at least one cow in the herd that has BVD virus infection. A red arrow warrants further investigation as we know there is an infection in the herd but not whether this is a persistent infection (PI) or a transient infection (TI). However, a white arrow may also need further investigation depending on the individual scenario; for example, if there is a large jump in antibody level.

It is important to remember that the bulk milk test is good for screening for BVD infection within the herd, however, it is not without its limitations. The biggest limitation is that there may be BVD positive animals on the farm, but a negative bulk tank would show up if these cattle were not being milked into the vat. This can include pregnant cows, lame cows, sick cows, dry cows or even bulls (if they have not already been tested and vaccinated).

To help you understand; the graph above shows that last year there were high circulating antibodies within the herd, but previous two tests last season have returned negative BVD infection in the herd.

The first milk result for this season so far has returned a positive virus result, which means there is at least one milking cow in the herd with BVD infection.

To break this down further there are a few details to be ascertained:

• Was there a BVD positive animal on the farm last season that was not contributing to the vat at the time of testing?
• Have the replacement heifers been tested prior to entering the herd?
• Has there been any other cattle brought onto the farm since the last season?

Once we answer these questions, we can then start a focused investigation to target testing in the hunt for the infected cow.

The economic costs to a naïve herd have been conservatively reported as being $22.22 per cow/year. The biggest economic impact can occur when a persistently infected first calver enters the herd causing transient infections to the existing milking herd and a subsequent drop in milk production.  

There are a few aspects to the disease which can complicate an investigation, so it is a good idea to get in contact with us (if we haven’t already with you) to help you get the best out of this screening tool!

The best thing you can do is make sure that your dog is at either their ideal weight or a bit on the skinny side.

A journal article in 2006 found that dogs fed a restricted diet did not develop their first signs of arthritis, by X-rays, until they were12 years of age. Dogs fed ad-libitum, and therefore overweight, developed signs of arthritis at 6 years of age.

This is an amazing difference! Keep your dog lean and mean is a very good idea. Especially in large breed dogs that are prone to elbow and hip arthritis.

At Vetora our nurses can weigh your dogs and make sure they are the correct weight. We have a range of diets to help with weight loss and the management of arthritis.

COWS:

• BLOAT – this is usually the worst month, so prevention is key – Rumenox/Rumensin +/-Bloat Oil. Having some spare silage to feed out (long fibre) is important if it’s going to be a bad year too.
• NON-CYCLERS – Take action early. Whichever intervention you choose, the earlier you do it, the more chance it has to be effective, and the greater the return on your investment.
• MINERALS – Get them checked, and boost if needed. Remember peak milk = peak calcium and magnesium requirements too, so don’t stop these either!
• LAMECOWS – early intervention is essential. Corrective trimming of the lesion, a block or slip, and anti-inflammatories are the keys to successful recovery. Antibiotics are only needed in a very small number of lame cows that don’t have footrot. Our vets are happy to do on-farm lameness training with staff.
• HIP INJURIES – treat them early. Hips need to be put back in as soon as possible after dislocation for the cow to stand a chance. Cows that are still using the dislocated leg a bit to walk have the best prognosis.
• HEAT DETECTION – vital for everyone. The more aids and eyes, the better. Time spent watching them in the paddock to see the extra cow each day pays for itself.

Share the link below with farm staff for a refresher: https://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/reproduction-and-mating/heat-detection/observing-cows-to-detect-heats/

• BODY CONDITION SCORING – Body condition scoring gives a visual estimate of a cow’s fat reserves. This in turn provides information on feed requirements and health status. Managing body condition is critical to help your cows perform their best for lactation and mating. Vetora’s DairyNZ accredited body condition scorers are available to assist you with your condition scoring requirements.

HEIFERS:

• BULLS – Check that they’re all working and not fighting, and that they’re physically able. If one goes sick/lame then replace him ASAP.
• Make sure bulls arriving are BVD test negative AND vaccinated. 

CALVES:

• VACCINATIONS – 5 in 1 / 10 in 1 boosters + Lepto due, as well as BVD if they’re off grazing, and Salmonella to line up with your herd.
• DRENCHING – most will start this month if it’s more than 3 weeks since they’ve been out on grass. If using an oral, this should be a separate time from their milk feeding.
• COCCIDIA – if still on calf meal, most contain a coccidiostat to help. If weaning some early together with reducing meal, calves may need a drench with Baycox C, or Turbo Initial.

As a pet owners it is our responsibility to keep our pets safe, happy and healthy. Vaccinating your pet is one essential step you can take that will achieve all three of these goals.

Vaccines help develop your pets immune system against various diseases, making them less susceptible to illnesses. Vaccines not only protect your own pet but also reduce the spread of diseases within the pet population. They are particularly important if your pet goes into kennels, visits dog parks, boarding facilities or grooming services.

Vaccinations are ideally started at 6-8 weeks old followed by booster vaccinations given every 3-4 weeks until they’re about 4 months old. If you’re unsure about your pets vaccine history, speak to your veterinarian-we can start them again at any time.

When your pet visits us for their vaccination they will have a thorough health check, this includes

• Listening to their heart and lungs
• Dental check
• Checking their ears/eyes
• Checking their overall health
• Discussing nutrition

Once your pet has had their kitten/puppy vaccines they’re often boostered yearly, though this can vary with each patient and can be extended to two yearly. Speaking to your veterinarian will ensure your pet receives the best vaccine schedule for their particular need. Some factors that can influence this may be pets age, health status, lifestyle and risk of exposure to various diseases. As your pet gets older, the yearly health checks are also a great opportunity to check for potential arthritic changes, lumps/bumps and regular monitoring for any other changes in health that comes with getting older.

We love to love your pet too, if you’d like for us to see your pet please contact the clinic.

If we badly sprained our ankle or stub our toe badly what’s the first thing we reach for? Normally pain relief like paracetamol or ibuprofen. When a cow is lame however we don’t always jump to the same treatment. Make no mistake, cows are not “tough”, they feel pain just as you or I do.

Most lameness in NZ dairy cows (approx. 80%!!) is due to inflammation and damage to the soft tissue (corium) The injuries slowly grow down and are visible as lesions months later.

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Around calving the fat pad becomes thinner and the ligaments inside the hoof relax, making the corium more susceptible to damage. Early identification prior to mating can dramatically reduce future lameness risks. Early treatment will get the cow feeling better and grazing quicker, which will help to minimise any drop in productivity and body condition.

KetoMax is a high potency non-steroidal anti-inflammatory for treating pain, fever, and inflammation in cattle. Contains ketoprofen 150mg/mL in solution for intramuscular injection. Ketoprofen is rapidly and extensively absorbed following injection, so has a rapid onset of action. The effects of ketoprofen are attributed to its inhibition of the inflammatory process.

‍The most successful treatments for lame cows are:  

• EARLY IDENTIFICATION BEING KEY ***
• HOOF CORRECTLY TRIMMED + BLOCK APPLIED
• 1-3 DAYS OF PAIN RELIEF SUCH AS KETOMAX

With a Nil withhold for Milk and only 2 days for meat it is an easy-to-use treatment for pain, inflammation, and fever in cattle.
Dose for cattle: 1 mL / 50 kg / day for 1 to 3 days depending on the severity and duration of symptoms eg 500kg cow is an easy daily dose at 10mL.

Lameness is one of the most painful and prevalent conditions in dairy cows, so make sure you have KetoMax available at the cow shed, and reach for it when treating lame cows just as we would at home.

We all know the importance of heat detection – every missed heat means a delay of 3 weeks before the cow’s next chance of getting back in calf. And no matter how good your heat detection practices are, a human is never going to detect as many cows on heat as a bull will. (Sex is a powerful motivator.)

Teaser bulls are vasectomised bulls – they still have testes so they still produce testosterone, and they look and act like bulls, but the vas deferens (the tube that sperm swim down) is tied off so that they’re no longer fertile.

Using teaser bulls:

• Use around 1 bull per hundred cows.
• Put them in on the first day of mating, and take them out at the end of AB.
• No need to rest them – they’re not getting cows in calf; they’re just finding cows on heat.

Creating teasers:

You can buy or hire a teaser bull for the season –alternatively, you can make your own. Keep a few bull calves and get them vasectomised by the vet around the time of weaning. Our normal protocol is to castrate one side and vasectomise the other – they still make plenty of testosterone, but with only one testicle, they are easily identified as teasers. (We can vasectomise bigger bulls too; it’s just a bit scarier to stand right behind a bigger animal while you do surgery on his scrotum.)

A vasectomised bull calf will be working as a teaser the next season, at 15 months old. After he’s been used in the herd, he can be kept another year – or, if you prefer not to keep bulls on farm year-round, we can castrate him so he can be fattened for the freezer.

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Last weekend when I was on duty, I got called out to see a sick cow. The cow was walking very slow and had a sudden drop in milk production. On clinical exam, her heart, lungs and temperature were normal. She had a yellow vulva and when I took a blood sample, the blood was much ‘thinner’ than it should be. Those are typical signs of Theileria and the lab confirmed my diagnoses a few days later.

Interestingly enough, three of my other colleagues have seen Theileria cases in the Tokoroa/Mangakino area too this week. About eight to ten years ago when we saw the first new strain of Theileria (Ikeda) cases in cows in the North Island, we had some farms where a high percentage of the herd was affected, and I have done many blood transfusions to try to save cows’ lives (fortunately that was successful in all but one case!). Since then Theileria has become more endemic: it is a constant presence and most cows have at least some immunity against it. Therefore, we don’t see many very severe affected cows anymore.

Theileria is a tiny (only 1 cell!) parasite that gets transferred to cattle by ticks. When ticks carrying Theileria feed on cattle, the parasite gets into their bloodstream and enters red blood cells. In some animals, sufficient red blood cells are destroyed to cause anaemia: there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around. This often presents as weak/slow cows with a drop in milk production. Often these cows have a very white or jaundiced (yellow) mucosae. In cows it is often easiest to check the mucosal colour in the vulva (should be pink) or the third eyelid (should be white).

This week we had quite a few queries about Theileria, ticks and treatment, so here is a short refresher:

• Ticks are present everywhere in the Waikato and so is Theileria. Cows under stress (calving, peak lactation, dry off etc) are most susceptible and that explains why we are seeing quite a few cases currently!
• Cows that are sick now, have been infected by a tick bite 4-6 weeks ago.
• Treatment: reducing stress (once a day milking, minimal walking, adlib feeding, gentle handling) is the MOST important treatment for affected animals. Engemycin has been used in the past with minimal success.

Ticks only spend about three weeks out of the year on cattle (they mainly live on pastures and also on rabbits, hares etc). Because tickicides have a limited duration of effect (3 to 6 weeks), it is unlikely that even with frequent tick application, Theileria can be totally prevented. Tickicides maybe useful in some cases, please contact your vet if you need farm specific advice.

This viral infection of dogs, especially puppies, is very serious disease that if not treated will probably result in their death. The puppy will become lethargic, not want to eat, start vomiting and often develop a very bloody smelly diarrhoea. Young, small puppies that are not fully vaccinated are most susceptible to this viral infection.

The virus is a very hardy bug that can last in the environment for years. That is why some puppies have contracted parvo on a property where there may have been unwell dogs in the past, with no recent history of contact with a sick puppy or dog.

Summer appears to be the time of the year when we see these sick “parvo” pups. This is also the time of the year when a lot of people get their puppy and when this virus is probably more prevalent in the environment.

The best way to protect your puppy is by vaccination. The vaccine is very effective and safe. Fully vaccinated puppies and dogs very rarely get parvo. Vaccination can start as early as 6 weeks and the last vaccination should be at 16 weeks. Your pup is not fully protected until a week after their last vaccination. Before this time you should be keeping your puppy on your property. They should not be taken for walks around the neighbourhood or in parks. They should not be socializing with any dog that is not vaccinated, been unwell or been at a dog control facility as these groups of animals and facilities pose an increased risk for your puppy getting parvo.

Treatment of parvo is very expensive. The reason is that your puppy will have to be hospitalized in isolation for several days on fluids and being given an assortment of drugs. Unfortunately, despite all this time, effort and money these sick puppies can die. A dead puppy and a large vet bill is not what anyone wants!

The take home message is that parvo virus is always going to be a problem and it is a killer. Vaccination is an absolute must for all puppies. Vaccination is a cheap insurance policy for your dog. Vaccination saves Lives.

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Now is an excellent time for all Fonterra suppliers to reflect on the Co-operative Difference Animal Wellbeing Plan completed in conjunction with vets at RVM time. The rationale for these plans is that “customers and consumers increasingly require that food producers demonstrate that animals are healthy, productive, contented and treated with respect throughout their lives”. Thus, the Co-operative Difference is an opportunity for farmers to demonstrate that this is happening on their farm, and to benchmark some standards that can constantly be improved on. Vets are passionate about animal wellbeing, so keep checking in with you vet about how we can help you to keep raising the wellbeing bar.

COWS

• Tailpaint is the order of the day – pre-mating heats should be recorded from 35 days before planned start of mating, so most farms should be seriously thinking about this now, if it is not already underway. Your tailpaint plan should make it easy to identify everything you need to (heats/non-cyclers/early-calver/late-calver/mated…etc.).
• Plan your mating – be it heat detection aids, CIDR timings, Why-wait programmes or phantom cow prevention. A repro-ready consult with your vet is a good place to start and these are free for members. Don’t forget to book in your AB techs, especially for CIDR AB days, and train your staff in heat detection.
• Plan your bulls and make sure they’re blood-test BVD free and BVD vaccinated.
• Sort mastitis issues early – milk cultures are the best way to know what you’re dealing with and how to best treat it. Keeping all the machine parts and rubberware up to scratch will reduce teat damage and help prevent infection.
• Check your bulk milk BVD – if your herd has become positive this year, it’s important to remove the infection before mating.
• Bloat treatment should be starting now. For those using Rumenox/Rumensin this will help, but you may still need bloat oil if it’s a bad year.
• Metricheck the late calvers – this is probably the best intervention to help catch them up.
• Scan your autumn-calving cows.
• Draft for preferential feeding. Whether it’s once a day or just a smaller mob with more feed offered, it pays to look after heifers and light cows early to give them the best chance of cycling at PSM.
• Mineral check/pre-mating bloods – Especially coming into the repro season, it pays to make sure your trace elements are on track.
• Lame cows – identify and treat these girls early and appropriately. Lift up every lame foot before giving antibiotics. Our vets enjoy sharing their knowledge of lame cows, so if you or your staff would like more training in this area, please do get in touch.

CALVES

• Booster vax for 5 in 1 / 7 in 1 / 10 in 1 – four to six weeks after the first vax.
• Dehorn the remainder of the calves.
• Avoid grazing calves on effluent paddocks/sick-cow paddocks to decrease the spread of Johne’s disease.
• Drench calves after they have been on grass for three to four weeks.

YOUNGSTOCK

• BVD vax, BVD vax, BVD vax – For most farms, the biggest risk of contracting BVD is sending unvaccinated young stock out grazing. Make sure calves are vaccinated before going out grazing, and heifers are boosted before mating.
• Plan your synchro programmes – remember they still need to be well grown and cycling for the best results.

Have a good run-up to mating!

After what can be described as a difficult season, by adding Rumenox to your management tool box it will help your Dairy cows perform better.

Rumenox is a rumen modifier that contains the active ingredient monensin. Rumenox provides more energy to dairy cows by adjusting bacteria populations in the rumen. This extra energy is utilised to increase cow performance and reduce metabolic disease.

‍More Cows In Calf‍

The extra energy that Rumenox provides can lead to improved reproductive performance through improved cow condition and reduced ketosis. A range of controlled studies show the effect of Rumenox on cow health.

Recent Dairy NZ studies show 75% of New Zealand dairy herds tested are affected by sub-clinical ketosis. This disease has now been strongly linked to increased endometritis and a staggering 7% reduction in six week in-calf rates.

Rumenox significantly reduces ketosis. Studies consistently show a 40% reduction in the disease.

For optimum results, Rumenox should be introduced pre-calving, or if not practical, it should be added to feed as soon as the dairy herd returns to the milking platform in early spring.

‍Milk Protein Production

Rumenox increases the amount of propionate produced in a cow’s rumen, which leads to increased milk protein production. There is significant evidence in NZ and Australian pasture based systems of this effect. In 17 NZ/Australia pasture studies, treated cows produced an average of 40g more milk protein per cow/day.

Pasture Bloat

Rumenox is an effective bloat control strategy. It creates a fermentation shift in the rumen which leads to a reduction in methane gas production, this gas is one of the key contributors to bloat.

Rumenox has a lasting effect of 24-48 hours, unlike conventional bloat detergents which are shorter lived in the rumen.

This duration of activity is particularly important when relying on water medication for bloat control e.g. dosatron. Cows don’t always drink regularly, in fact, they drink very little on wet days. When treating with conventional bloat detergents, cows are vulnerable to a bloat challenge when drinking is restricted, due to their shorter duration of activity.

For this reason years of observational evidence strongly suggests that Rumenox outperforms conventional bloat detergents.

‍Cow Condition

When it comes to improving body condition score, feeding is at the top of the list. There are very few other tools available that can contribute to achieving body condition score targets.

Introducing your cows to rumen modifiers such as Rumenox allows them to digest their feed more efficiently. It does this by producing more energy in the rumen from the feed consumed. Individual cows then determine where this energy is partitioned depending on their requirements at the time. There is significant evidence in NZ pasture-based systems showing a cow condition response.

Coccidia is a single celled gut parasite which usually affects calves between 3-8 months of age. While it usually occurs in older animals, it can affect those as young as 4 weeks. The effect of this parasite on stock can vary. It can be subclinical, in that a given animal can be infected but not show any outward signs of ill health. On the other end of the spectrum, coccidia can lead to significant gut upset, growth checks, and even the death of those affected. The severity of symptoms seen depends on the animal’s immune system and how heavy the coccidia burden is. Coccidia has a more detrimental effect on health when it is seen alongside the following conditions: increased stress, poor nutrition, and diseases (such as BVD). Symptoms are usually seen ~2 weeks after exposure.

Symptoms commonly seen:

• Faecal staining around the tail and on the backs of the legs
• Faeces that contain mucous and blood
• An animal that is repeatedly straining to defecate
• Elevated temperature (39.0-39.5 ⁰C)
• Animals appear uncomfortable/listless
• Rapid weight loss
• Decreased appetite

Coccidia uses the cells in the intestines to reproduce, destroying them as they emerge. This effectively damages the intestinal lining, decreasing the ability of the animal to absorb nutrients and retain water. Hence the weight loss and dehydration, despite good feed availability. These signs can continue for typically 7-10 days, after which, in the absence of reinfection, the calf will often begin to recover. However, depending on the degree of damage, it can take weeks for the gut to recover and until it does, feed intake and weight gains will be reduced.

Like a lot of the parasites we deal with, coccidia is shed in the faeces and infection occurs via ingestion of contaminated pasture, feed and water. Infection can also occur through grooming, again via inadvertent ingestion of contaminated faeces that are on the animal’s coat.

Coccidia is a hardy organism, being able to survive in pasture for up to 2 years when the conditions are not too dry or hot. If the same paddocks are used for calves from year to year and the weather conditions mild, coccidia outbreaks can be seen. Outbreaks can also occur when the feeding of coccidiostat containing feed stops as it takes time for calves to build an immunity to coccidia.

If you suspect stock may have coccidia, you can bring in a fresh faecal sample to check for coccidia.

As coccidia can infect a significant proportion of animals in a mob without all of them showing signs of obvious sickness, a big part of management is prevention. This involves feeding milk and meal with coccidiostats in them and using drenches that are also effective against coccidia. Preventative management practices revolve around rotational grazing if applicable and ensuring an appropriate stocking density. Where animals are ill, treatment involves separating them from the rest of the mob and oral dosing them with toltrazuril (BaycoxC) which is usually given as a one-off treatment. Most animals should recover if caught and treated early.

The start of mating is just around the corner for dairy herds, which always raises the question of the best way to manage non-cycling cows.  It is an even bigger question given the recent decrease in forecasted milk payout and the conditions leading up to the2023 mating season.

Many herds milked late at the end of last season, so cows had less time than in other seasons to recover and put on condition during the dry period.  Following on the heels of this shorter dry period, cold wet weather during calving has resulted in slow grass growth and poor feed quality.  This all increases the time that cows take to start cycling properly after calving and could result in increased numbers of non-cyclers in your herd.

The first step to managing the non-cycling cows is finding them! Heat detection aids need to be applied by 35 days before the start of mating to allow enough time to pick up cows that aren’t cycling. Pre-mating heat detection means you know whether your herd has high numbers of non-cycling cows, and you can make decisions about appropriate treatment early, rather than realizing that your herd is in trouble after AB has already started.  

Treating non-cyclers makes money in the long-term, as treated cows get in calf earlier and have more days in milk next season. There are two key pitfalls that can reduce profitability from a non-cycler treatment program, and a drop in milk payout makes it more important than ever to avoid these.  Firstly, you will make the most profit from treating non-cycling cows before mating starts, and the later you leave it the less money you will make from a treatment program.  Secondly, the most profitable treatment program is the one that produces the best conception rate, so use the best program you can afford.  

Now is the perfect time to make a budget and work out how much money you can assign to treatment of non-cyclers.  Work with your vet to plan the best approach for your herd, which may include options like targeting treatment towards only some of your non-cycling cows.

We acknowledge that farm finances are tight this season and so are offering free early pregnancy scanning of non cycling cows treated before the start of mating.

In summary

• Use heat detection aids for 35 days prior to the planned start of mating on the whole herd.
• Treating non cycling cows early provides the greatest cost benefit.
• Discuss the different options for managing noncycling cows with your vet.
• Vetora is offering free early pregnancy scanning of your non cycling cows treated before the start of mating.

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Recently EpiVets published a study to describe the time it takes for lame dairy cows to recover after diagnosis and treatment of claw horn lameness, and to investigate whether cure rates differed between farms.

Five dairy farms in the Waikato region were enrolled over two seasons.  Lame cattle were diagnosed by the farmers if they had a lameness score (LS ≥ 2 on a 0–3 scale) and claw horn lesions. All enrolled animals were attended to by a single veterinarian following a consistent methodology, and then cows were lameness scored twice weekly until they were sound (LS = 0).

Overall, it took 18 (95% CI = 14–21) days for a lame cow to become sound. The study concluded that following industry best-practice lameness treatment guidelines, including frequent use of blocks, can result in rapid lameness cure rates in New Zealand dairy cows. How long cattle are lame for, before diagnosis and treatment (picking them up and paring them and putting blocks on) is an important predictor of how fast they recover. Therefore, the best way farmers can improve how fast their cattle recover is to diagnose and attend to lame cattle quickly. The best way to do this is likely regular lameness scoring as by the time you notice her being lame, she has likely been that way for a long time.

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As spring approaches, its crucial to understand the duration of the birthing process for a seamless transition for your pregnant animals. If your animal is taking longer than the times below to complete a stage, please call us early so we can provide the best possible outcome for both mother and offspring.

Stageone starts when uterine contractions begin. The foetus moves towards the birthing canal, and you may see your animal becoming restless, separating from the others in the group and a reduced appetite. You will often see a raised tail and the vulva can have clear/yellow mucus discharge or membranes protruding out of it.

Timing for stage one

• Cows = 2 – 24 hrs
• Heifers = 2 – 48 hrs
• Ewes = 2 – 5 hrs
• Goats = 2 – 5 hrs
• Hembras = 1 – 6 hrs

‍Stage two - membranes rupture and the foetus is delivered. You are likely to see obvious abdominal straining, shifting between recumbent/standing and ideally there will be 2 front feet and a nose at the vulva. This stage finishes when the foetus is completely out. There can be many reasons why a mother cannot push the foetus out, often due to malposition of the foetus, but the earlier we can intervene the better the outcome is for both mother and offspring.

Timing for stage two

• Cows = 30mins – 1 hr
• Heifers = 1 – 4 hrs
• Ewes = no longer than 2 hrs
• Goats = no longer than 1 hr
• Hembras = no longer than 1 hr  

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Stage three is the passing of foetal membranes and the cervix closes. With this you should see placenta protruding from the vulva, there may be a small amount of bleeding/fluid draining out from the vulva and it is complete when the entire placenta is delivered. There should be one placenta for each foetus delivered.

Timing for stage three

• Cow = 1 – 8 hrs
• Seek help if not passed in 12 hrs
• Ewes = 2 – 3 hrs
• Seek help if not passed in 10 hrs
• Goats = 2 – 10 hrs
• Hembras = 4 – 6 hrs

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Tail docking lambs

Lambs’ tails are docked to reduce their risk of flystrike.  A long tail allows for dags which attract the flies increasing the risk and severity of flystrike in the summer.  

Lambs’ tails can be docked up to 6 months of age and must be done with a rubber ring or hot iron.  After 6 months it must be done surgically by a veterinarian.

The tail must be long enough to cover the vulva (and similar length in males). This protects the vulva from sun damage.  Below this level can be painful.  While we want the tails shorter to prevent flystrike, tails too short can also increase risk of flystrike and can also cause uterine prolapses after lambing.

Lambs should get their clostridial vaccinations before tail docking to ensure they are protected from tetanus.

Castrations

The animal welfare regulations allow rubber ring castration in sheep, goats, and cattle until 6 months of age.  After this time, it is required to be surgically done by a veterinarian.  Often the testes will be too big to be rubber ringed successfully before they reach 6 month of age and should instead be done surgically by a veterinarian. It is a lot easier for us to surgically castrate than to fix a rubber ring job that has gone wrong.  When using a rubber ring you need to ensure both testes are below the ring and make sure none of the teats are included (yes, like humans the males have nipples too). Horses and pigs must be castrated by a veterinarian with the necessary pain relief given.

If you are unsure about any castrations or tail docking we can do this from any age.  These are painful procedures, and it is better to be done right.

Disbudding

Did you know mostcows are born with horns? There is a very common procedure in the dairy farmingindustry to prevent the growth of horns in calves called disbudding. It is doneby removing the horn buds from the calves between two to six weeks of age. It isa less invasive procedure at a young age when the horn buds have not yetattached to the skull, rather than when the horns are bigger.

The main reason fordisbudding calves is to prevent injury to themselves and other animals. Thereis also a great risk of injury to anyone handling the animals. Horns also makeit difficult for veterinary professionals and handlers to carry out basicprocedures safely.

Using localanaesthetic is a legal requirement when disbudding calves. Pairing this withsedation makes it quick, pain free and as minimally stressful for the calves aspossible. It is also a great opportunity for the calves to receive theirvaccinations, check navels and get rings put on. Once the local anaesthetic andsedation has kicked in, we use an electric hot iron. We also recommend calvesreceive long-acting pain relief as well which helps to speed up the recoveryand healing process for the calves. It is important for small blocks to havegood facilities such as a pen or yards with shelter over top so the calves towake up from sedation safely.

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Calf disbudding can be a time consuming procedure at a very busy time of year on farm. Our Vetora technician teams offer a high quality, fast and efficient calf disbudding service. This enables farm staff to be able to get on with other important tasks elsewhere on the farm.

When?

Dehorning is best performed when the calves are young. Ideally when they are at least two weeks old and not older than six weeks. There is also a reduced fee for disbudding calves younger than 6 weeks of age.

How?

Our Vetora technicians will visit your farm and disbud your calves in groups. This is to ensure that the calves are not too old, meaning less burning causing less distress, and risk to the animals.

All the calves are fully sedated and then given a local anaesthetic nerve block to provide short term pain relief, during and after the procedure. The disbudding is performed with either an electric hot iron or gas dehorner. Following this antibiotic spray is applied to the area immediately afterwards.

You can also choose to give the calves an anti-inflammatory pain relief injection which provides longer lasting pain relief for 48 hours after disbudding. Calves receiving anti- inflammatory show less irritation to the wound site, less stress and will return to full feeding much faster.

Adding value to calf disbudding visit

At the same time as disbudding, our trained technicians are able to perform a number of value add procedures on the calves whilst they are sedated.

1. We like to begin the calves’ vaccination programme at this stage and can immunise against Clostridial diseases (Covexin 10 in 1).
2. Vaccination for Bovine viral diahrroea (BVD) can also be started.
3. Check for the presence and removal of extra teats. ‍
4. Ear notch sampling of calves for BVD testing and or DNA testing. This is a very simple task whilst the calves are all sleeping. Ear notching all heifer replacements for BVD is best practice for ensuring BVD virus positive (PI) animals don’t get into the herd as two year olds. From Bulk milk testing for BVD many of our dairy herds show recent BVD exposure at levels which make producing Persistently Infected (PI) animals a real possibility. Identifying any PI calves at a young age saves unnecessary costs on rearing any BVD virus positive calves.
5. Detection of calves with navel infections, navel hernias, facial abscesses, ear tag infections is also routinely carried out whilst they are sedated.
6. NAIT ID tags can also be inserted by farm staff while the calves are still sleeping.

What do you need to provide for us?‍

• ‍Calves in clean pens
• Power supply? Let us know if there is no power available in certain calf sheds and we can also bring a generator or use gas dehorners.‍
• No milk. Please do not feed your calves any milk in the three hours prior to sedation and disbudding.‍
• Shelter. It is important that the calves can go undercover after the dehorning if rain is on its way. If it is raining, or going to rain in the next 24 hours and there is no shelter available for the calves we might have to postpone for another day.

Dairy NZ state on their website that “Sedation results in low stress disbudding for calves and handlers”.

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