We're loyal, not just local.

Christmas Hours 

Over the Christmas period our clinics will be closed on the following days:

Tues 25 December & Wed 26 December
Tues 1 January & Wed 2 January

If you have an emergency please call your local clinic for the phone number of the on-call Vet.

Latest News

Hurunui Barnardos 

Just 7 sleeps until Christmas! Let's help make all families enjoy this time.

Together with Hurunui Barnardos we are collecting food & gift items to be distributed amongst our local families in need.

If you would like to donate something please drop off non perishable food to any of our clinics. Items will be delivered to families this weekend.

Pregnancy Testing Rates - 1st Round

- A mixed bag - some farms having good mid-50’s conception rates, others in late 40’s.
- Repeat bulling/returns are still high on some farms - others about where expected.
- We have been finding somewhere around 10-20% ‘Phantom-cow’ rates in these early testing herds. It is good to find them now, so you can try to get a cycle from them before the end of mating, rather than assuming they are pregnant.

Sick Calves

We have been seeing mixed problems in calves this December:

1. Coccidia and larvae/worms tend to flourish in these warm humid moist conditions.  Watch your paddock contamination levels, stick strictly to your monthly drenching plan and always drench to the heaviest animal.
2. BVD or IBR viruses are always around. Bloods will confirm infection with these.
3. Drinking water from dirty areas, always ensure clean, non-leaking troughs. Muddy, warm, pooled water is a haven for Gut bacteria to proliferate.
4. Thiamine (Vit B1) deficiency can appear in these summer conditions. Always look out for a dull, wobbly, slightly blind calf and treat immediately. If they are left longer than 8-10 hours it can be untreatable.

Sudden Gut 'Accidents' in Cows

We do see these occasionally throughout the season. Some good tips to look out for if you think you have a cow with a ‘twisted gut’ of any type:

- Sudden severe drop in milk production
- Varying levels of a swollen abdomen 
- Often no or minimal faeces coming through, sometimes with blood 
- Generally not keen to eat
- Looking uncomfortable/kicking at her gut.

Remember - the earlier we see these, the better the outcome. Surgery can be successful when done early.

Sending Cull Cows to Slaughter

New Animal welfare regulations effective 1st October 2018 stipulate that any cull cow requiring a veterinary certificate for transport must go the nearest plant (i.e SFF Belfast or Affco Malvern). To avoid any issues when certifying these, it may pay to get the works booked initially. Vet certificates can now only be issued for a week’s duration, so important to plan ahead to avoid multiple certifying visits.

Lastly, large pendulous udders in cows that have lost their suspensory ligament are considered to be at risk of damaging their udders in transit. Advice from MPI Vets at slaughter plants are suggesting we advise our farmers to preferably dry these cows off and allow the udder to ‘shrink’ to some degree before trucking. Photo below is a cow with a pendulous udder which has been dry for some months and therefore less of a risk for damage.

Hernias in Calves

If you have noticed any calves with umbilical hernias over spring that haven’t reduced on their own, surgical correction can be done (especially if the hernia ‘hole’ is more than 3 fingers big). It is best to get these done before the calves get too big to reduce sedation costs and post-surgical complications. 

Mycoplasma Bovis Update

- This week there was a good media announcement by the Minister and head of the MPI Eradication team, stating how well the eradication plan is progressing.
- NAIT uptake has increased significantly compared to last year which is a critical area of control moving forward.
- Farmers are more vigilant in Biosecurity and making plans to be best practise in this area (e.g upgrading boundary fences, better NAIT compliance movements with calves, having disinfection stations set-up etc).
- Data sitting at:
          = 24 Infected properties (13 dairy / 17 Beef / 2 other)
          = 51 Properties have had Infection status lifted and farms cleared
          = $35 million paid out in claims to date.
Remember to fully comply with your NAIT obligations when moving calves off to Graziers / run-offs etc over the next month or so.

·         MPI Biosecurity number = 0800 80 99 66 if you any concerns or queries

Great Christmas presents - Free to Good Home

Contact the Culverden Clinic for these adorable kittens

Merry Christmas

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your business for the year of 2018. We think we are fortunate to have a great bunch of Farmers to work with, in a fantastic community so we hope we have delivered our best to you all over 2018.

Remember to take time to enjoy family and friends this Christmas season and we’ll catch up with you all through 2019

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

From the Vet and Tech Team - Trish, Alistair, John, Rob, Ian, Ana, Keira, Mara, Sarah W, Alana, Sam, Nathan, Catherine S, Sarah McP, Martina, Jamie.

We're loyal, not just local.

www.ncvets.co.nz | enquiries@ncvets.co.nz