We're loyal, not just local.

Latest News

Clostridial Vaccinations

With tailing underway, we need to be thinking about the products we're going to use. Clostridial bacteria are present on all New Zealand farms. These bugs produce toxins which almost always results in death of the animal and outbreaks involving a significant number of animals. Fortunately, clostridial diseases are largely preventable with a sound vaccination plan (5 in 1, 6 in 1, 10 in 1 etc).

If you vaccinate your ewes pre-lamb, lambs should have immunity for their first 6 weeks of life, however, immunity wanes after this and in order for lambs to stay protected they should receive their first vaccine at tailing. This should be followed up with another dose 4-6 weeks later.

Remember vaccine storage and sterility is very important for a vaccination program to be effective. Change your needle frequently and keep any vaccine that is not attached to the gun in a chilly bin or fridge.

Lamb Survivability Investigation

Drenching Lambs

As we beginning tailing and approaching weaning we need to start thinking about how to protect our lambs against parasites. Lambs are most susceptible to worms and it is important to keep on top of drenching. If you are not monitoring through faecal egg counts we recommend drenching lambs every 28 days from weaning. You need to be using an effective drench to ensure we are killing parasites effectively.

How do you know if the drench you are using is the right drench for you? The only way to know the efficacy of drench on your property is to do a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). Give us a call and we can discuss this with you. If you are planning on doing a FECRT this year, make sure that you leave 100 lambs un-drenched.

Fly

Drench Checks for Capsules

A reminder that we have free drench checks for capsules 60-80 days after administering them. We need 10 fresh samples from animals which have definitely been capsuled. If you need a FEC kit let us know. This information can be very valuable in ensuring capsules are still working on your farm and may be an indicator to further investigate your farm’s current drench status. 

Pre-Mate: Cattle (bulls and cows)

As we begin to think about putting the bulls out to action over the next few months, there are a few things we need to check before this happens:

●     Is your bull team ready? One of the services we run is fertility testing - get your bulls checked over to identify any problems with their swimmers before mating!

●     Have you got a BVD management plan on your farm? BVD virus is associated with low in-calf rates, abortions, stillbirths, “dummy calves” and PI’s. Breeding bulls should also be vaccinated now. Breeding cows will require a booster vaccination if they have been previously vaccinated, ideally 2-4 weeks before mating begins. If you haven’t vaccinated your herd previously, give us a call so we can help develop a BVD control programmed that works best for you.

  Case Study: SMCO toxicity on Raphanobrassica

In mid August, several bulls out of a mob grazing on raphanobrassica with access to barley straw were noticed to be slow-moving, reluctant to rise, rapid breathing and poor appetite. After some blood samples were obtained and processed the bulls were determined to be anaemic (have low red blood cells).

Raphanobrassica is a relatively new species of forage brassica. Brassica species are known to be associated with SMCO toxicity, commonly referred to as ‘red water’ or kale anaemia. SMCO is converted in the rumen to a compound that destroys the structure of red blood cells. Brassica plants accumulate more SMCO when plant available sulphur is high.

After a blood transfusion and a change of feed, the bulls are now doing well. Some things we can take away from this case:

●     Soil test crop paddocks before drilling brassicas and select those with soil sulphate levels lower than 10mg/kg.

●     Avoid sulphur containing fertilisers before or near the time of establishment of any brassicas - better to use DAP.

●     Once cattle are transitioned onto brassica maintain a minimum of 20% of the diet as high quality supplements to ensure dilution of any anti-nutritional compounds.

Calf Disbudding

Calves are looking great around the region and seem to be enjoying the mild weather. Have you planned for disbudding or dehorning? The new welfare regulations, that came into effect on the 1st October 2019, now stipulate that is a legal requirement that any cattle (of any age) undergoing or disbudding or dehorning must be under the influence of appropriately placed and effective local anesthetic pain relief.

Phone the clinic with any questions or to book a disbudding/dehorning visit.

High Lungworm Challenge in Weaner Deer this Spring

The warmer than normal weather conditions this August have allowed for early development of lungworm larval challenge on pasture.  Where young deer are grazing on rotation around paddocks that they were weaned onto in the autumn, parasite challenge “hotspots” can quickly develop.

The first signs of lungworm challenge are decreased growth rates, right at a time when you are chasing maximum carcass weights pre-slaughter.  Coughing and deaths are signs that occur as burdens increase.

Unfortunately, the options for drenching are limited due to the requirement to use a registered with-holding period product on all stock going to slaughter. If you are finding that growth rates are slow or animals are failing to make liveweight targets then give us a call to discuss your options.

We're loyal, not just local.

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