Read the latest Vetora news and find handy animal resources here.
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
COWS:
YEARLINGS:
CALVES:
https://www.vetora.co.nz/news-and-resources/grazing-departure-form
https://www.vetora.co.nz/news-and-resources/grazing-arrival-form
All the best for the rest of mating.
Farming
Catch up on the latest cases and information from our Small Animal team!
Pets
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!
Pets
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
Pets
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:
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/
HEIFERS:
CALVES:
Hope the start of mating goes well for you all.
Farming
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.
Pets
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.
Farming
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.
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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!
Farming
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.
Farming
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
Pets
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
CALVES
YOUNGSTOCK
Have a good run-up to mating!
Farming
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.
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.
Farming
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:
Farming
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
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.
Farming
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:
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.
Farming
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!
Farming
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.
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
Pets
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:
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.
Pets
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pets
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:
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:
Lifestyle
Farming
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:
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:
If you have any questions or want a sounding board, just call the clinic – we are always happy to help!
Lifestyle
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.
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.
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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:
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.
Farming
COWS:
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:
NEWBORNCALVES:
Lastly, it’s a busy time for everyone without getting sick, so: wash hands and change overalls to keep you & your family safe!
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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
HEIFERS
CALVES
Farming
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.
Pets
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!
Farming
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.
Lifestyle
Farming
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).
Lifestyle
Farming
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
HEIFERS
CALVES
All the best for the rest of May.
Farming
COWS
HEIFERS
CALVES
All the best for the last few weeks of the season.
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
COWS
HEIFERS
CALVES
We are looking forward to catching up with everyone soon during RVM consults!
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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:
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:
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.
Lifestyle
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:
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.
Lifestyle
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
Cows:
Heifers:
Calves/R1s:
Farming
COWS:
R2 HEIFERS:
CALVES:
Farming
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
Pets
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.
Farming
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 (4th 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.
Farming
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.
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.
Cancer eye
Cancers of the 3rd 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.
Farming
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:
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!
Farming
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.
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!
Farming
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!
Farming
COWS:
YEARLINGS:
CALVES:
All the best for the rest of mating.
Farming
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.
Pets
COWS:
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/
HEIFERS:
CALVES:
Farming
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
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.
Pets
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 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.
Farming
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:
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.
Farming
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.
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:
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.
Farming
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.
Pets
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
CALVES
YOUNGSTOCK
Have a good run-up to mating!
Farming
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.
Farming
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
Farming
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:
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.
Farming
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.
Farming
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.
Lifestyle
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
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
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
Lifestyle
Mastitis in dairy ewes: preliminary findings of a large study
Sheep milking is gaining momentum in New Zealand, catalysed by the drier at Innovation Park and the formation of Spring Sheep and Maui Milk. EpiVets is addressing the almost complete lack of systematically collected mastitis information by running multiple sub-studies on 20 dairy sheep farms from North Waikato to Canterbury. We will define the status quo so we can understand mastitis, clarify what “normal” is, set targets, agree on priorities, and develop tools and interventions for farmers.
Dairy sheep don’t get clinical mastitis as much as their bovine cousins, with a mean incidence of 2.5% and a farm-level incidence ranging from 0 to 6% (see graph – asterisks indicate farms that don’t start milking until weaning). Yes – some farms do not get clinical mastitis! However, it is also clear that clinical mastitis is often more subtle in sheep than cows, so there is probably some under diagnosis happening. Furthermore, several farmers do not start milking their ewes until weaning, so they miss the bulk of the clinical mastitis season.
Stand by for much more information!
Farming
Finding and curing more infected cows
Every time a cow calves she’s at risk of getting an infection in her uterus and not getting in calf. NZ studies show that 20% of cows are still infected 2-4 weeks after calving.
If she has an assisted calving, retained cleanings, twins or milk fever she’s most at risk. We call these cows “at risk cows”. However 70% of infected cows are not “at risk cows’ but cows with no problems at calving that don’t clear the infection.
Many of these cows seem to cure but instead the infection becomes trapped in front of a closed cervix. At AB the sperm meets the egg – and with pus present the cow wont get in calf. We see reduced conception rates, with cows taking 2-3 weeks longer to get in calf and a 25% lower four week pregnancy rate and higher empty rates.
To help diagnose this problem some kiwi ingenuity came into play and the Metrichecker was born.
The usual practice was to Metricheck the whole herd four weeks prior to PSM (when Tail painting premating) and treat cows with any pus with Metriclean, a non milk withholding antibiotic. This will reduce an infected cow’s time to conception by 13 days, improved six week in-calf rate by 17% and improve in-calf and empty rates.
In 2015, a 15,000 cow trial in Reporoa showed that finding and treating infected cows within 28 days after calving improved the six week in calf rate of infected cows by a further 10% compared to later treatment and improved their empty rates by 3%
The reason for this is that the longer we leave infected cows, the infection and pus becomes ‘hidden” in the uterus as the cervix closes making those cows impossible to diagnose with the metrichecker
The current focus is to metricheck all cows between 2-4 weeks calved, in batches.
Two to three times return on investment has been shown in three separate NZ studies, so it’s a good opportunity to double your money.
Vetora are currently offering a one off fee to metricheck your herd in batches (as long as it’s not during milking).
Having dirty cows in the herd is an unavoidable problem. Speak to us about identifying and treating these cows earlier to improve your herd’s reproductive performance and your bottom line.
Farming
After a relatively smooth start to my calving call outs this season I ran into a real head scratcher a few weeks ago. My patient was failing to progress with calving, with the head and front feet all present and accounted for at the vulva. The calf was deceased. Unusually, there did not appear to be any problems with the size of the calf, or with the strength of the cow’s contractions.
After administering an epidural, I gave an experimental pull to see whether we could get any movement. Despite there being plenty of room around the shoulders, the calf failed to move more than a few centimetres, even though it was certainly not far enough through the pelvis for the hips to be locked. This strange sensation of being stuck at the abdomen gave me the cause of the problem – a “water belly”!
Foetal ascites, or “water belly” calves are an uncommon foetal deformity resulting in a massive accumulation of fluid in the abdomen and intestines. It results in the unusual presentation of the head and shoulders passing easily through the pelvis, before the calf becomes stuck at the waist. The best way I have heard these calves described is “like pushing a marshmallow through a keyhole”. The calf’s distended abdomen is usually much wider than the cow’s pelvis and prevents further progression of calving.
Water belly calves usually need to have the fluid in their abdomen released before they can be calved. This can sometimes be achieved by passing a tube down into the stomach, but in already dead calves the abdomen may need to be cut. These calves can sometimes be born alive, but rarely live longer than a few minutes once calved. If you suspect you may have a waterbelly calf, the best thing to do is call your vet for assistance.
Farming
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.
What do you need to provide for us?
Dairy NZ state on their website that “Sedation results in low stress disbudding for calves and handlers”.
Farming
COWS
YEARLINGS
CALVES
Farming
When it comes to pasture bloat, bloat oils have historically been seen as the most cost-effective option available and have been added to stock water as a matter of course.
However, bloat oils are simply used to treat bloat with no added benefits. Rumenox® is now widely used in its place, not only because it effectively prevents bloat, but at the same time helps a cow’s rumen function better. Cows are more likely to stay in optimal condition which not only supports in-calf rates and milk protein production but also protects against ketosis.
Rumenox® actively manages the production of rumen gases, enabling herds to be protected for longer than short acting bloat oils, this becomes especially important on those wet days when cows aren’t drinking regularly.
Unlike bloat oils Rumenox® has a single dose rate regardless of the bloat challenge. This eliminates the need for estimating the level of bloat challenge and adjusting rates accordingly.
The good news is that the price gap between bloats oils and Rumenox® has closed considerably, making Rumenox® the most cost-effective option.
A wealth of research both internationally and in New Zealand pasture systems supports the benefits of Rumenox® and its peace of mind bloat protection.
Farming
COWS:
YEARLINGS+/- AUTUMN BORN:
NEWBORN CALVES:
Lastly, it’s a busy time for everyone without getting sick, so: wash hands and change overalls to keep you & your family safe!
Farming
Claw amputations are indicated in lame cows where infection and inflammation has travelled deeper into the joint causing bone and tendon damage. In advanced cases, this damage results in the claw pointing upwards. This is often, but not always, an advanced white line disease. Once the infection gets to this point, they are often difficult to treat, have a prolonged recovery time and permanent damage resulting in ongoing lameness.
Claw amputations are often chosen after initial treatment has been unsuccessful. Early white line disease treatment includes trimming to remove underrun horn, hoof blocks to reduce the pressure on that claw, Metacam/Ketomax to reduce swelling and pain and if indicated a course of antibiotics.
Claw amputations are recommended to provide fast resolution to these lame cows as an alternative to painful, prolonged lameness events with low or no chance of resolution and therefore an alternative to euthanasia.
When selecting cows to receive a claw amputation it is important the infection is limited to the claw. It is also important to consider age, frame size and walking distances on the farms. These factors influence the success and therefore longevity within the herd. Best results are seen with young cows, smaller frame sizes and shorter walking distances.
Claw amputations are a relatively quick procedure where the affected claw is cleaned, tourniquet applied, local anaesthetic administered, and the claw is removed. A bandage is then applied to help minimise bleeding and ensure the area is kept clean. A revisit is often recommended to rebandage and check the wound. Pain relief is administered, along with antibiotics to minimise the chance of infection. No long-term treatment is required. Walking returns to normal once the wound has healed. Sometimes, in chronic cases where muscle wastage has occurred this can take up to six weeks.
Survival time in the herd varies, but on average cows are in the herd for 2 years prior to being culled for a variety of reasons. Although this is a relatively short time, amputation provides an alternative to euthanasia and a few more seasons of production.
Farming
Drench resistance in sheep worms has becoming widespread over the last 20 plus years. This has really started to ramp up in the last 5 to 10 years, and we now have multiple properties in our area when only the novel active drenches (Zolvix Plus and Startect) are effective in controlling worms.
Things have been much slower to develop in cattle for a variety of reasons, but we have recently started picking up evidence of drench resistance in cattle worms also. This mirrors results from around the country – Gribbles Veterinary Pathology is reporting a growing number of cases where drench checks have failed after cattle have been drenched.
We are planning to work with Gribbles to do some surveillance work to get a better handle on how wide spread the problem is – this will hopefully be happening over the next 6 to 12 months.
In the mean time, if you want to check how things are going with your stock, collecting 10 fresh individual faecal samples from cattle 10 days after they have been treated is a good starting point. Make sure you collect samples into plastic pottles, not plastic bags or egg cartons.
Young stock (calves/R1s) are the best group to sample, as worms usually produce more eggs when they infect young stock than in older animals.
A count of zero doesn’t necessarily mean everything is fine, but it is a great start. Counts will obviously be zero if there are no worms present, but they will also be low if worms are not laying well. Worms don’t produce any eggs until they have matured in the animals gut, and their egg laying can also be heavily suppressed as cattle get older and their immune system puts pressure on the parasites.
Any faecal egg counts that are positive at 10 days after treatment are a concern, and usually indicate we need to investigate further.
If you have any concerns with your parasite control program, please get in contact.
Farming
Is failure of passive transfer affecting your stock?
Unlike humans, the bovine placenta prevents the transfer of large antibodies essential for immunity, from crossing the placental-blood barrier and into the calf. Instead, newborn calves must ingest colostrum to absorb antibodies in their first 24 hours to obtain immunity until their own immune system becomes functional. This is referred to as ‘passive transfer’. When calves do not absorb enough antibodies they are said to have “Failure of passive transfer” or “FPT”.
In a 2015 NZ study of 4000 dairy calves from 106 seasonal pasture-based farms across nine different regions, 33% of calves had FPT, but the prevalence ranged between 5% and 80% on individual farms.. This study indicated many calves are not getting enough good quality colostrum immediately after birth to ensure passive immunity.
What are the effects of FPT?
FPT increases the risk of death, disease and ill-thrift in dairy calves, and has been associated with long-term reductions in productivity. Calves with FPT are more susceptible to diarrhoea, respiratory disease and other illnesses. FPT can also lead to reduced growth and subsequent milk production.
So what can you do to help?
STEP 1 - Test your calves for FPT
A simple test to check for FPT is by blood sampling twelve healthy calves (not scouring or dehydrated), between 24 hours and seven days of age, for laboratory analysis of total protein.
STEP 2 - Test colostrum for quality. You can use a BRIX refractometer to test your colostrum quality. BRIX readings of 22% or more indicate high quality colostrum with lots of antibodies. We have refractometers in stock in the clinic.
STEP 3 - Follow some basic quality controls for colostrum
If you would like to discuss this further, chat to your vet. We’re here to help.
Farming
For many farms, this season has been particularly difficult with regards lameness. Here are some tips to reduce pressure on cows, especially during early lactation to minimise lameness:
Focus on your heifers/young cows - being part of a milking herd is new to them
COWS
HEIFERS
CALVES
Hopefully there are still a few more lazy mornings to go before calving hits in full force in a few of weeks.
All the best.
Farming
Damaged tails – how big is the issue?
Recently, EpiVets has undertaken a study with VetNZ to figure out the prevalence of tail deviations, trauma and shortening on New Zealand dairy farms.
This study was done on 92,348 dairy cows from 200 randomly selected farms across nine regions of New Zealand. All cows present at a milking or pregnancy testing event were tail scored. Tail problems were recorded as deviated (bent), shortened (tail appearing shorter than normal) or trauma (all other problems like cuts).
Results
The prevalence of tail deviations was 9.5% (range0.9-40.3%), for trauma it was 0.9% (range 0-10.7%) and shortening was 4.5%(range 1.3-10.8%). The prevalence of deviation and trauma varied between region; the median prevalence of deviations ranged from 6% in the West Coast, to 13% in the Waikato, and the median prevalence of all tail damage from 7% in the West Coast to 29% in Southland.
What next?
Stay tuned for the next update where we will talk about risk factors.
Farming
Is it a bird or is it a plane?
Is it a prolapsed uterus or is it a schistosome?
During calving time, it is not uncommon to get sent to a ‘prolapsed uterus’, only to find it’s not a uterus but the insides of a calf.
What is a schistosome?!
Officially called Schistosomas reflexus; this is a rare and fatal congenital abnormality of ruminants resulting in inversion of the spine and ribs (bending backwards in reverse). This often means the skin cannot close over the abdominal organs and they are left exposed. The joints are often fused and not easily manipulated, and the hind legs are often folded back towards the head. Interestingly, despite all these abnormalities, the calf often remains alive while inside the cow due to the placental connection delivering oxygen and nutrients.
Due to the spine position (the calf is essentially folded in half backwards) and fused joints, the calf cannot normally pass through the pelvic canal without assistance. Presentation of these mutants are usually one of two forms:
But fear not, we can help! Call your vet, and we can use our fetotomy skills to remove the calf in pieces. Some can be removed with as little as one or two cuts, with a great outcome for the cow. However, some of these can be extremely complicated (many of you will have some stories) and caesarean may be the best option for the cow. If you suspect a schistosome calf, please don’t assume it is not worth calling your vet, the majority of the time we get a good outcome for the cow.
To distinguish the difference between a uterine prolapse and a schistosome:
- Does it appear like one big pink/red sack? Often there are big dark red ‘buttons’ on the outside. This would be a uterine prolapse
- Are there long spaghetti loops of intestines? Possibly even a dark maroon mass (calf’s liver)? This would be a Schistosome calf.
Farming
With winter coming up, it is it is important that we provide our animals with the right amount of trace elements necessary to get them through the deficient periods. Trace elements, particularly copper and selenium, play an essential role in production and the immune system of cattle. Knowing your herds status will allow you to effectively supplement when they need it the most.
Copper has a key role in the immune system, musculoskeletal development, and in milk production. It is stored in the liver and slowly released into the bloodstream to maintain adequate levels. The best way to assess copper levels is to check how much is stored in the liver.
Deficiency commonly occurs when there are high levels of certain other elements in the grass, such as molybdenum (Mo), which significantly increases as we go from summer through to winter and can cause large reductions in the availability of copper from the diet. Copper demands are also significantly increased in late gestation. On the other hand, some feeds, especially palm kernel, are high in copper so we can run into issues with copper toxicity if supplementing and not monitoring intakes correctly.
Zinc counteracts absorption of copper so as we come out of the facial eczema season it is a good time to check your cows have sufficient levels. Some of the signs you may see with deficiency include poor production, ill thrift, pale mucus membranes, sudden death, and diarrhoea.
Selenium is required for normal growth, fertility, and aiding the body’s immune response to disease and inflammation. Maintaining adequate levels can help reduce incidence of diseases such as retained foetal membranes and mastitis. Selenium deficiency is more likely to occur in spring when pasture growth rates are rapid, and rainfall is higher. Some of the clinical signs of deficiency include ill-thrift, poor growth rates in young cattle, and infertility. The selenium concentrations in plants are often insufficient to meet the requirements of grazing ruminants so it is a good idea to keep an eye on it.
The best way to ensure your cows have adequate levels of these elements is through liver biopsies. This can be done in a live animal or through the works when you send some cows off. Culled cows from the breeding herd in late autumn or early winter can provide valuable information on your animal’s copper storage levels before the increased demands of late pregnancy and lactation. Unfortunately, blood testing cannot accurately predict the amount of copper storage in the liver but it can be used to determine selenium levels.
Autumn is a great time of the year to monitor these trace elements so contact your vet to discuss testing methods as well as appropriate supplementation if necessary.
Farming
Copper deficiency is usually seen in late winter/early spring due to the levels in the pasture being the lowest in winter. Copper is good for the animal’s development of the nervous system, bone growth, and maintains the integrity of the immune systems. It also has a role in development of the skin pigmentation which if the levels are low, this can be a main sign in cattle.
COPACAPS contain copper oxide wire particles in gelatine capsules and are the safest and most effective form of copper supplementation for cattle. After oral dosing, the capsule dissolves, and releases small wire rods of oxidised copper which lodge in the folds of the abomasum. Its weight stops it from being regurgitated, and in the acidic environment of the abomasum the rods dissolve. Copper is then released into the bloodstream and stored in the liver. They are a very safe form of supplementation and give long term protection against deficiency.
Sizes – 10g, 20g, 30g, 36g
You should wait a couple of weeks after finishing Zinc treatments before going in with any copper products. Any animals that have facial eczema should NOT be treated for copper due to the risk of heavy metal poisoning. Speak to your vet today if you have any questions or concerns around supplementing with copper.
Farming
Hey!
I haven’t documented any dairy cow cases I’ve seen on farm so thought I’d write about something else I see on farms.
The valuable, hard working farm dogs and a common health issue they face, arthritis. Osteoarthritis is inflammation of the joints and is very common in older dogs; more so in working dogs due to their high level of activity and increased risks/history of injuries. Arthritis is a progressive disease i.e. it gets worse over time. The cold weather can make this condition worse. Arthritis unfortunately cannot be cured but can it be managed. Signs to watch out for include reluctance to jump on and off the bike, shorter gait, appearing stiffer and slowing down/falling behind while working and/or excessively licking the joints. Working dogs generally don’t show pain and continue to work even when they experience significant discomfort. Hence, any signs of pain should be addressed promptly. Treatment to manage arthritis can involve anti-inflammatories, pentosan injections, joint supplements, or special joint diets. Some older dogs may benefit from wearing a jacket/coat during winter to keep them warm.
So, if your dog is showing any signs or osteoarthritis/pain, please have a chat with one of the vets.
Priyanka Kulkarni BVSc, MVS
Pets
Farming
By now a lot of you will have dried off or have dried off some of the herd. With most of the cows treated with dry cow therapy and/or teat sealant, dry cow mastitis should be minimal but it is important to detect early.
Udder infections of dry cows are most likely to occur immediately following dry off and around calving, cows are susceptible to new infections especially in the first week of the dry period before the teat plugs have formed.
In the first few days after dry off cows should be checked carefully in the paddock for signs of sickness ie swollen udder, difficulty walking or off their feed. Pay particular attention to cows that received teat seal only as they can develop a very acute mastitis very quickly!
Affected cows should be brought to the shed and the affected quarter fully stripped out. It takes time to do this well, but the less pus and rubbish left in the udder, the better the antibiotics will work and the greater chance you have of saving the quarter(s). Stripping out should continue at least daily for the duration of the treatment.
Most dry cow mastitis is caused by an environmental bacteria, predominantly Strep. Uberis. Occasionally, cows can get sick as a result of mastitis and this can be the result of Coliforms, Staph. aureus or Clostridial bacteria infecting the udder. If the cow is sick, it is recommended that you call the vet ASAP, as these cows often go downhill rapidly from the toxin build-up and can be dead within 24hours if left untreated. Fluid supplementation and anti inflammatory medication is often the most important aspect of treatment in these cases.
Treatments should be discussed with your vet, but in general selecting an injectable mastitis treatment will be better than simply using an intramammary. This is because when cows are dry, there is no milk for the intramammary treatment to diffuse through and get dispersed up into the udder.
Dry cow mastitis, as with any other mastitis, is a painful condition, and therefore adding in a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (e.g. Metacam) is strongly recommended. This is especially important if the cow appears sick.
When you have finished the treatment don’t be tempted to insert a tube of Dry Cow antibiotic up the affected quarter, these cows are dried-off and don’t have the milk present for dispersal of the drug through the quarter and have a high risk of giving an antibiotic grade at the start of next season.
Run all cows through the shed for a manual check of the udder after 14 days, this should be done for the first 4-6 weeks of the dry period , new clinical cases are most likely to be found within the first 28 days of dry off.
Farming
Johnes disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis. It is a disease which causes a cow to rapidly lose condition while still eating normally. She will have watery bubbling diarrhoea.
While cows can catch Johnes at any age, they are much more susceptible and will usually catch it as calves when they are under 6 months of age. However, we don’t see the wasting (clinical) side of the disease until they are 5-7 years old after a period of stress. If the wasting form of the disease has been diagnosed in a heifer, then this can mean there is a high burden of Johnes on your farm.
Testing
Herd testing in the milk is a useful way to go about testing your whole herd to see which cows are currently shedding Johnes. Timing of milk testing should be considered. February is the most popular time, so it does book up quickly. The benefits of doing it in February are due to a high milk production which makes the results more accurate, and it is before the cull cows are sent. If you have a herd test coming up it can still be done at this time of year. The downside of doing it too close to dry off is that it will miss any cows that are dried off early and when there is low milk production or high SCC (>1million) there is a risk of false positives. Any positive cow on milk test can be confirmed with a blood test. Getting this information before the cows calve down next season is very important for the management of this disease.
No Johnes test is going to find all the infected cows so there will be false negatives but testing does give us a useful management tool. This is because cows do not usually shed or shed intermittently
unless they are near the clinical stage. Testing clinical cows (wasting disease) for Johnes is very accurate. If that test comes back negative the wasting is unlikely due to Johnes.
The results from the herd test will come back as:
It is best to discuss with your vet a management plan for each category for what will fit with your farm.
Reducing Risk in Calves
Because the risk of catching Johnes is higher in calves, management around the disease involves ways to protect these calves from exposure. The calves of the infected cows should not be kept as replacements. There is a high risk that they are already infected with Johnes. Effluent should not be used on any paddock the calves graze on or anywhere near the calf pens.
Yearly testing will help identify the cows that are shedding before calving. But there will always be some that are missed. Therefore, these cows will still be contaminating the environment and the pooled colostrum/ milk. Keeping the calves in a clean environment and keeping them off effluent paddocks will help reduce the risk and each year should reduce the number of cows shedding Johnes.
Farming
With the arrival of summer, staff and farmers returning from holiday or about to take a well-earned break, it can be easy to overlook your growing heifers, especially if they are at grazing, or ‘out of sight; out of mind.’
Many heifers graze off-farm, for a weekly ‘per head’ fee. Others are grazed with weight-gain contracts that stipulate target weights out to 22 months.
Some graziers will routinely weigh their heifers, others have animal health plans detailing vaccinations, drenching, trace mineral supplements, eczema control, mating management etc.
All too often, however, all the best intentions can still be thwarted by unexpected events resulting in replacement heifers falling behind in their growth and their health and wellbeing becoming compromised (Figure 1).
There is a risk that assumptions are made that stock grazing the back country are doing fine now just because they were last month, or at last yarding. In other cases, complacency can set in. Either way, heifers falling behind their breed growth target need to somehow make that weight up before they reach mating, or calving. Well-grown heifers will produce more milk, compete better in the MA herd, get back in calf, are less prone to parasitism and disease, and survive much longer in the herd.
Although heifer growth rates from birth to 22 months are curvilinear (see graph in Figure 2 – Target weights by breed & age), it is helpful to remember that heifers need to average 650–700grams liveweight gain every day to achieve their optimal breed weight by mating and calving.
To safeguard your stock performance:
There are few substitutes for seeing your replacement heifers at grazing for yourself. Book-in a visit for next month if you haven’t already seen them. It will be an excellent way of avoiding unexpected results. If your heifers are thriving, this will brighten your day, and you can commend your grazier – they will appreciate the acknowledgement of their hard work (Figure 3).
Farming
Our region has been luckier than many in the wake of cyclone Gabrielle. Even so with the likelihood of more weather events in the future this has provided a sobering opportunity for us to plan and prepare for future disasters.
DairyNZ research has shown that mid-lactation herds can tolerate delays of up to a week and, with careful handling, they can return to full or near-full milk production. If milkings are missed for up to a week, then cows should recover with the exception of very low producing cows.
To help manage cows that can’t be milked, we recommend
And of course let us know, we are here to support you.
Farming
As a club we partner and invest in the future of farming and animal health research. This includes a strategic partnership with EpiVets, a world-class veterinary epidemiological team based from our Vetora Te Awamutu clinic. Epivets works with our farmers to conduct research and with our team to ensure we stay up to date with the latest knowledge and technology.
Farming
Like it or not, our agricultural animals produce a fair bit of methane. Maybe you just want to keep up with the ongoing wall of future compliance (what is next ?!...), or maybe you want to keep NZ at the front of low emission agriculture. Either way, managing methane outputs is probably going to be something that we will need to think about more in the near future.
There is a lot of work going on around the world and in NZ aroundreducing greenhouse gas outputs whilemaintaining milk and redmeat production.
Genetics willoffer some interesting opportunities, but in the veterinary space there are also some upcoming solutionsusing methane inhibitors and methane vaccines. Both of these target methanogenorganisms. These methane producing bugs are a normal part of the rumen microbialcommunity, but unlike many of the plant digestingmicrobes, they are not essentialfor the host animal.
Methane inhibitors are substances that need to be fed regularly to animals, that stop the activity of the methanogen organisms. Researchhas been lookingat options to deliver the inhibitors either via daily feed rations or a controlled release capsule. A study from dairy cows inthe US showed that emissions were reduced by 30%, without affecting milk production. A French study showed a24% reduction in methane emissions, also with no effect on milk production.
Methane vaccines are given to the cow like other vaccines, and the cow produces antibodies in her saliva.The antibodies bind to the methanogens, reducing their activity.
There will obviously need to be a financial incentive to introduce this new science, and there is still have a lot of field research to be done before they are commercially available, but it is good to be aware of near future developments.
Farming
Facial eczema (FE) is a disease of the liver not the skin. It causes incredible milk production loss and welfare challenges, most of the time without farmers even realising. It's time to break the cycle and do it better.
FE is a disease caused by a fungus that produces toxic spores depending on the weather conditions. Gone are the days of thinking this disease starts in February and is finished in April. We need to start thinking that animals may be eating these toxic spores as early as November to as late as June! Fully preventing this disease is achievable but unfortunately, even in an average year, about one- third of farms have cattle suffering liver damage. In a high challenge year, this will be closer to 80%.
So how can we better manage this disease?
In a nutshell, you need to base your decisions on information from your farm. Not your neighbours’, brother’s, friends’, family’s farm. YOUR FARM!
1. Starting and stopping your management
Regardless of what management you do to prevent FE, you should base the decision to start or stop on spore counts from your farm. Spore counts from anywhere but your own farm are too variable to make decisions from. Therefore, this season Vetora will be stopping communication of where the monitor farms are located.
To gather spore information for your farm; choose 4 representative paddocks and spore count them weekly until you start your management. You can stop spore counting once your management is in place. When you want to stop you FE management make sure your counts are at 0 spores/g pasture for three consecutive weeks on your farm.
2. Monitoring your management
Regardless of which management you choose for preventing FE, you need to monitor it to see if it is working. More than 60% of farms don’t provide enough zinc to protect against the toxin in the spores and many farmers will spray with a fungicide without spore counting first, so it is not working. What a waste of time and money!
Once you are providing full dose rates of zinc (which you should be doing no matter what the spore count), for a week then you can either:
a. Get your bulk milk zinc tested for free (if you are a Fonterra client)
b. Get 15 cattle blood tested for zinc concentration
This will give you the information you need to determine if what you are doing is going to work.
Before you fungicide spray, do spore counts. After you have sprayed, keep spore counting a selection of paddocks to collect information on whether the spray has worked as you anticipated.
If the results are not what you thought then it is time to involve your vet. This is what they are here for. Don’t feel alone, this is the case for the majority of farmers. But you can fix it!
Final words:
I have been involved with countless investigations and trials into facial eczema and spoken to thousands of farmers all over the country over my career and the constant reason for all FE breakdowns (known or unknown) is that farmers are guessing. Guessing when to start their zinc program, guessing when to bolus their heifers, guessing when to stop, guessing that their management is working. Break the cycle. This year is the year to base your decisions on information!
Farming
Are your calves going on a grazing holiday? Have you filled out their arrival card yet? Effective communication with your grazier about what your calves have received already, and what you expect them to receive over the next 18 months sets up clear expectations for the care of your valuable young stock. Vetora has created a comprehensive arrival card that summarises all the essentials.
Weights – ideally an individual weight for each calf before going to grazing allows you to closely monitor their weight gains over the coming months, and identify individuals that may not be doing as well. If individual weights are not possible, a mob average using digital scales would be recommended.
Vaccines – both clostridial (5-in-one or 10-in-one) and Lepto-3-way vaccination boosters should be completed before calves go to grazing.
Lepto-3-way especially should be completed as early as possible. Did you know, if an animal gets infected with leptospirosis before vaccination, the bacteria can set up home in the kidneys and the animal will continue to shed bacteria for up to 2 years; vaccination does not cure it! The first Lepto-3 way injection can be give as early as 4 weeks, so don’t wait until they are at grazing to complete their vaccination course.
It is also worth keeping in mind they will need an aligning lepto-3-way booster while at grazing! Talk to your vet if you’re unsure about the timing of when this should occur.
Have you considered BVD vaccination of your 3 month old calves? BVD virus circulating your young stock mob has the potential to reduce growth rates, suppress the immune system and cause them to be more susceptible to other diseases. This effect is often more pronounced if the mob is also running with a persistently infected animal (it does not have to be your animal). Make sure they are protected with two shots starting from 3 months old.
Do you often see pink eye spread through your calves through the summer and do you know how much weight gain that is costing you? An Australian article quoted up to 10% weight loss in affected weaner calves. Have you considered Piliguard Pink eye vaccination?
The second page of the arrival card covers your basic mating plan, plus the routine treatments that you want your calves to receive while at grazing. It’s a good page that lays out whether the owner or the grazier is responsible for a specific treatment.
If you would like a copy of an arrival card for your calves, speak to your vet and we can sort you out.
Farming
