Cows are amazingly stoic creatures, hiding their pain well from us. Lameness is one of the ways they will show pain, and most of the time it has stemmed from a foot issue. The corium is the layer of tissue inside the hoof that the hard hoof grows from, and when it becomes damaged it…
Your livestock are at risk from clostridial disease at key times throughout the year. This means full, annual protection is vital to protect them against death. Clostridial diseases are caused by a group of bacteria that have the ability to form resistant spores. Spores can concentrate in areas of high usage e.g. around yards, sheds…
A common winter issue, lice are prevalent at this time of year due to their preference for cooler, darker and drier weather conditions. Infestations develop as a slow burn on healthy animals, with numbers gradually increasing on individuals. The entire lifecycle of lice is spent on sheep, so transmission between individual animals can only occur…
This season has been extremely challenging for all farmers in the Hawke’s Bay, the prolonged dry spell and lack of Autumn growth, difficulty in finding supplementary feed, delays in killing space, and cancellation of sales have all had a massive impact. The feed requirements of livestock are well known and can be easily found…
Growing young stock to their full potential involves many factors. The main focus should be great nutrition with all animal health considerations including trace minerals, vaccinations and parasite control covered. Even with all of that considered, aside from poor nutrition, parasites can often be the most growth limiting factor of young stock on pastoral farms…
Rat bait (anti-coagulant rodenticide) is the most common poison eaten by dogs and it causes problems by preventing their blood from clotting. Symptoms begin 2-4 days after ingestion due to bleeding in different locations in the body. Dogs can bleed from anywhere but most commonly into their lungs, which causes a cough and then difficulty…
By Helen Taylor- Veterinarian, Vet Services Hawke’s Bay. Rearing orphan lambs can be an enjoyable and rewarding job for a whole spectrum of people – from a lifestyler with a couple of pets lambs to the owner of a highly productive stud flock fostering triplet lambs of high genetic merit. Pet lambs are also easy…
Incidence of lameness varies between herds and varies during the season. Smaller herds still have an incidence of 10% lame cows in the herd, larger herds often show higher incidences: up to 30%. Wet periods will boost the number of clinically lame cows, due to gravel being pushed into existing white line defects, softening of…
