Back to Blog

Preparing for a hot summer

We have had a couple of consecutive hot, dry summers in the south and, while predictions suggest we may have some reprieve from dry spells this season, it is worthwhile preparing for low rainfall. Early planning for the summer season is key to maintaining herd health and profitability and for managing in case of challenging conditions. As they say: ‘proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance’....

Beating B1 deficiency

Vitamin B1, or thiamine, deficiency causes a disease known as polioencephalomalacia (‘polio’). In New Zealand, this is most commonly seen in youngstock over the summer months, when calves are around 6-12 months old.Cattle rely on bacteria in their rumen to produce vitamin B1 daily. If factors upset these bacteria, it can lead to either less thiamine being produced or an increase in specific thiaminase enzymes that destroy the thiamine already present in the rumen. Lack of vita...

Planning for scanning

Calving hasn’t long finished and mating is still in full swing, so it may seem too early to start thinking about pregnancy testing? Wrong! Now is a great time to think about your scanning requirements.If you have done a synchrony programme on your heifers, an early aged scan (6 weeks after AI) can help identify which heifers are carrying AI replacements and which have held to the bull. This needs to be done as close to six weeks as possible to enable accurate identification....

Youngstock and minerals

Our livestock progeny is always a priority. Ensuring they are in tip-top shape to allow for optimal growth is critical to having them become successful members of the herd in the future.In most areas of New Zealand, soils do not contain enough key trace elements to provide an adequate supply to stock. If additional supplementation is not given, this can not only affect growth rates, but also your animals' immune systems and fertility.To ensure your youngstock are on the track to success, best pr...

Lepto vaccine update

Leptospirosis (lepto) is a disease caused by bacteria that can be spread from animal to human, otherwise known as a zoonotic disease. The impact lepto can have on-farm is devastating, with severe flu symptoms in humans and, in some cases, debilitating illness requiring hospitalisation. A recent survey conducted by Massey University showed that half of those affected were still experiencing symptoms a staggering 8 months after diagnosis!Leptospirosis is most commonly contracted through expos...

Meet the vet flock: Holly

Hi, I’m Holly, a mixed animal vet based between Gore and Tapanui. I have been with VetSouth for almost 2 years now, after graduating from Massey University in 2021. Having moved to Gore without knowing a single soul, it is now well and truly home, thanks to a bit of classic Southland hospitality!One of the things I love most about my job is how different and exciting every day can be. For example, I could spend the morning seeing cats and dogs in-clinic, the afternoon on farm visits and t...

'Mop up' parasites by cross grazing

If you farm various species of animals, you have a great advantage when it comes to managing parasites. The majority of parasites will only affect the one species that they like. So, if they are eaten by something else, they die.We like parasites to die in our stock's systems by other means - not just by drenching. When we rely too much on drenching, the parasites build up resistance to it. We are seeing a lot of this popping up all over our practice area, so, we need to really focus o...

Ensure every drench counts!

Youngstock performance has a massive impact on your bottom line and effective parasite management has a massive impact on youngstock performance!Drenching is part of effectively managing parasites and we need to ensure that every drench counts.In the past, Southern farmers have listened to warnings of drench resistance from our farming counterparts in the North. But, now we are seeing a lot of drench resistance on our patch too. We are also hearing about poor stock performance and lamb grow...

Working dog nutrition: feeding for breeding

Only dogs in optimal condition should be bred. Poor nutrition can result in poor conception rates, early embryonic losses, congenital deformities and poor neonatal survival.Overfeeding in early pregnancy can also result in increased fat deposition in the abdomen and the uterine muscle, resulting in an increased risk of whelping difficulties.During pregnancy (63 +/- 2 days), a bitch’s energy requirements will increase to 1.25 - 1.5X maintenance levels after the 40th day of gestation. ...

Are your lambs fit for transport?

As you gear up for weaning, ensuring your lambs and cull ewes are 'fit for transport' is key to protecting their welfare, your farm (and your back pocket)!It is also important for public health and ensuring a quality product is delivered to market. Ultimately, stock transport rules are in place to protect farmers as much as the animals, supply chain and consumers....

Uddering 101

With weaning fast approaching, it can be tempting to squeeze as many 'yard' jobs in as possible to reduce the amount of times you have to muster up your flock. However, it pays to hold off on uddering your ewes until further down the track! Studies have shown that checking udders 4-6 weeks post-weaning identifies around double the amount of mastitis ewes, compared to uddering at weaning alone. The same studies also show that lambs who were born to ewes that turn out to have udder ...

Hinds: weigh up the benefits

The first two years of a young hind’s life directly correlate to her lifetime potential and productivity, especially when it comes to her first pregnancy. Hitting weight targets early on will make all the difference at scanning time. Ideally R2 hind mobs should be achieving at least a 90% in-calf rate at scanning. There are a variety of different reasons as to why you may have a higher dry rate, however hinds not reaching their target body weight by mating appears to be one of the most co...

Ram selection: know what you want for your future farm

With ram sales around the corner, now is a great time to reflect on how well your stock are performing and where gains can be made.Time on the tractor can be well spent thinking about how lambing went, what you're expecting from your stock in the coming months and what factors you need to focus on.What you buy in genetics sets the bar for what you can achieve on your farm, so buy the rams that are best suited to your production targets. The outcome will be the result of what environmen...

Keep your pets out of the e-juice!

In the last few weeks, there have been 3 cases of nicotine poisoning associated with vape juice (the liquid used to fill e-cigarettes). Yes, vapes pose a potential health risk to your pets!...

Celebrating the stables!

Around 100 of our equine clients (and thirsty staff members) joined us at the end of April to celebrate the official opening of our new stable facilities at VetSouth Invercargill.Fairy lights lit up the barn and everyone enjoyed some drinks, tasty snacks and a natter while looking around the facilities, after clinical head Brendon Bell cut the ribbon to declare them open for your four legged friends.The new barn gives us some valuable extra capacity to accommodate the growing number of horses co...

Updated tetanus vaccination guidelines

Tetanus is a life-threatening disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani. The bacteria can gain access to the body through 'risk events', such as wounds, hoof abscesses and surgical incisions. All ages of horses can be affected and it is recommended that all horses in New Zealand are vaccinated against tetanus....

The dangers of cross-species substance use

Over the last few years, we have seen sporadic cases of horses developing adverse reactions following the administration of drugs that were intended for use in other species. These have included:severe, potentially life threatening, myositis reactions from injectable vitamin and mineral supplementations (such as B12 and selenium injections),skin reactions from off label use of cattle pour-ons,abscesses developing on the neck from contaminated medication that had been stored incorrectly.&nbs...

The Lameness Detective

Lameness is one of the most common reasons our equine veterinarians are called to look at your horse. It can be a significant cause of pain or distress and may even be life threatening. Meanwhile, more subtle lameness can be performance-limiting, causing gait irregularities, affecting speed, or contributing to behavioural abnormalities. Fully investigating lameness in your horse requires some detective work, involving a combination of:a full clinical examination,palpation of the limbs ...

Advances in AI with frozen semen

The use of frozen semen when breeding compared to fresh and chilled semen has many advantages. The most obvious being the ability to pick and choose the sire from just about anywhere and access his semen before mating.However, there are also disadvantages. Frozen semen typically involves intensive reproductive management and expensive logistics for its storage and distribution. It is more fragile than chilled or fresh semen and needs to be inseminated close to ovulation, requiring a more in...

How to use a colostrometer

Good quality colostrum is vital for passive transfer of immunity to your foal (read more here).The first step to ensure your mare has good colostrum is to test it immediately after she foals. The easiest way to do this is with a colostrometer, or Brix Refractometer, which you can get from any of our clinics.Below is a handy guide on how to use the Brix Refractometer and how to interpret the results:Step 1: Collect a small amount of colostrum from the mare....

Colostrum: Liquid GOLD

Did you know that, hands down, the single most important thing you can do for your foal is to ensure it gets colostrum from its mother (or another mare)?The importance of colostrum to the foal's health and its ability to fight disease can't be understated. Newborn foals, like calves and lambs, get all their immunity from colostrum, which tides them through until they are able to produce their own antibodies at around six months of age....

Is ketosis robbing your herd?

One of the most widespread diseases preventing cows getting in calf in New Zealand is subclinical ketosis. There is no doubt it is impacting farms across our region, with 75% of cows within our herds falling victim in spring*.Subclinical ketosis is a ‘silent disease’ that cannot be seen visually but quietly exists, robbing cows of energy and compromising their performance and health.Recent NZ studies of subclinical ketosis revealed a staggering 7% reduction in 6-week in-calf rates**.Through ...

Why keep your cows “metri” clean?

With spring nearly in full swing, the small window of time for your cows to recover from calving and prepare for mating is upon us After calving, most cows’ uteruses will become contaminated with bacteria. While the majority of cows will clear these infections naturally, around 10-20% won’t and these cows will develop endometritis. Endometritis can delay the cycling of a cow, which will reduce conception rates. Sometimes, these infections can spread deeper into the tissues and cause me...

Cow wearables at repro season

Repro season is a critical period in dairy farming as it significantly impacts the productivity and profitability of the entire operation. As farmers approach this critical time, cow wearable technology becomes increasingly important for several reasons:...

Vet tech news: Disbudding

Believe it or not, it's that time of year again - the calves have arrived and it's time to disbud. This is my favourite time of year, as it's always great catching up on how calving has been going and checking out the future of the herd....