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A working dog pup’s first year

So, you’ve just got a new working dog pup? We know that most of you are very experienced and successful with the demanding training process and bringing out the genetic and natural working potential of the pup.As a review exercise, consider these husbandry and healthcare essentials to give your pup the best chance of developing to its full potential as a productive working dog on the farm:...

OviGOLD: Revamping our sheep farmer partnership programme

With lamb (and cull ewe) prices disappointingly low this season, keeping your animals as healthy, fertile and productive as possible is more important than ever.After discussion with our clients, we have optimised our OviGOLD partnership programme for sheep farmers to ensure we are focusing on what is most important to you....

Don’t get struck by fly this season!

This summer is providing perfect conditions for grass growth, but, on the flip side, the warm and wet weather is also creating the perfect playground for blowflies! Checking your flock for signs of flystrike and using prevantative measures is especially important in seasons like this....

VetSouth in Samoa

At the end of 2023, one of Winton’s Small Animal Vets, Liz Flatt, made the journey to Samoa to donate an X-Ray machine and 21kg worth of luggage, consisting of medicines and donatable pet items, to the Animal Protection Society Samoa (APS) - a not-for-profit animal health and welfare organisation providing veterinary services, primarily for dogs and cats. The donations were a combined effort from staff and teams across our VetSouth clinics, with the Winton clinic providing the APS with it...

Deer: Minimising stress at weaning time

Weaning is an important time in the deer farming calendar and getting it right can ensure you achieve the best growth and conception rates for the following year.As with most aspects of deer farming, weaning is another thing that is not set in stone. Most deer farmers will have their own ways and reasoning behind weaning, but, the management aspects around this time are so important to ensure this group stays as healthy as possible.Ideally, running the hinds and fawns through the shed a few time...

Age scanning your beef herd

It's beef scanning time again and worth considering age scanning your herd. Knowing accurate calving dates enables you to make informed decisions around wintering and grazing management. ...

Summer fattening crops: A farmer’s take

With summer brassicas gaining popularity among Southland farmers looking to boost their lambs along, we thought it would be worthwhile getting a farmer's take on them......

It's Toxo Time!

Summer is upon us and, while it would be nice to forget about lambing for a while, now is the time to start planning ahead for the next one!As you are no doubt aware, toxoplasmosis and campylobacter are widespread and can have a significant impact on your lamb drop.In fact, toxo is said to be present on 100% of farms in NZ*, so vaccination is key!...

Meet the vet flock: Caitlyn

Hi, I’m Caitlyn, a mixed animal vet based around Winton and Invercargill. I have been with VetSouth for nearly 2 years now, after graduating over the ditch in North Queensland at James Cook University in 2021.I took the leap and moved to NZ without having visited before and, after the initial climate shock, sunny and snowy Southland has grown on me!...

Tail scoring study underway

In 2021, we helped develop and lead a four year nationwide study to investigate the prevalence of tail damage in NZ herds. Our vets and techs have been tail scoring for a number of years now through the Welfarm programme, but, to date, there has been no research done around tail damage in New Zealand herds.There are a number of different aspects to this trial and we are still completing tail scores now to finish the project....

Spring case: uterine torsion

While summer is now upon us and the focus has shifted to repro and scanning, it can be useful to look back on the season's just been and take on any learnings. James Benstead, a mixed animal vet based out of the Winton clinic, reflects on a spring calving case he was called out to involving a second-calver with a uterine torsion:At 5am one spring morning, I received a call from a farmer reporting his cow was struggling to calve and "felt weird inside".Arriving on-farm at 6am, I found a...

Scanning versus cow wearables

We are seeing more farmers adopt rumination technologies (such as AllFlex or Halter collars, or CowManager tags) in their herds, with many positive benefits for the cows and farm staff. These technologies tell the user when their cow is on heat and give an optimum window for mating. Following this, they can then start to calculate the likelihood of a cow being pregnant based on her pattern of heat behaviour. The longer a cow does not show heat behaviour (a drop in rumination with a peak in ...

WelFarm: Proactive beats reactive

Regular dentist check ups can hurt your back pocket at the time, but can prevent a much bigger bill and a lot more pain down the track. Proactively monitoring herd health and welfare can offer the same protection and, with rising costs, public perception pressures and competitive markets, more farmers are seeing the value in it.WelFarm is a web-based programme that has been built around the principle of measuring and managing. It was built by vets who identified some key areas of herd ...

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 ...

Stress-free weaning: reducing the pneumonia risk

The most common form of weaning in NZ is abrupt weaning. This is the sudden and complete separation of the ewe and her lambs, avoiding visual, auditory or olfactory contact after weaning. Abrupt weaning generates behavioural, physiological and immunological responses in the lamb, affecting their health and growth, increasing their susceptibility to disease and decreasing weight gain....