News & Advice

Our veterinary teams will enjoy a much-needed break over the holiday season and will be closed on all public holidays. In an emergency, please call your local clinic on the after-hours phone number. Please note the following clinics are operating reduced hours or opening days as follows: SOUTH CANTERBURY Temuka 24.12.24 8am – 3pm 25.12.24 […]

The farming calendar never stops, but certain times of year are a good opportunity to measure and reset. Lamb weaning is one of these events. For a ewe, the breeding season starts again when her lambs are removed. A Body Condition Score (BCS) of less than three means she may struggle to mate well and […]

If your initial thought is, “I’ve never seen a tick on my farm; this article doesn’t apply to me,” please read on. This is a common misconception among farmers in Marlborough, even when faced with a very pale cow. Ticks are adept at sucking blood without being noticed. Unless you regularly inspect your livestock’s most […]

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) hosted the 2024 World Dairy Summit (WDS) in Paris from October 15–18, bringing together a diverse group of dairy farmers, rural professionals, industry leaders, and sustainability advocates. The International Dairy Federation (IDF) is a global non-profit organisation, founded in 1903, to represent the dairy sector. The IDF collaborates with governments, […]

As mating is nearly upon us, making sure your bulls are in peak condition is vitally important for successful mating outcomes. Body condition and bull power Coming into mating, bulls should be fit, but not fat – around a BCS 6-7. Bull power should be adequate to ensure all cows are able to be serviced. […]

Congratualtions to Jack and Clare Wild from Saint Bathans and Geordie Hill Station in Tarras for winning our giveaway in conjunction with Royal Canin. We hope your dogs are feeling the benefit of being on Royal Canin 4800 Energy and that you can put the $1000 worth of clinic credits to good use! Are your […]

Vetlife is currently undertaking a deer copper survey amongst our clients, via liver biopsies on farms, to gain an understanding of how well their deer are emerging from winter. The preliminary results are interesting with a wide range of results being reported. 36% of groups tested (ten) are in the deficient range (less than 100 […]

Vetlife Scientific has recently published the results of a trial set up to investigate whether individual animals affected by worms could be identified through changes in the animals’ behaviour. The research, published in the New Zealand Veterinary Journal, tracked the behaviour of 36 five- to six-month-old Friesian-Jersey heifer calves over nine weeks using animal-mounted, accelerometer-based […]

Depending on where you are nuisance flies can be a real pain on farms over the summer and autumn months. The offending fly is Stomoxys calcitrans – also known as the stable fly. It is similar in appearance and size to the common house fly, but has mouthparts adapted to pierce through skin so it […]

There is nothing much more soul-wrenching than witnessing the rapid decline of a previously high-producing dairy cow, invariably in her prime, withering away to a skeleton fit only for the pet food truck. Johne’s disease is a scourge in the cattle industry worldwide and it is a major cause of wastage for our NZ dairy […]

In the world of dairy farming, ensuring the reproductive success of your herd is crucial for maximising productivity and profitability. One of the most critical periods in this process is the pre-mating phase, during which cows exhibit heat signs. Understanding these signs and leveraging new technologies, such as wearable collars, can significantly enhance your herd’s […]

Talking about reducing emissions and improving efficiency can be a delicate, if not an emotive, topic. Yet you should be congratulating yourself on just how far you have come. It was not too many years ago that mating lasted a consistent 16 weeks, with a large tranche of cows being induced to calve prematurely that […]