News & Advice

Calf diarrhoea, or scours, is one of the most common and yet devastating diseases that can affect a calf. Scours can occur due to nutritional reasons, such as a change in composition, volume or timing of milk, or due to an infectious cause. There is little in life that is more demoralising, for a calf […]

Facial eczema (FE) is caused by a fungus called Pithomyces chartarum that resides at the base of pasture in the dead litter. Moderate levels of moisture, warmth and sunlight trigger this fungus to produce spores, and when these spores are ingested, a toxin called sporidesmin is released and absorbed into the bloodstream. Due to the […]

The biggest risk period for metabolic disorders in sheep is around lambing time. Problems often arise when body condition score targets haven’t been met and the nutritional needs of the ewe are not adequately met during pregnancy and early lactation. Below is a breakdown of the 3 main metabolic disorders in sheep that we see: […]

As I am writing this, the total number of cows wearing some sort of monitoring technology in New Zealand is probably somewhere between 600,000-800,000 and growing.   In fact, the number of cow devices has doubled every year since first being introduced, so do not be surprised if this number has increased greatly again by this […]

Going into the late lactation period, we need to start thinking about the best way to get the cows and farm ready for next season. What we do now will have a big impact in the new season.   Body condition and transitioning the cows properly from milking to dry are the key points to focus […]

Clostridial bacteria are widespread in the environment, both in the soil and water, and they commonly cause acute disease often followed by sudden death.   In cattle the main clostridial diseases we see are:   Tetanus  Blackleg  Malignant oedema  Black disease  Redwater  Sudden death syndrome (C. sordellii)  Diagnosis of clostridial disease can be tricky. This is generally […]

We are heading into a dry-looking March as I write this but, with a bit of luck, much-needed rain will have fallen by the time you read this latest copy of the Vetlife Rural Newsletter. Sooner or later it is going to rain, and there are a few health conditions that are worth considering when […]

Contrary to that in the North Island, the Central Otago sunshine has been relentless since the new year. Driving around you can see the effect this is having on feed quality throughout the countryside. For hinds coming up to the rut, this may be particularly problematic.   Mating will be a tough time, especially for hinds […]

Monitoring trace elements in your livestock through liver biopsies and blood sampling, is the best way to assess your herd’s status, giving you critical information to help tailor your supplementation programmes. Some of the key trace elements worth monitoring in the autumn are copper and selenium.  Copper: Copper is required for the function of enzymes […]

Lameness has a huge impact on the fertility, milk production and body condition of cows.  The result is large amounts of time and energy spent treating cases and increasing culling, and then a consequential decrease in overall efficiency on farm. Costs of lameness are estimated at between $200-$1,300/cow depending on the case, and, as you […]

Reviewing reproductive data can assist in providing more targeted outcomes for you and your business. It seems like only yesterday we started calving. Time has flown by, and now most dairy farms will be finished with mating and will have some scanning data available. To some, this information may not be used for much, but it […]

As calf weaning approaches, we judge the performance of our beef cow herds by deciding ‘how good’ this year’s weaners look. Are they a nice even line of calves, or are there a number of tail-end stragglers that will have to play catch-up?  Weaning good-sized calves depends on a lot of factors, including genetics, cow […]