Articles

Keep up to date with all our latest news, articles of interest, and case studies from the veterinary world around Hawke’s Bay.

Dangers of calf feed!

  Over the last few weeks, we have had a series of dogs presenting to the Dannevirke & Waipukurau clinic with suspected ionophore toxicity, following ingestion of calf milk replacer or meal.   While these feeds are fantastic for rapidly growing young calves, the products can pose a very serious danger to dogs and other…

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white and black cow during daytime

DAIRY SEMINAR

Join us for our annual Spring Dairy Seminar. We are hosting a Dairy Seminar around the topic of spring calving, transition management, metabolic issues, and setting your farm up for spring performance. Free to attend with morning tea provided. We encourage you to bring along your workers, neighbours and mates (just remember to RSVP for…

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Youngstock Seminar – Tuesday 28 February

Join Vet Services and special guest speaker, Sue Macky for an informative seminar all about getting excellent dairy heifers. Sue Macky is a veterinarian who has worked worldwide with high performing dairy farmers. Sue is passionate about growing dairy heifers to reach their potential in the herd. She has particular expertise in the management of…

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Dairy Technician Services

WOPA Hoof Trimming Faster, Safer Hoof Trimming with the WOPA cattle crush, Teatsealing, Disbudding, Pregnancy Scanning and Reproduction Services. Fill in your details below and we will be in touch to make a booking Name* First Last Farm* Rapid number of yards* Street Address Address Line 2 Phone*I want to book or find out more…

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Safe handling facilities

  Having a good safe working facility on farm has lots of benefits – to you, your animals, and your service providers. Yards that are fit for purpose are a pleasure to work in and reduce the risk of injury to all users (animal and human alike). The following are some common things that make…

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Grass tetany in cattle (Grass Staggers)

We are hearing of lots of beef cows across Hawkes Bay dropping dead around calving this spring. That got your attention – and it is true!!! This spring is the perfect picture for cows getting grass staggers and we have confirmed this with bloods pre calving in many herds. Cold and wet season, short green…

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Transition management of the dairy cow

Naomi Barrett, Vet Services Dannevirke  The transition period for a dairy cow is recognised as the interval extending from three weeks prior to three week after calving. These weeks are the most critically important period of the year for a cow, as her body undergoes significant physiological changes. In the space of only a few…

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Make Drenching Count

Farmers should target worm control in cattle at young animals and use oral drenches as long as they can. Article by Sara Sutherland, Vet Services Wairarapa. Sheep and cattle systems have some subtle differences with respect to drenches and drenching. For example, worm species are (mostly) different, the availability of pour-on drenches for cattle, the…

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black cow on green grass field during daytime

Bulls – Keep your eyes peeled!

With our scanning equipment all but back on the shelf for another season we’ve had a little time recently to reflect on another year of cattle pregnancy results and follow up on some of the more disappointing outcomes. Whilst there are potentially many factors involved in a poor scanning result, bull failure is undeniably one…

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Nitrate Poisoning

Too hot to handle Crops are an integral part of many systems, supplying supplementary feed when pasture covers get tight during autumn and winter. Unfortunately, nothing in life is ever that simple with many of the popular choices for crop being higher risk for nitrate accumulation, placing us between a rock and a hard place…

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two white cows during daytime

Common Diseases in Weaned Calves

Weaning is one of the most stressful event a calf will go through, which is why it can be the period when we see many disease related issues as the associated stress leads to immune compromise. Young cattle at weaning may also be going from a situation of being regularly observed to a less intensive…

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