Articles

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

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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Orphan Lambs and Lamb Rearing- Best practice

By Helen Taylor- Veterinarian, Vet Services Hawke’s Bay. Rearing orphan lambs can be an enjoyable and rewarding job for a whole spectrum of people – from a lifestyler with a couple of pets lambs to the owner of a highly productive stud flock fostering triplet lambs of high genetic merit. Pet lambs are also easy…

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Our services at Alert Level 4

  Well, that was a big surprise! Going to Level 4 at 6.00pm last night has meant we have to change the way we operate to ensure we comply with Covid-19 government regulations. The good news is we have been through this before and have social distancing protocols in place to keep our staff, clients…

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tan pug on brown wooden stool

Overweight Pets

Podgy Pooches & Curvaceous Cats Every pet has an ideal weight but almost 50% of animals coming into the clinic are overweight. This problem can be difficult to manage and is often overlooked, despite the well-known health risks including diabetes mellitus, arthritis, cancer and respiratory and heart disease. The first step to helping podgy pooches…

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brown cattle on green grass at daytime

Parasite Control in Young Stock – Simon Marshall

Growing young stock to their full potential involves many factors. The main focus should be great nutrition with all animal health considerations including trace minerals, vaccinations and parasite control covered. Even with all of that considered, aside from poor nutrition, parasites can often be the most growth limiting factor of young stock on pastoral farms…

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brown sheep plush toy on gray metal rack

Parasite Management Strategies

  Monitor drenches used on farm annually by completing a faecal egg count check at 10 days after drenching. Do this for each different drench family that you use during the season. Try to complete as early in the season as possible.   Quarantine drench: On arrival at the farm, drench all stock with a…

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short-coated brown puppy

Parvo – the positive result you don’t want!

Canine parvovirus, commonly called ‘Parvo’, is a highly infectious and often lethal disease that affects puppies and dogs. It effects their stomach and small intestine and symptoms can include; vomiting, diarrhoea (often with traces of blood), a lack of appetite, dehydration and rapid condition loss. Puppies under 6 months of age are at the highest…

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Pet Insurance

Many people know the importance of insuring their items, their house or car, even their own health.  Fortunately we are also able to insure pets, for not only medical and surgical care but in some cases routine visits can be covered (including vaccinations and wellness checks/blood tests).  Like any insurance, the hope is that you…

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Pete The One-Eared Sheep

Peter was rushed to our clinic a couple of weeks ago after being attacked by a dog, and suffering horrific wounds to his left ear.   Kathryn, Libby & the Companion Animal team attended to Pete’s injuries under a general anaesthetic and found that unfortunately his ear was too damaged and would need to be…

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