Articles

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

black and white cow calf

Disbudding – don’t leave it too late!

Dairy calves are thick on the ground here in Dannevirke and we are very busy with debudding! The optimal time to debud calves is when they are 2-6 weeks of age so horn buds are removed before they have a chance to attach to the skull, this makes the job quicker and reduces the risk…

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Desexing your dog – when’s the best time?

WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO HAVE YOUR DOG DESEXED? Recently, if and when to spay (female) or castrate (male) your dog has become a topic of debate and everyone seems to have slightly different opinions. The reason for this is that there is pros and cons of performing this procedure at different ages, and these…

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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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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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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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black and white cow on green grass field during daytime

Dairy Cow Lameness

Cows are amazingly stoic creatures, hiding their pain well from us.   Lameness is one of the ways they will show pain, and most of the time it has stemmed from a foot issue.  The corium is the layer of tissue inside the hoof that the hard hoof grows from, and when it becomes damaged it…

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Croeso’n ôl Steve!

  Sheep pregnancy scanning has become an annual pilgrimage for Welshman Steve.  Steve Lloyd has been pregnancy scanning ewes for over 25 years. He has scanned in the UK, Norway and across New Zealand for the last 20 years. 2023 is his 6th season with the Vet Services team. Steve loves returning to Hawke’s Bay…

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COUGHING AND WHEEZY HORSES

The classic ‘coughing horse’ is a common sight and sound at this time of year, and often transient viral respiratory disease is to blame. But as much as we love to blame a virus, they are not always the cause! This year has seen an influx of allergy associated disease in all classes of stock…

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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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COLIC – WHAT A PAIN!

Colic, a word that strikes fear into the heart of every horse owner! But what is it and what can we do? In the simplest sense, colic is a broad term used to describe abdominal pain and the behaviour that we see associated with that pain. This is most commonly associated with the gastrointestinal tract,…

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Chickens & Red Mites

Red mites are small external parasites of chickens that live in the cracks and crevices of poultry housing.  They are blood feeders and mainly feed at night but if there are large numbers they may be seen during the day.  They then return to the housing during the day where they lay their eggs.  They…

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CATTLE SCANNING – 2024 BOOKINGS

Happy New Year! The Vet Services team are now taking bookings for pregnancy scanning in cows and heifers. Pregnancy scanning has many advantages when understanding your herd’s reproduction performance and planning ahead for the season. The earliest times for accurate testing following bull withdrawal is 49 days, this is especially important for ageing or identifying…

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