Keep up to date with all our latest news, articles of interest, and case studies from the veterinary world around Hawke’s Bay.
Working Dog Training Day – Friday 14 August Whether you’re bringing on a young dog or looking to get more out of your working dog team, join us for a free Working Dog Training Day at the Waipukurau Showgrounds. 📅 Friday 14 August 2026🕙 Starts at 10.00am📍 Waipukurau Showgrounds We’ve now closed RSVP’s – if…
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Our dogs are not only very hard working members of our farm team, they are also real characters which give us a lot of enjoyment (and strife on a bad day) .They hold a special place in our farming community and they are great companions in an often lonely job. So what can we do…
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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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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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Spring is a busy time on the farm. Join us for our practical winter seminars for a refresher on Cow First Aid and Calf Rearing. FREE TO ATTEND ☕ Hot Drinks & Refreshments Provided 🎁 Prizes to Be Won!
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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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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 FacebookThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.Name(Required) First Last Farm(Required)Phone(Required)Rapid number of yards(Required) Street Address Address Line…
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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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These days it is routine to use our ultrasound scanners for pregnancy testing. We can check all cows that are scanned empty by manual palpation to maximise accuracy and check for problems. Our scanners work well either in the dairy or down races with a catwalk in cattle yards. During milking works fine in most Rotary sheds. Heifers are best done in cattle yards, or they will need training to run through the shed. Having good facilities and plenty of help ensures the job run smoothly on the day.
Earliest testing times after the end of the mating period:
Manual: Heifers 42 days | Cows 56 days, Ultrasound Scanning: Heifers & Cows 35 days
Best aging window: 35–100 days from conception (earlier is more accurate)
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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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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