Back to Blog

Calving First Aid Kit

Everyone has a first aid kit ready to go in their cupboard, and the same should be said for having an easily accessible “calving kit” ready before calving. It can be on the quad, at the calf pens or at the shed, whatever is easiest. We are more than happy to put together a box of supplies for you if time is short.  Cows Disinfectant Lube  Calving pulleys or jack Calving chains Halter  Metabolic bags Oxytocin Metacam or KetoMAX ...

Getting ready for calving checklist

Spring calving is just around the corner! As the season approaches, it is crucial to prepare your cows for a successful and healthy birth. Here are some tips to help: Evaluate your grazing management. Ensure your grazing management is adequate for the calving season. Set up a calving paddock in a dry, well-drained area close to the shed. Monitor your cow's body condition. It is important to monitor your cow's body condition during the calving season. Ideally, they should have a Body Co...

Bloat Oil vs Rumenox®

We have seen a few cases of bloat this autumn. Many dairy farmers still use traditional bloat oils as standard practice to keep on top of it. If used correctly, they can be relatively effective at reducing bloat, but they do have their limitations.  Bloat oils are short-lived in the rumen and are reliant on cows drinking regularly to keep the rumen topped up 24 hours a day. The problem with this is that on wet days (and we’ve had many of them recently), cows drink very little. &...

Managing the transition cow

Farmers are increasingly spending more time and money on preventative animal health measures and treatments rather than the more traditional reactive approach to disease on-farm.  One of the season's most sensitive times is the transition period, which includes the 3-week period before calving and 3 weeks after. If managed well, a host of animal health issues can be mitigated, but, if inadequately managed, it can lead to several animal health issues which can significantly impact anima...

Nitrate toxicity

We are already seeing an increase in nitrate toxicity in farms around Morrinsville with the recent overcast, wet weather, resulting in sudden death of livestock without warning. Toxicity occurs when plants accumulate nitrates, which, when consumed, then overwhelm cattle’s rumen bacteria. Excess levels of nitrate are converted into nitrite in the rumen, which then leaks into the bloodstream and binds to haemoglobin, making it unable to transport oxygen. The cow essentially suffocates to de...

Seal the deal!

With the winter period fast approaching for our spring herds, drying off the cows becomes a big part of every farmer’s calendar. Dry-off involves placing either antibiotics, teat sealant, or both, into each of the cow’s teats in a sterile manner.  Teat sealing heifers, often considered a preventive measure, involves the application of a protective barrier to the teats of our first-time calvers. Teatseal is typically a flexible sealant which forms a physical barrier against pathogen...

Cancer eye – it pays to check!

When you’re working at the back-end of a cow every day, it’s easy to miss what’s going on at the front-end. However, it should be good stockmanship and practice to look, periodically, for signs of cancer eye.  As the name suggests, cancer eye (otherwise known as squamous cell carcinoma) is a cancer of the eye, which can affect the eyelids, eyeball or 'third eyelid' (the eyelid that slides across the eye) and it is as bad as it sounds! ...

Broken legs in heifers

Over the past few seasons, we have still seen cases of well grown heifers with broken legs. These usually occur with no source of trauma, and heifers are often just found in the paddock severely lame.  Broken legs are often seen early in their first lactation, where calcium is mobilised from bone for lactation demand straight after calving, causing a transient osteoporosis. Most animals can cope with this, but if there has been underlying weakness from nutritional inadequacy when they ...

Remind me why Multimin is great for my farm?

Multimin is an easily absorbed mineral injection of copper, selenium, zinc and manganese. It is used prior to periods of stress to boost your cows’ immune system, with some impressive results from trials in New Zealand:  At a dose of 1ml/50kg at birth, the use of Multimin in calves was found to reduce calf deaths by about 50%. The trial looked at 900 calves and found a reduction in scours in calves between 3 - 35 days old, from 10.6% in control calves to 4.9% in injected calves. This, a...

Keep your furry friend smiling

Nothing warms your heart more than your happy, smiling dog welcoming you home at the end of the day. Just like us, to keep that happy smile, cats and dogs rely on healthy teeth and gums for their overall health and wellbeing.The build-up of dental plaque (a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on the teeth) can lead to oral health issues in your pet, such as gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth loss....

Avoiding down cows at the works

When it comes time to send your cull cows to the works, it is important to prepare your girls properly to ensure they stay as healthy as possible on the journey and to avoid them going down upon arrival, or while waiting in lairage.  Despite everyone's efforts to ensure animals don’t have to wait too long at the works, cows can end up waiting in lairage for 12-24 hours, or sometimes even more. While there will always be water available for them, there won’t be much else. So, if they hav...

Emergency medicine: Down cow recovery

A farmer’s worst nightmare can be showing up to a paddock and seeing sick cows lethargic and not wanting to get up. There are many things that can cause a cow to go down, including the below:  ...

Heifer teat sealing

It’s that time of year when the heifers come in kicking and screaming on their first visits to the shed. Teat sealing may seem like a hassle, but it dramatically reduces clinical mastitis in heifers and milk leakage pre-calving. Heifers have a higher risk of mastitis in early lactation compared with older cows. This can lead to light quarters, or three-titters, teat canal thickening and increased risk of early culling from mastitis. Mastitis infections in first- and second-calvers limit u...

Book online with My Pet Portal

We strive to make face-to-face, personalised service a priority at Vet Clinic Morrinsville and love to schedule your appointments over the phone or in-clinic. However, we also want booking appointments to be as simple and convenient as possible for you, so for those who would prefer to book online, or outside of clinic hours, you can do so via My Pet Portal – our new online booking system for your pets.My Pet Portal lets you select the type of appointment you need and choose a t...

Nutrition for puppies and kittens

Puppies and kittens are weaned around 6-7 weeks old, so by the time they arrive in your home, they are eating solid food. Their most rapid growth occurs around 3-6 months old, so getting their nutrition in tip-top shape from the moment you welcome them home is key to setting them up for life.The best food to choose is “puppy” or “kitten” food, which is intended for growth, rather than generic diets. Ideally, these foods will have been through feeding trials to give the best evi...

Pawsome pet care: annual health plans for your furry friends

As we embark on another year filled with love, laughter, and countless cuddles with our beloved furry companions, it's essential to prioritise their health and wellbeing. Just like us, our pets require regular healthcare to ensure they lead long, happy lives by our side.Below are some things that we should include in our annual pet health plans:Vaccinations: Being up-to-date with vaccinations ensures your pet is protected against common diseases and infections. This is also when annual...

Choosing the right pet

Allergies, lifestyle, age, interests...all things to consider when choosing a pet. So, which pet is right for you?One way to narrow your search is to focus on the following:...

The value of pet insurance

When your pet gets sick, there is no public health system or ACC to cover the cost of their treatment - this is where pet insurance comes in. Insurance provides peace of mind that you can get the best treatment for your pet when they are sick or injured, without having to cut corners. It means you can focus on giving your pet the support and love they need, instead of worrying about the bill. It also helps you to get your pet seen as soon as possible, instead of waiting until an injury...

Upskilling the region

In late 2023, Vet Clinic Morrinsville hosted a series of practical workshops in animal medicine, primarily focusing on improving lameness and ultrasound techniques. The goal was to educate veterinarians, vet techs and farmers of the Waikato region to further boost community knowledge in animal health and the farming industry....

2024 scanning results

We are reaching the end of the scanning season and have collated everyone’s results, which show a 3% drop in empty rates from last year. The median has gone from 16% last season to 13% this season.  A quarter of you have met the 10% industry target for empty rate, so well done. A small number have also met the 78% industry target for 6-week in-calf rate. To enable us to provide better data analysis for you in the future, please consider giving us access to your MINDA.  ...

The benefits of a liver biopsy

Trace minerals are crucial to optimal production and animal health. Coming into autumn and winter, copper levels start to decrease, especially after the facial eczema season with zinc usage.  The liver is the storage organ for copper and the levels of copper in blood aren’t always an indication of storage levels. The liver is like a water tank and the blood is the tap - the tank can be nearly empty, but the water will still flow as if it’s full. Hence, the liver can be low in coppe...

Facial eczema

Despite its name, facial eczema is primarily a liver disease, caused by cows eating lots of spores from the fungus Pithomyces chartarum, which grows in dead matter in pasture, in the right environmental conditions, in the summer. Here in the Waikato, the facial eczema season can be from January to late April. Fungal growth can happen when temperatures rise above 12°C, but spore production is highest when the temperature is between 20-24°C. It occurs rapidly, 2-4 days after rain. ...

Dry cow therapy regulations reminder

As the dry cow consult season approaches, it is important to remember what the regulations are as they have changed over the last few years. Understanding what data you need to bring (and why) makes the consults a lot more productive and informative for you and your vet....

Thiamine (B1) deficiency

Every summer we see a few cases of thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in weaned calves. Thiamine is made by the bacteria in the rumen. If the bacterial balance is disturbed and there is a decrease in the bacteria that make thiamine and an increase in the bacteria that break down thiamine (‘thiaminases’), then there can be a deficiency.Bacterial balance can be disturbed by diet change, plant sources and grazing on soil with high sulphur levels (sulphur inhibits the production of thiamine)....

Meet the team: Oscar

"I grew up on a gumboot-shaped island in the Philippines with all sorts of animals: cats, dogs, chickens, pigs and fish! My parents, younger brother and I moved to Auckland in 2015 and I began studying to become a vet in 2018. After graduating at the start of this year, I travelled a little further south to start my first job as a qualified vet here at Vet Clinic Morrinsville!I absolutely love working with the team at VCM! They are a reliable bunch who are easy to get along with and enjoy a...