Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

DEC 19 / JAN 20 WHAT’S INSIDE?

Barber’s Pole monitoring 2

Equine nutrition 4VetNews

Tararua Veterinary Services would like to thank our clients and unwind for ChristmasPongaroa HotelThursday 4th DecemberFrom 3.30 to 7.30pm

Holiday hours

Pahiatua Dannevirke

Mon 23 -

Tues 24 Dec8 - 5 8 - 5

Christmas Day - Boxing Day Closed Closed

Fri 27 8 - 5 8 - 5

Sat 28 Closed 10 - 12

Sun 20 Closed Closed

Mon 30 -

Tue 31 Dec8 - 5 8 - 5

New Years Day - day after New Years day Closed Closed

Fri 3 8 - 5 8 - 5

Sat 4 Closed 10 - 12

Normal hours resume on Mon 6 Jan 2020

Please note we have a 24-hour emergency service if required:

Pahiatua 06 376 8046Dannevirke 06 374 6062

Getting the most out of your fly treatmentGinny Dodunski

Dealing with flystrike in sheep over summer is frustrating, time consuming, and is a cost to both welfare and productivity.

Prevention is the key and well-timed shearing, followed by correct application of a suitable product, can go a very long way.

There are 2 types of fly control:

• Saturation dips: These are in the form of a concentrate that is diluted with water and applied to the whole sheep (saturation) to skin level.

• Spray-ons: These are applied along the back and around the breech.

Our growing preference for flystrike prevention is to use the modern spray-ons, in particular Strikeforce™-S, Clik™ Extra and Clikzin® These products have the advantage of being manufactured in a form that is ready to use. They’re low volume formulations with no dilution rates, no sump cleaning, no stripping of chemical from wash and no wash to dispose of. The equipment used to apply these products is cheap and easy to use (either with a drench-type gun fitted

with a spray/T bar nozzle or by using gas

powered applicator, “Power Doser”).

Saturation dips, as their name suggests,

work properly when saturation to skin level

is achieved. For hand jetting and spray race

application, it is recommended to apply two

litres per sheep with four weeks of wool

growth and for every additional month of

wool growth, you will need to apply an extra

0.5L of wash.

If you have sheep that are already struck,

we have Cyrazin KO, a saturation product

which kills the maggots as well as giving up

to 14 weeks cover (with the proviso that the

product is correctly applied, and fly pressure

is not extreme).

If you need more information on preventing

flystrike in your flock, please talk with your

vet or our specialised staff:

Alby in Pahiatua on 027 229 5162 and

Amanda in Dannevirke on 022 616 7836

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Looking aheadPossible animal health issues and tasks to consider with reminders for December include...

DAIRY

• CLINICAL MASTITIS – monitor cows and be aware of rising bulk milk somatic cell count particularly if using relief milkers over the holiday period.

• Book in for early PREGNANCY SCANNING, ideally six weeks after end of AI.

• Continue with excellent WEANER MANAGEMENT – drench regularly, weigh to monitor growth rates, potential trace mineral supplementation, ensure adequate nutrition.

• FACIAL ECZEMA season may begin early so, weather depending, plan to start preventative zinc treatment towards the end of January.

• Once we actually get some summer sun lameness may become an issue as ground hardens so monitor cows daily. Additionally hot, dry dusty weather can increase the

incidence of some diseases such as pink eye – monitor for early signs of discharge from, or white spots on, eye(s) and act quickly to separate from the mob and treat.

SHEEP and BEEF • WEANING MANAGEMENT – monitor ewe

body condition and check udders, parasite control and vitamin B12 testing in lambs, fly strike control.

• BARBERS POLE – monitor for signs of disease (pale gums, depressed, exercise intolerant, increased breathing) and drench appropriately.

Barber’s pole monitoring and decision-makingGinny Dodunski

Barber’s Pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) season is ahead of us… somewhere!

This sub tropically-adapted parasite prefers the warmer conditions of summer. It sucks blood from the stomach lining of naive sheep, and big burdens can remove enough blood to kill lambs and (less often) adult sheep.

It can ‘seem’ to strike without warning; mostly in late summer and autumn, though we do see the odd case prior to Christmas from time to time. Most outbreaks occur after a spell of hot, dry weather followed by some moisture. The textbooks say 25mm of rain, but a few heavy dews can be enough to spark it up.

With the right environmental conditions, and in the absence of effective management/control, ‘outbreak’ situations occur where larval numbers on pasture rise rapidly. Their ingestion by grazing sheep results in the sudden appearance of ill-

thrift, lethargy and deaths.

One of the problems with Barber’s Pole is in predicting the seasonal onset of challenge. A study in the Manawatu found no correlation between farms for the timing and severity of Barber’s Pole challenge. Just because one farm had high levels, did not mean a nearby farm would be similar. And even on the same farm, the relationship between Barbers Pole levels in the ewes and lambs was weak.

Anyone who’s been caught by a decent Barber’s Pole outbreak can be forgiven for thinking it’s not worth taking the risk of leaving stock unprotected. But is it necessary every year? And what are the sustainability costs of doing this?

COULD YOU BETTER ASSESS THE SITUATION ON YOUR PLACE EACH YEAR?

• An early faecal egg count (FEC) of lambs, even while still on mum, can be a guide; the egg counts of unweaned lambs can vary enormously, and very high FECs could point to Barbers Pole being present.

• Consider investing $70.00 in a larval culture – we send a mixed faecal sample to the laboratory to hatch and grow out the eggs. The larvae are examined under a microscope and we get a breakdown of the species present.

• Often pre-Christmas there will be no or very few Barbers Pole in these samples, but if you find there are, it can be a cue to early action.

• Watch this space – in the future we will have a faster DNA based test to determine which worm species are present in faecal samples. When this is available it will really help in rapid decision-making around Barbers Pole Worm.

• If you are handling lambs, look for paleness of the eye membranes. Normal eye membranes (the pink tissue under the lower lid is easiest to look at) are a salmon pink colour. Gums are hard to assess. They often look pale, even in healthy lambs.

OTHER PROTECTIVE MEASURES

• Keep drench intervals tidy on lambs grazing contaminated pasture - 28 days, don’t stretch them out.

• Monitor ewes, 2ths and lambs separately. It may be necessary to treat 2ths for Barbers Pole without all MA ewes requiring a treatment.

• Faecal egg counts of lambs just prior to when they require their next drench can be enlightening. If high counts are developing quickly, it could be due to Barbers Pole Worm.

Specific drench options in our clinics for Barbers Pole include Exodus®, Cydectin®, Pentamox®, and for those containing multiple actives: Trimox® and Genesis® Ultra. Please ask if you need advice on which product is best for your flock.

Save the date2020 Fishing Competition

Carla Sheridan

The 2020 Fishing Competition is to be held on Saturday 4 April so start working on those stories of the big one that got away!

Book it into your diary and look out for more details in our next newsletter.

3Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

• RAM PREPARATIONS – plan and book in ram palpations, Brucellosis testing and organise teasers

EQUINE• Maintain sport horses on JOINT

SUPPLEMENTS such as NV Halo Injection or Equinate™ injection if the ground is hard.

• Consider use of ELECTROLYTES for horses in heavy work particularly in hot weather and know the early signs of tying up so a full-blown episode can hopefully be avoided .

DEER• MONITOR HINDS regularly during fawning.

• STAG PREPARATIONS – ensure palpations are done and feet checked in good time prior

to mating.

Lastly, we wish you a fantastic holiday period… have a safe, enjoyable, very well-earned break with family and friends!

Early pregnancy testing of dairy herds Peter Aitken

Once the rush of the last few months has started to subside it’s time to think about how successful the season has been. The mating period that we are currently in will set the scene for the next season (or two) in how the cows are going to calve down and what the requirements will be, i.e. labour, feed, milk in the vat etc.

How we determine this and get a handle on what will happen next year is through scanning the cows to determine how far in calf they are. This can be a bit of an afterthought so it’s worthwhile thinking about it now as the earlier we scan then the more accurate we can be. If we are scanning more than 14 weeks after the start of the mating period, then the early calvers can only really be called “well in calf”.

If we are looking for more detailed results then we need to start early, from around six weeks after the start of mating. This also gives us the ability to pick up those cows that have cycled and then gone quiet (“phantom cows”).

The earlier we pregnancy test (PD) relative to the first three weeks of mating can allow for additional inputs to non-pregnant cows if

needed, conversely, the later we PD the less information we can give. If we PD at drying off for example it’s simply a case of yes or no.

The benefits of early pregnancy testing include:

• Ability to intervene with phantom cows that have gone quiet (if testing early after the first three weeks of artificial breeding (AB)).

• More accurate calving dates and prediction of your calving pattern with entry into Minda directly through Infovet.

• Ability to split the herd depending on calving date (springer mob formation, off-farm grazing for late calving cows).

• Assessing the effectiveness of your non-cycler treatment programmes.

• Accurate estimation of conception rates and assessing AB performance.

• Determining appropriate bull power and bull out date (depending on number of cows pregnant to AB).

• Cows that are ‘not detectably pregnant’ or late calving may be identified promptly and culled or sold. This is especially important in years where feed may be in short supply.

• Better feed budgeting, labour allocation

and nutrition planning, based on predicted calving dates.

Often when we talk of early PD, we will look to do two rounds of testing, one six weeks after AB period and then again six weeks after the bull has been taken out. It is worthwhile noting here that if only the Empty/Rechecks at the first round are tested at the second round, some of the early cows to get in calf may slip and return as empty later in the season - or having slipped early will get caught by the bull and then calve late unless rechecked at the second round of testing.

Single rounds of pregnancy testing six weeks after the bull comes are out a good way of determining if the cows are pregnant or not, but it does make the aging of pregnancies less accurate due to the tendency of the foetus to drop down into the abdomen as it enlarges. As a result, this makes it harder to get the scanner positioned correctly (across the skull) in order to accurately age the foetus.

Please feel free to contact your veterinarian to discuss any questions you may have around early pregnancy testing and what it could mean for you.

Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

WIN A MAKEOVER FOR YOUR DECK

Go into the draw to win a Luna

Outdoor Set, Milano Nouveau teak coffee table,

plus accessories by purchasing $500 or more ofBoehringer Ingelheim products.

Prize valued at $1960.

Terms and conditions: A qualifying entry is one Totally Vets or Tararua Veterinary Services invoice containing purchases of Bohringer Ingelheim products to the value of $500 or more. Multiple entries will be allowed. Qualifying invoices must be placed into the entry box and will be drawn at the conclusion of the promotional period. Promotion runs from 1 December 2019 until 29 February 2020. Winner will be notified.

The basics of equine nutrition Steve Harvey

A correct and balanced diet is

a critical component of proper

horse-care. This includes the

feeding of horses, ponies,

donkeys, and mules.

Horses are non-ruminant herbivores of a type

known as “hindgut fermenters.” Horses have

only one stomach, as do humans, however,

unlike humans, they also need to digest

plant material which is predominantly fibre.

Ruminants such as cattle have a rumen located

at the beginning of the digestive system, and

digest the fibre in plant material by use of a

multi-chambered stomach, whereas horses

use microbial fermentation in a part of the

digestive system known as the cecum (or

caecum) which is located at the end of the

digestive tract to break down the cellulose

(fibre).

In practical terms, horses prefer to eat small

amounts of food steadily throughout the

day, as they do in the wild when grazing on

pasture lands. Although this is not always

possible with modern stabling practices and

human schedules that favour feeding horses

twice a day, it is important to remember

the underlying biology of the animal when

determining what to feed, how often, and in

what quantities.

The digestive system of the horse is somewhat

delicate. Horses are unable to regurgitate

food, except from the oesophagus. Thus, if

they overeat or eat something poisonous,

vomiting is not an option. They also have a

long, complex large intestine and a balance

of beneficial microbes in their cecum that can

be upset by rapid changes in feed. Because

of these factors, they are very susceptible

to colic, which is a leading cause of death in

horses. Therefore, horses require clean, high-

quality feed, provided at regular intervals,

plus water and may become ill if subjected

to abrupt changes in their diets. Horses are

also sensitive to moulds and toxins. For this

reason, they must never be fed contaminated

fermentable materials such as lawn clippings.

Fermented silage or “haylage” is fed to horses

in some places however, contamination or

failures in the fermentation process that

allows any mould or spoilage may be toxic.

If you have or are having any problems with

your horse do not hesitate to get your local

veterinarian involved.