NOVEMBER 2016

INVITATIONINVITATIONINVITATIONINVITATION

EVENT: Xmas party and pig / sheep on a spit / BBQ.

REASON: To thank you for your support during the year and to have a good time.

VENUE: The clinic, Friday December 2nd.

Festivities start at 5.00pm with the meal being served at 6.30 -7.00 p.m. We usually wind up about

10.00 p.m.. Bring the family and come in for a social one on us.

Please make sure you

arrange for a non-drinking driver to drop you back

home!

RSVP please by Wednesday 28th November

VETTALES

Te Puke Veterinary Centre Newsletter

Included in this Issue . . .

♦ Planning for Extended Facial Eczema Seasons ♦ Getting the best out of young stock ♦ Calf diseases to look for & vaccination reminders ♦ The value of pregnancy testing ♦ Dairy Cow Management & Nutrition ♦ Sheep mating topics and drenches ♦ Dry Stock Seminar and calendar of events ♦ Lame Cows ♦ Cheesy Gland outbreak in mob of Ewes ♦ Promotions

Everyone at Te Puke Vets would like to thank you

for your support, and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy

New Year.

Buy selected products and take home a Xmas Ham

Spring Update This October was the wettest, ugliest October that any-one can remember! The warm and wet growing condi-tions with lack of sun meant that the grass had high levels of crude protein without sugars. On top of this the pasture NDF was high resulting in reduced DM in-take. The result was cows lost weight, dropped in pro-duction and stopped cycling. The best farmers could do was to increase feed efficiency with rumensin or add to the diet slow starch sources such as maize - both quite costly and out of the reach of most farmers. The sun is now out and everything is settling but for many farmers it has been a very slow mating. Where from here? If the bulls are taken out early there are probably going to be high MT rates so farmers need to allow for this. Although it goes against current advice, another option is to leave the bulls in for an extra 2-3 weeks and have some cows calve late. You then have the option of trying to fix the problem next year with Cidrs or just getting an extra 2/3 of a season out of them and then culling.

FACE-GUARD

2% price increase 1st February

Order early to get best price and to avoid

last minute supply hitches

Planning for Extended FE Seasons Last year in Te Puke we had counts over 80,000 for 3

months - from mid February to mid May. Although we

didn't get the million counts that were common in

other regions, we got counts over 200,000 for 6 weeks

(early March to mid April). This continues the trend of

the last few years where the FE seasons have been

getting longer and more severe.

This means farmers need to plan protection for

longer periods and because of potential toxicity is-

sues of extended zinc treatment, zinc can not be re-

lied on as the sole source of protection.

Issues to note:

♦ Faceguard zinc boluses are registered and are only safe for 10 continuous weeks (2 treatments).

While they can be used for longer periods zinc

levels need to checked before doing so. Time

capsules have similar issues.

♦ Fungicide sprays can be effective but application has to be thorough. More importantly fungicides

need to be applied before spore counts get above

20,000. At that stage they can reduce subsequent

spore count rises by 50-60 per cent. With counts

over 200,000 fungicides won’t reduce spores

enough to make pastures safe.

♦ Counts over 20,000 for sustained periods of time will cause clinical FE.

♦ Water treatment is not an option for dry stock and even in milking dairy cows water treatment will

be found wanting in bad years. In our experience

at least 25% of dairy cows do not drink sufficient

water to be protected and will show clinical FE in

bad seasons

An integrated approach to FE control could in-

clude:

1. Use your best weapons during the highest risk pe-

riod

♦ Normally mid February to Late April.

♦ Zinc boluses e.g. two Faceguard or three Time Capsules.

2. Use one or a combination of the following for the

shoulder times:

♦ Graze safe pasture - spore count, graze shady south facing slopes and those facing prevailing

drying winds (tend to have lower counts), try not

to graze lower than 4cms, and avoid topped pad-

docks.

♦ Graze FE safe pasture/crops such as Chickory, lucerne and Turnips. Lower fertility grasses such

as tall fescue, kikuyu and paspalum have lower

spore counts

♦ Spray pasture with fungicide to provide safe pas-ture for January and early February.

♦ Use weekly oral zinc dosing where needed - at either end of the main risk time. This still has po-

tential toxicity issues but it can be stopped.

WHERE’S CRIBBY?

No not at the beach in his favourite “Where’s Wally” striped shirt. In fact he has had a major op on his foot and he is lounging about at home for the next 3-4 months. Unfortunately it hasn’t all gone well. The other day, driven mad by the smell of his favourite Meat-Lovers / Double cheese /Extra BBQ sauce Pizza

supreme, he wheeled himself over to the oven and fell out of his wheelchair trying to remove the Pizza!!

An alternative strategy is to give zinc boluses as

soon as counts start to rise. After 10-12 weeks give

them a break for 1-2 weeks before administering an

additional bolus. The potential problem is that

counts are likely to be high at the break time so a

crop would have to be available for that 2 week pe-

riod.

Anyone that would like to discuss the safe use of

boluses or their FE strategy in general please ring.

We will be monitoring spore counts

around the area again this year from

early January. If you wish to receive

these local weekly trends and a national

summary via e-mail please let us know

by e-mailing us at admin@tepukevets.co.nz These reports are also available o our website: tepukevets.co.nz

One must be won from

Te Puke Vet

Centre

DISEASES IN CALVES TO LOOK OUT FOR OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS

• Polioencephalomalacia (Vitamin B1 deficiency). Be on the look out for calves with nervous dis-ease, blindness and staggering. Affected calves must be treated with injectable Vitamin B1 ASAP. On-going mob problems can be prevented with a one-off oral drench of vitamin B1 powder.

• Yersiniosis and Coccidiosis. These diseases cause scouring and are often seen after weaning. Treatment consists of putting calves back on meal and using the appropriate antibiotic. Leaving them on 1-2kg of meal per calf for 1-2 months after weaning will help prevent both diseases.

• Ticks like cover - paspalum, rushes and under-grazed or rank pasture. If the conditions above are present ticks can only be controlled - not elimi-nated. Bayticol pour-on is effective for 3-4 weeks. Target times when ticks are bad. If Theile-ria is a problem in young calves treat with Bayti-col a month before the usual problem time. This will not stop Theileria but it will reduce the sever-ity and delay it until calves are older and stronger.

• Pinkeye is a disease most commonly seen in the summer. Outbreaks are triggered by dust, pollen, flies, bright sunlight, thistles and stalky pasture. Vaccination before the danger period is the most effective means of control. Also helpful is mini-mising exposure to dusty conditions, controlling nuisance fly and managing pasture to minimise physical eye damage caused by thistles etc.

Getting Best Results out of Young Stock

If you don’t monitor weights you can not ensure your

calves are reaching targets.

What are indications of underweight young stock?

• Slow calving heifers

• Poor 2YO submission rates

• High % empty 2YOs

• High % of late calving 3YO and 4YOs

More and more farmers are weighing their stock,

and with the advent of MINDA Weights, recording

and information reporting is fantastic. Commonly

there is a great divide between what farmers

think their stock weigh and real weights.

It is true that achieving LIC’s target liveweights aren’t

easy. However those targets are set by the genetic

potential of each animal so are realistic - there are

farmers locally that are hitting their targets.

WE CAN HELP!!

We have a TruTest weighing system and have set up

a weighing service. Our service provides:

• Trutest system with EID wand and platform

• One technician

• Entering the weights into MINDA

Depending on the quality of the set-up we are able to

weigh up to 120-140 animals per hour. Cost of the

service is $100 / hour (minimum 1 hour) plus mile-

age.

If you want an easy way to monitor your young

stocks weight and better 2YO performance then

ring Bryce at the clinic.

Calf Vaccination Reminders

Calves going off farm should be vaccinated for Leptospirosis and BVD before they leave. This is to stop them contracting these diseases them-selves and also to prevent them bringing them back to the herd. As they need two injections, the first shot needs to be given at least 4 weeks before they are due to depart. If your herd has evidence of recent exposure to BVD (as determined by milk testing) it is also worthwhile having your calves tested. Calves infected in-utero are likely to be persistently in-fected (PI). PI calves will infect other calves and then eventually the milking herd, causing poor growth rates and reproduction issues all along the way. The best option for testing your calves is ear notching, which takes us approximately 1 hour per 100 calves. The cost including lab costs is approximately $20 per calf. Calves going outside the BOP should also be vaccinated for Blackleg.

Animal Age % Mature LW 500kgLW

3 months 20% 100

6 months 30% 150

9 months 40% 200

12 months 50% 250

15 months 60% 330

22 months 90% 450

450kgLW

90

135

180

225

270

405

Dairy Cow Management and Nutrition

Nutrition and management play a major role in dairy cow performance. Veterinarian Laura Pattie has been attending a course for the last 7 months, on advanced dairy cow nutrition and man-agement. Her aim is to provide quality nutritional advice and to set up on farm systems that maximise outcomes and are repeatable in ensuing years.

Laura says that it is not just a matter of how many Kgs of DM/day should be fed, but how it is fed and also what is fed. The aim is to increase feed conver-sion efficiency to get the most out of what is being fed, and to maximise profit. Laura says it is all about what is possible and what can we achieve? Don’t look at averages - we are not average!

February/March is a key time on farm where deci-sions will greatly affect the following season. If you are not happy how this season has gone, or are want-ing better performance from your herd, then come into the clinic for a cuppa tea and a chat about your farm goals with Laura.

Harry Taylor is painting his lounge. His partner

walks in and can’t believe how well he is doing but

the sweat is dripping off him. She says “why are

you wearing a leather jacket and a rain coat!?”

Harry says, “Heellooo! Read the tin!!! It says, for

best results put two coats on!!”

The Value of Pregnancy Testing

With AB finishing and the bulls out, for most farmers it is time for a well earned rest leading into summer. But how well has mating gone? Are you one of the majority of farmers trying to improve

reproduction and reduce empty rates ?

If you are, then pregnancy testing at the right time is vital so the information collected can work best for you. It pro-vides you an opportunity to assess this seasons mating pe-riod, identify where improvements can be made, and rec-tify them now so that the same problems don’t hold you back next year.

Discovering the herd has a spread calving, or lots of late cows come July – August next season will:

• Reduce your herd’s reproductive performance next season as well (or require significant costly interven-tion to maintain it).

• Reduce milk production through less days in milk and slower time to peak, both next season and the follow-ing season.

• Impact on pasture/feed management

When is the best time to Pregnancy Test?

Early Pregnancy Testing

This is done about 12 weeks after the planned start of mat-ing and will provide you the greatest amount of detail around the way mating has gone. If you are actively trying to improve your herd’s reproduction, then early pregnancy testing is for you. The main benefits are:

• Assessing how AB period went - Accurately confirming conception dates (how many cows held to AB) - Accurate calculation of 6 week in calf rate (speed of next years calving)

• Management - Allows for good early culling decisions should the early summer be dry - Maximises days in milk. Cows can be dried off accurately relative to body condition and calving date - Provides ability to accurately feed budget next spring so your cows don’t fall into the feeding hole pre-mating - Determine whether it is a good time to pull the bull out

A follow up pregnancy test for a small group of rechecks is needed 6 weeks after the bull is removed.

Late Pregnancy Testing

Done 6 weeks after the bull is removed The benefits of scanning at this stage are:

• Assessing mating - Accurately determine empty/late cows - Identifies quality of bull performance - Gives an indication of calving spread

• Management - Allows culling/selling of empty/late cows - Conserves autumn feed for cows that are going to be in the herd next season

• Provides ability to make decisions around dry-off re-lating to body condition and dry period length

The limitation of late scanning, depending on your mating length, is that it may be difficult to accurately determine the dates of the early AB calves due to the pregnancy be-ing too advanced. This will be reduce your ability to fully evaluate mating success.

Whatever you decide to do, pregnancy testing and the in-formation gathered, is the cornerstone for accurate assess-ment of how mating has gone and areas for improvement. This information is also invaluable when making vital management decisions (dry off, feed budgeting) at critical times of year.

Ring Us Now To Plan Your Pregnancy Testing

IVER-MATRIX TAPE Hi Mineral

New Zealands premier lamb drench: ♦ Triple action – contains Ivermectin,

Levamisole, and Oxfendazole. Best for minimising resistance.

♦ Ivermectin component rather than abamectin makes it safer for young lambs

♦ Potent with a Short tail

♦ Easy flow formulation, 1ml/5kg dose rate

♦ Contains therapeutic levels of Selenium and Cobalt.

♦ Includes Praziquantel for tapeworms

♦ Short meat WHT – only 14 days. 10L $499 excl GST

(treats 2000 x 25kg lambs @ 25cents each).

20L $949 excl GST (treats 4000 x 25kg lambs

@ 23.7 cents each).

SHEEP

Ram Soundness Exams

To make sure that the rams live up to expectations and are capable of performing their all im-portant job, they should undergo a Breeding Soundness Exam. This involves a general health check and an ex-amination to ensure that they are free from common dis-eases that effect their ability to impregnate ewes. These include epididymitis, pizzle rot, mange, abscesses and cryptorchidism. Where B.ovis is suspected blood tests can be done.

Ewe Vaccination Reminder

Androvax

A great way to get more lambs out of less ewes is to use Androvax. Androvax is a vaccine that stimulates anti-body production in ewes, which in turn induces a change in the hormone balance which increases the number of eggs produced in the ewes ovaries.

• Increases lambing by a proven average of 20%

• Use where there is a management strategy to lamb and rear 20% more lambs.

• Ewes previously not vaccinated need two shots start-ing 8-10 weeks prior to tupping. Previously vacci-nated ewes must be boosted 4-6 weeks prior to tup-ping.

• $1.67 excl. GST per shot

Toxovax

• Protects against abortions caused by Toxoplasma. This parasite is spread by wild cats and rodents.

• It must be given no closer than 4 weeks before tup-ping. One vaccination confers life long protection. Give to ewe hoggets or two-tooths only each year.

• Vaccination on average increases tailing by 3% and decreases dry ewes by 13.5%.

• $2.05 excl. GST per shot

Campylobacter

• Campylobacter is present in most, if not all flocks. Reduced lamb viability and abortions are the out-comes of infection.

• Vaccination on average raises tailing by 5.4% in mixed age ewes and 8.9% in hoggets.

• See article over page for more information.

• $0.67 excl. GST per shot

Haemonchus (Barbers Pole)

• Seen mainly in lambs during warm wet conditions

• Signs include anaemia, sudden death, and poor growth rates

• Increase drench frequency during risk times, use a ‘designer’ drench such as Genesis Ultra or use a drench with persistent activity such as Trimox.

MATRIX HI-MIN

• Ultimate triple power combination contain-ing abamectin, oxfendazole and levamisole.

• Most potent control of resistant parasites ensuring maximum productivity.

• Easy flow formulation, 1 ml/5kg dose rate. • Available with Minerals and / or Praziquantel (tape) • Newly approved WHT of 14 days • Available 5L, 10L and 20L packs

Hi-min 20L - $499 excl GST 4000 x 25kg lambs @ 12.5c each

TRIMOX Hi-mineral

TRIMOX Hi-mineral is the premier of triple combination drenches. ♦ Moxidectin/Levamisole/

albendazole ♦ Selenium and cobalt ♦ Persistent activity: - Ostertagia 21 days - Haemonchus 35 days ♦ Able to maintain 4 weekly drenching cycle

under strong haemonchus challenge ♦ Available 1L, 2.5L, 5L, 10L & 20L pack sizes ♦ 28 day meat WHT

10L - $586 excl GST 2000 x 25kg lambs @ 29c each

(Need to order - not held in stock)

Genesis Injection 4-Packs Φ Potent quality Abamectin injection Φ Consistent and reliable Φ 2000 mills does 666 x 150kg calves Φ B12 + Selenium - $857 excl GST @ $1.29 ea

Eukanuba 20kg Farmer Pack

• Specially formulated for Active & Per-formance dogs

• Feeds moderately active 20-25kg dog for 90 days

• Loyalty card discounts

• $103.50 excl GST

Sheep Health Calendar October / November ♦ Drench lambs if scouring or start at

weaning. Use Tape drench. ♦ Wean lambs onto clean high quality pasture. ♦ Vet check Rams December / January ♦ Fly & Lice treatment 3-8 weeks after shearing ♦ Trace element check lambs if not thriving (cobalt

in particular). ♦ Plan / start Facial Eczema prevention ♦ Worm drench lambs as required or as determined

by faecal egg counts. ♦ Order Campylobacter, Toxoplasma and Androvax

vaccines for ewes.

Sheep, Beef & Grazier Seminar!!

You are invited to listen to the latest information from industry experts on the following topics:

• Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) - BVD is an insidious Is lack of B12 impacting on your carcass weights?

• Working Dog Nutrition - Keeping your team healthy.

• Kale and Swede Forage Crops - How can they help to grow your stock better?

• The Value of Animal Health Planning - Get everyone on the same page & get better outcomes

• Sheep Vaccines - The benefits of getting it right

Location: Neville & Brian Ashe’s Workshop, 1110 No.2 Road. Date: Tuesday November 44th Time: 11.45am – 3pm

RSVP – 12pm Friday 20th November

BBQ Lunch and Drinks Provided

Dog food specials on the day

CLIK SPRAY ON

Premium fly products containing the unique active Dicyclanil. Unlike most other fly actives there is currently no known resistance. Clik is mainly used for ewes and replacements and Clikzin for lambs.

• Clik Spray on - Long term protection of up to 18 weeks - Any length of wool - Rain resistant

• Spray on convenience - Gun supplied for new users.

- 20 litre $943 excl. gst (611 x ewe treatments @ $1.54 each)

- 2 x 5 litre $526 excl. gst

BRAVECTO

The NEW long acting tablet for Fleas & Ticks

Bravecto is a chewable tablet that gives 12 weeks continuous control for fleas and ticks.

♦ Chewable, highly palatable tablet.

♦ Convenient 12 weeks sustained control.

♦ Safe for use in breeding, pregnant and lactating dogs

♦ No issues with dogs that are in and out of water

Members Farm Dog Special

$39.00 excl. GST per tablet (15% discount) (ends 31.12.16)

Check out our website at www.tepukevets.co.nz

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)

BVD is an insidious disease caus-ing significant losses in the cattle industry. Hear a firsthand account on how to deal with the disease and the effects it has had. Do you have a BVD plan?

Fodder Beet

Ben has successfully wintered 190 cattle on 5.2ha of Fodder Beet for 85 days. Listen to the potential benefits and pitfalls of growing this crop. Clostridial Diseases

Are you getting unexplained deaths? Many farmers often re-port sudden deaths in sheep and cattle. Could Clostridial infects be affecting your stock?

Location - Ben & Julie Muir, 478 No 4 Rd Te Puke Date - Tuesday, November 29, 2016 Time - 11.30am - 2.30pm RSVP - Monday 25th 2016

BBQ Lunch and Drinks Provided

Lame Cows and Impact on Mating

Mating so far this season has been a struggle and for many this has been compounded by higher levels of lameness.

Types of Lameness

Much of the lameness we have seen has been White Line Disease (WLD). As with all lameness's, WLD identified and treated early results in quicker recovery and less im-pact on mating. As WLD progresses treatment needs to be more aggressive and recovery is longer. Cowslips and Hoof Blocks are a must in many of these cases. They re-duce pain substantially and result in affected animals re-turning to normal much sooner. Left untreated WLD often leads to joint infections and as a result we have had to amputate several claws in the last month. While not ideal these operations are usually successful and restore the cow to the herd for a few more years.

The other common lameness has been Footrot. Two things must happen for footrot to develop – the presence of the bacteria which are usually found in wet, muddy fae-ces contaminated areas, and a break in the skin between the claws. While standing in wet grass and mud softens the skin between the claws, a break in the skin is still re-quired. This commonly happens on the edges of races, high traffic gateways and transition zones where the race has deteriorated and small stones from the base material start to show. Adequate drainage of these areas, while not always easy, is critical. While it is true that the weather has played a role in the increased levels of lameness over the past few weeks, poor on-farm practises often play a large role in herds with high degrees of lameness.

Impact on Mating

Lameness around mating is disastrous for the cow af-fected, and if the incidence is high, it will have a huge im-pact on overall mating results. Lame cows walk less, graze less and sit down more than a non-lame cow. This reduced energy intake is the most obvious impact of lameness, and is responsible for a lower proportion of lame cows showing heat. Lameness also results in an inflammatory response which compromises the quality of the corpus lutuem, the structure on the ovary that is re-sponsible for maintaining pregnancy. This means that even if a lame cow cycles, her conception rates are often far poorer.

For lame cows, 6 week in-calf rates can be reduced by up to 17% and MT rates increased by 12% or more. If you are getting high levels of lameness then this will definitely impact your reproduction.

The spring this season has thrown up many challenges including poor pasture quality, reduced milk production, high anoestrus and lameness outbreaks.

If you have been struggling with lameness and would like to get your farm assessed, Bryce is a DairyNZ trained Healthy Hoof advisor and can help to reduce the cost and impact lameness has on your herd.

Cheesy Gland Recently we were asked to look at two ewes that were losing condition. The farm had a history of high deaths in older ewes (130/1200 last 12 months) with some being found dead and some fading over a couple of weeks. On post-mortem there was nothing noticeable in the first ewe. How-ever the second ewe had large abscesses scattered throughout the lungs. Inside the abscesses was thick cheesy pus.

These abscesses are typical of Caseous Lymphade-nitis (CLA or cheesy gland). CLA is a significant disease on some farms and can cause considerable economic loss through deaths, carcass condemna-tion and reduced wool production. The most obvious signs of CLA are enlarged lymph nodes (especially those in front of the shoul-der and back leg). These glands either burst them-selves or are lanced at shearing. Infection enters other sheep through wounds or through intact skin in freshly shorn sheep. It enters either by direct contact, dipping within 2 weeks of shearing or con-tact with heavily contaminated soil such as in hold-ing pens. The disease develops quite slowly which is why mostly older sheep show signs, but eventu-ally some sheep develop lung abscesses which can lead to pneumonia or sudden death from rupture. Prevention is by vaccination but it is also important to practice good hygiene: • Encourage clean, smooth shearing. Provide dis-

infectant for combs and cutters. • Clean and dry shearing board. • Do not overcrowd sheep in counting-out pens

and move shorn sheep to clean paddock asap. • Shear younger sheep first. Avoid dust. • Do not draft sheep until wounds have healed

and do not dip until at least 2 weeks after shearing.

Clinic closed

Monday 26th December & Tuesday 27th December Monday 2nd January & Tuesday 3rd January

Monday 30th January (Auckland Anniversary) Monday 6th February (Waitangi Day)

For emergencies ring 573 7606

BLAZE 5L

Pour-on for nuisance flies in cattle ♦ Kills and repels flies for up to 4W ♦ Nil milk WHT, 28 day meat WHT

$454.00 excl GST

BUY 2 x 5L - Free Coopers Gun

Calving Cup

Congratulations to Cribby who has resumed his rightful place (according to him anyway) as Top Dog of the large animal team. Asked for the secret of his success he said “Hard work, long hours, undy-ing enthusiasm and above all else knowing which receptionists will take a bribe!

Calf Drenches

ECLIPSE POUR-ON ♦ Combination of abamectin & levamisole for supe-

rior Cooperia control & treatment of resistance ♦ Ideal for young stock up to 15 months of age ♦ Quarantine drench for stock changing properties ♦ Rainfast 2 hours after treatment ♦ Low dose rate 1 ml / 20 kg bodyweight

Eprinex Pour on for Cattle and Deer Premium pour-on drench: • Potent, high safety margin, long lasting

• Kills Ostertagia, lungworm for 28 days and Coop-eria for 21 days.

• Sucking and Biting lice control

• Zero Milk, Bobby calf and Meat WHT

Arrest C Double Action Cattle and Sheep

Oral Drench • Albendazole and Levamisole oral drench

• Double action slows down resistance.

• Economic routine drenching for calves & cattle.

Genesis pour-on ♦ Trialled and proven under NZ conditions

♦ Extended Activity cattle & deer

♦ Cost effective, Rainfast, Low volume (1 ml/20 kg)

BAYTICOL

Pour-on Tickicide • Persistent (3-6 weeks) • Rainfast • Nil meat & milk WHT

10L Herdpack - $619 excl GST (includes free applicator)

ECLIPSE POUR-ON

Purchase:

♦ Eclipse 2.5L pour-on

♦ Eclipse 5L pour-on

Choose between a Sunbeam Slowcooker

and xmas ham