By Dr Zoe Vogels|2020-03-13T11:05:07+11:00March 13th, 2020|Categories: Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: dung beetles, global warming, methane, pastures, pink eye, worms|
Would you like something else to talk about rather than Coronavirus? Need something to distract you from the lack of toilet paper in the shops? Read on to learn more about some pretty nifty little creatures: dung beetles! Dung beetles: what do they do? Dung beetles - also known as scarabs, dorbeetles, tumble bugs and
By The Vet Group|2019-11-18T08:11:25+11:00November 18th, 2019|Categories: Farm Services, HeiferWise, MilkWise|Tags: blind quarters, heifer mastitis, teatseal, Tipper Crush|
Have you ever wondered how many heifers have blind quarters or mastitis 1 to 2 months before calving? Well wonder no more! We've tipped and teatsealed a lot of heifers over the years. Sometimes we’ll diagnose heifers with mastitis: swelling and hardness of the gland and a thick, custard-like secretion. While in-house cultures of these
By The Vet Group|2019-10-25T13:24:13+11:00October 25th, 2019|Categories: CalfWise, Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: eye infection, flies, halloween, moraxella, piligard, pink eye, vaccination|
Pink eye pain... Pink eye - or corneal ulceration - causes farmers and stock a lot of grief! While it usually occurs in young stock from November through to March, it's increasingly being seen over the winter months too. Pink eye is mainly caused by the bacteria Moraxella bovis and Moraxella bovoculi, both of which
By The Vet Group|2019-10-30T07:23:31+11:00October 16th, 2019|Categories: Farm Services, General Health, HeiferWise|Tags: copper deficiency, heifers, selenium deficiency, trace elements|
Dr Sarah Matthews Have you ever had a heifer with a spontaneously broken leg? Or young stock that have light, scruffy coats and struggle to put on weight? If you have, then you are not alone. Copper and selenium are two of the key trace elements required by cattle for growth, production and good health.
By The Vet Group|2019-10-03T15:03:32+10:00October 3rd, 2019|Categories: CalfWise, Farm Services, HeiferWise, HerdWise|Tags: coughing, drench, lungworm, pneumonia|
Lungworm, caused by the round worm Dictyocaulus viviparus, generally occurs in heifers less than 10 months of age. In particular, those heifers with no immunity that are exposed to high numbers of worm larvae when put onto pasture (such as a group of Spring-born calves weaned onto pasture grazed by Autumn calves). Lungworm disease can
By GBM technology|2018-11-14T08:50:46+11:00November 14th, 2018|Categories: Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: heiferwise|
Workshop: 20th of December 2018 & 7th February 2019 We all want heifer rearing to be an efficient, rewarding and profitable element of dairy farming. The better job we do rearing heifers, the better their long-term reproductive performance and milk production will be. The HeiferWise workshop gives you the tools to have a proactive approach
By The Vet Group|2019-05-20T11:28:50+10:00November 5th, 2018|Categories: Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: mastitis, teatseal, Teatsealing, Tipper Crush|
For herds frustrated by clinical and subclinical mastitis in their heifers at calving time, Teatsealing them 4–6 weeks before calving start date can reduce clinical and subclinical mastitis in the weeks after calving by 65–80% (or more). Why does it work? The normal keratin plug that blocks the end of the teat will often not
By The Vet Group|2019-10-13T09:37:40+11:00October 11th, 2018|Categories: CalfWise, Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: halloween, piligard, pinkeye, vaccination|
What is pinkeye? Pinkeye is the common name for a corneal ulcer in cattle. The main cause of pinkeye is the bacteria Moraxella bovis, which is present in nasal and eye secretions of clinically infected and carrier animals. It can spread between animals via flies or through close contact. Pinkeye typically occurs in young stock
By The Vet Group|2019-05-20T11:22:18+10:00October 2nd, 2018|Categories: Farm Services, HeiferWise, ReproWise|Tags: abortion, Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus, BVDV, Pestivirus, reproduction|
Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) or Pestivirus, is a virus that has the potential to cause significant reproductive and calf losses in unexposed herds. Cattle that have never been exposed to BVDV and therefore have no protective antibodies are called "naïve". After their first exposure to, and infection with BVDV, cattle develop a strong and
By The Vet Group|2019-05-20T11:25:03+10:00July 31st, 2018|Categories: CalfWise, Farm Services, HeiferWise|Tags: calves, Coccidia, Coccidiosis, Diagnosis, Diarrhoea, Faecal Sample, Scours|
Coccidiosis By Dr Zoe Vogels Coccidiosis is a protozoal infection of calves and heifers that can cause diarrhoea (scouring) and poor weight gain. As seen in the diagram below, calves become infected by ingestion of the "egg" or oocyst of coccidia from the pasture. Once infected, the parasite multiplies in the intestine of the calf
