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LHVC NEWSBITES JUNE 2019 – WINTER ISSUE

WELCOME TO ANOTHER LHVC LIFESTYLERS + SMALL HOLDINGS NEWSLETTER.

Each issue we are covering important animal health issues relevant for that time of year. Please feel free to email us back with questions or ideas for topics that you would like to read about in other issues.

(animalwof@lhvc.co.nz). Our previous newsletters can be found on our website www.lhvc.co.nz in the animal WOFs section

Highlights of this issue…

Preparing for calving and lambing What you need to know to get

yourself and your animals

ready.

Rickets in Alpaca What is it and how to prevent it

Introducing… …Our new Vet Tech Tai

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THE ANIMAL HEALTH DIARY Four major issues to watch out for this season:

Vaccinations:

Four weeks pre-lambing and calving is a great time to vaccinate breeding stock

for clostridial diseases and leptospirosis. Vaccinating at this time will mean that

there are optimal amounts of antibodies in the colostrum. This provides

maximum protection for the newborns. To find out more about vaccines and why

we vaccinate please call us or refer to other newsletters on our website.

Hoof trimming:

As the weather gets wetter keep an eye on hooves for sheep and goats. Keeping

on top of hoof trimming will reduce lameness and other major foot

related problems. Create an area for goats that they can get away from the wet

like a house or something to climb. This can help with keeping their feet in

better condition.

Drenching:

Keep an eye on potential parasite problems. A pre lambing or calving drench

can be used to increase animal condition or to reduce larval contamination on

the pasture for young animals. Faecal Egg Counts can be carried out to see if

you need to drench your animals. We can carry out the test in house so you get

results the same day. We also give recommendations on whether you need to

use drench and which drench to use. Five grams of faeces are required for this

test and you can bring the fresh faecal material in to us in a container.

Pig run:

Every six months, February and August, we run a pig vaccine run. The vaccine

covers leptospirosis and helps control swine erysipelas. Why do we vaccinate?

Leptospirosis is zoonotic disease, which means that humans can catch the

disease from the pigs. Pigs are big shedders of lepto and failure to vaccinate

can result from humans becoming seriously ill, especially if pigs are being

handled often. Swine erysipelas can cause a variety of signs such as sudden

death, high temperature, skin lesions and lameness. This condition is very

common in pigs and is thought to be carried by about 50% of the pig population.

Call us if you are interested in getting your pigs vaccinated in August.

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Weed of the Month - Ngaio Ngaio is a native tree/shrub which can grow up to 10

metres tall. The plant has smooth, bright green leaves

which can be 10cm long. The leaves are studded with

small glands and a sharp point at the end. Flowers of the

tree are white with small purple spots and appear in

clusters of 2-6. The tree produces an oblong, red-purple

fruit.

The tree is toxic to all grazing animals including cattle,

sheep, alpaca, horses, goats and pigs. While all parts of

the plant are considered to be toxic, the leaves of the

plant are considered to be the most toxic part. If ingested,

the plant may cause photosensitisation (reaction to

sunlight). Photosensitisation may be seen as

restlessness, shade-seeking, or a reddening and peeling

of areas of the skin on animals (often the white patches of

animals, the faces of sheep and alpaca, and on the udder

of cattle). Treatment for photosensitisation is to avoid

letting the animal(s) into sunlight. This may mean putting

them in very shaded paddocks, providing animals with a

lot of shelter, or in severe cases locking animals inside a

shelter (ie. a barn) during the daytime and then only

letting them out to graze during the night. Zinc cream can

help to provide some relief and begin to heal the affected

skin. Animals which have ingested ngaio may require

other supportive treatment. Please contact your vet if you

think your animals may have eaten ngaio.

Parasite of the Month – Ostertagia ostertagi

Ostertagia ostertagi is an internal parasite that significantly

affects cattle. This parasite lives in the stomach and causes; loss

of appetite, diarrhoea and damage to the stomach lining. In adult

cattle this parasite can cause a significant reduction in milk

production. The reduction in milk is a partly an immune response

to the parasite and is very significant to farmers (dairy farmers in

particular).

You may see; reduced weight gain, pot bellies, bottle jaw,

scouring and lethargy in young stock. Older cattle do develop an

immunity to the parasites but even so we may see a significant

reduction of milk production or a loss of condition.

What can we do?

Drenching with most drenches will cover ostertagia. Faecal egg

counts can be used to determine if animals are burdened with

parasites. Talk to the techs in clinic if you have further questions

about drenching.

W e b s i t e

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Rickets (Vitamin D deficiency) in Alpaca Rickets is a deficiency disease commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D (although phosphorus deficiency can also play a part). The disease causes swelling and bending of the leg joints and is extremely painful. Rickets can be challenging to treat; therefore, we strongly recommend prevention (supplementation) options. Alpaca are more prone to vitamin D deficiency than other grazing animals. Alpaca kept at higher latitudes or that spend a significant amount of time housed indoors are more susceptible. Alpaca with fuller or darker fibre also seem to be more susceptible. What causes rickets? Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by a number of factors including:

• Inadequate dietary intake (especially with hay feeding) • Inadequate ultraviolet (sunlight) exposure (especially in winter

in overcast weather) • Underlying liver or kidney issues

Vitamin D plays an important role in the calcium and phosphorus uptake and mobilisation around the body. When there is a lack of vitamin D, calcium is mobilised from the bone, causing weakened bones. What are the effects of rickets? In adult alpaca, the disease will cause thinning of the bones but is not necessarily clinically significant (unless they are pregnant). The greater concern is with young, growing alpaca (either during their foetal period or within the first 2 years of their life). As a foetus, the alpaca can develop bone disease and permanent deformities if it receives inadequate levels of vitamin D from the mothers circulating levels in the blood. Very little vitamin D crosses the placenta so it is important that a nursing cria receives adequate levels via the colostrum and milk. A cria which has suffered a lack of vitamin D will commonly be born with abnormal angulation of the knee joints (usually of the front legs), which may affect its ability to stand or walk normally. In severe cases legs can break due to the weakening and displacement of bones. The spine may also suffer similar issues from the deficiency. Warning signs to look out for:

• Ill-thrift • Poor mobility (reluctance to stand or move) • Short, choppy steps • Depression (looking miserable and uncomfortable) • Lameness • Hunched back/stance • Legs beginning to turn outwards • Severe weight loss or weight gain

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Treatment

Treatment of affected alpaca may include vitamin D and mineral supplementation, supportive care,

pain medication, splinting of the legs, slinging, physical therapy and even surgery. If caught early

enough, prompt treatment can lead to a full recovery. If successful, the recovery period can take a

couple of months before all clinical signs disappear.

Prevention

The first step to prevention is ensuring maximum sunlight

exposure and avoiding overfeeding with hay. Furthermore,

prevention will require monitoring and supplementing,

especially for pregnant animals or young cria, with either

vitamin D injections or an oral supplement. Often, pregnant

alpaca require supplementation in late pregnancy,

especially when this coincides with winter (and thus shorter

daylength hours). Cria can be supplemented from around 8

weeks of age. Supplementing is usually only required every

2-3 months. It is essential to check the levels before

supplementing as over-supplementation can be toxic and

cause kidney damage. Please talk to your vet if you think

that you may need to be using supplements.

We are able to investigate if your alpaca are at risk by

measuring dietary intake levels (of vitamin D, phosphorus

and also calcium) and also through blood testing.

Radiographs can also be taken to help diagnose the

disease. Give us a call today for more information.

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Preparing for Calving/Lambing Calving and lambing time can be interesting and exciting for any farmer or lifestyler. While it can be rewarding to finally meet the babies you have been expecting, it is important not to forget about the mothers in all the excitement. The time when an animal is transitioning from being “dry” to lactating (producing milk) is called the transition period. This is the time when your sheep or cow is most at risk of metabolic diseases associated with the increased demands on the body during late pregnancy/early lactation. You will need to manage your animals well over this late-pregnancy period right through to calving and lambing in order to minimise the risk of any complications around birthing time. Some of these emergency complications include sleepy sickness in ewes, milk fever, grass staggers, and ketosis. Sleepy sickness (or pregnancy toxaemia) in ewes usually occurs in late pregnancy, and is caused by stressful events, poor nutrition, twins or triplets or a combination of factors. These stressors can include inadequate shelter/exposure, shearing in the weeks leading up to lambing, or being moved around too much prior to lambing. Any of these events can cause an increase in energy demand but will also reduce the feed intake of the ewe. Ewes may seem dull and depressed, separate themselves from the mob, have a decreased appetite and wool may be plucked easily from the fleece. Treatment of these ewes involves both removing as many stressors as practicable, and providing energy, usually in the form of an oral supplement such as Keto-Aid. For severe cases a vet call is required.

Milk fever in cattle is also called hypocalcaemia and is caused by low blood calcium. This is usually due to the drastic changes in blood calcium requirements around the time of calving, and is usually seen in the 24 hours pre-calving, or in the first seven days post-calving. Signs include restlessness, wobbliness, sternal recumbency with an inability to rise, a curved S-shape to the neck, and finally, lying flat out on her side. It is important to call the vet immediately if you have not encountered milk fever before and think your cow may have it. Treatments include supplementing immediately with oral and injectable calcium. Methods of prevention include supplementing with oral calcium immediately prior to, and after calving, and ensuring adequate magnesium levels around calving time.

Grass staggers, also called hypomagnesaemia, is as the name would suggest, caused by low blood magnesium levels in cattle. Typical signs can include nervousness, teeth grinding, restlessness, excitability, staggering and even aggression. Magnesium sulphate (normally in 20% concentration) can be injected under the skin only to treat grass staggers. To prevent grass staggers, magnesium oxide can be dusted onto pasture/silage/hay (or mixed into a slurry with water and applied to silage/hay or other feedstuffs). It can also be mixed with water and drenched directly to cows. Normally, cattle require 15 grams of elemental magnesium daily. You can ask us if you are unsure how much of each product you need to give to achieve this.

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Ketosis occurs when cattle are in a negative energy balance due to the high demands on the body from early lactation. Symptoms include weight loss, decreased appetite, acetone smell on breath, and sometimes excessive salivation, licking and aggression. Successful treatment of clinical ketosis may involve veterinary intervention to provide cows with drugs that stimulate an increase in blood glucose. Treatments that have been used in severely affected cows include intravenous metabolic solutions, intravenous dextrose and multivitamin injections. Prevention options include ensuring adequate energy intakes prior to, and after calving. These are able to be given in the form of oral energy drenches, which can be purchased from us in clinic.

Signs of when to call the vet include:

• If the water bag has been broken for 2 hours or more with no progress. • Abnormal presentation such as legs with no head, upside down feet, head with no legs, or if the

calf or lamb seems to be coming out backwards. • If the cow or ewe has stopped having contractions and no calf or lamb has come out. • If the ewe or cow seems to be in a lot of distress with no progress.

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Introducing Our New Vet

Tech Tai Hi! I’m Tai and I’m the newest large animal vet tech at LHVC. Many of you will have already met me by now, but I am looking forward to meeting those of you who I haven’t spoken to, either out on farm or in clinic. You can normally find me or one of the other vet techs at the farm desk in reception. My goal is to provide your animals with the highest standard of care and to equip you as owners with as much knowledge and skill as you require! I finished my studies at Massey in 2018 where I graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology. This degree is a broad-spectrum qualification which aims to produce “para-professionals” with a wide understanding of veterinary medicine including physiology, pathology, and pharmacology, who focus on supporting veterinarians by performing many routine and preventative treatments. This allows the veterinarian to focus their skills and knowledge on providing diagnoses and deciding how best to treat your animals. In my final year I specialised in large animals, and have had a high standard of education which has provided me with all the latest knowledge and skills in an industry which just doesn’t stop growing. A Bit about Myself Most of my family are from the UK, but I consider myself a Kiwi through and through! I grew up rurally and have worked and lived with all sorts of farm animals ever since leaving the sunny Bay of Plenty to study. It’s hard to think of a particular area of this job that interests me, but I have enjoyed working on lifestyle blocks, dairy farms and have also done a stint in the horse racing industry. When not at work, you can find me either riding my horse, at the gym, down at my local fire station where I am a volunteer firefighter, or tending to my own small zoo of animals at home! Large Animal Vet Tech Services at LHVC As a farm team vet tech, we have the ability to help you out both on-farm or in the clinic! Our in-clinic services include laboratory testing for things such as milk cultures, faecal egg counting and facial eczema spore counting, dispensing products and offering you our expertise on the many products that we have available in our show room. Other services we can offer for you out on farm include but are not limited to:

• Drenching and organising individual drench plans • Vaccinating and injections • Administering boluses such as zinc capsules to sheep and cattle • Blood testing • Hoof trimming (sheep, goats and alpaca) • Ring castration and ringing of lamb tails • Weighing animals and body condition scoring • Teatsealing and dry cow therapy • Rapid mastitis testing • Disbudding calves and kids under direction from a vet

If you have any questions for us please don’t hesitate to give us a call at the clinic, or better yet drop by

the farm desk for a chat.

Looking forward to meeting and working with you all in the future!

Tai Ibbetson BVT

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Techs in the Field

At the beginning of May our team of large animal vets and techs went on a four-wheel-drive training

course. The day consisted of both theory and practical skills. We even managed to refine our towing

technique…

Overall it was a fantastic day full of slips, laughs and a couple of whoops moments. We are pleased to

report that all utes and staff are still in one piece and ready to tackle the upcoming wet winter

conditions out on farm.

In April we came to work in our PJs to help

support Autism Awareness Week. The day was

all about raising funds, understanding and

awareness of Autism spectrum disorders in

New Zealand.

Unfortunately, it has been a long season for

facial eczema this year. We have been very busy

with bolusing sheep and cattle with zinc

boluses for facial eczema. Thankfully the spore

levels have dropped now with the weather

being colder.

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Looking forward to see you at the clinic or at your place,

A horse’s teeth take up more space in

their head than their brain... they must

be important!

Book your horse in for their Dental and

Annual Health Check with Andrew (our

equine vet) today!

Tel (06) 368-2891

Having trouble keeping up

with hoof trimming?

Call us to book in your sheep and goats today

PH: (06)368 2891

CALL US TO BOOK IN YOUR SHEEP AND

GOATS TODAY: Tel (06) 368-2891

Ashleigh, Steph & the team@ LHVC

Levin and Horowhenua Vets, 518 Queen St, Levin. PH: 06 368 2891 Email: animalwof@lhvc.co.nz

Ashleigh, Steph, Tai

& the team @ LHVC