Bovitech Veterinary Services

30/05/2026

🤠We’re hiring – calling all cattle vets and techs!🤠
We currently have two roles opening up at our practice. We are looking to rope in an experienced cattle vet and a veterinary assistant to join our practice full time. Bovitech Veterinary Services is a large animal practice in Kalgan, Western Australia.

🏖️About the area:🏖️
We are based on the beautiful south coastal region of Western Australia. With its mild climate, this is the place to live if you don’t enjoy melting in re**al gloves on a 40°C day. The area boasts lots of beautiful beaches for swimming/diving/fishing, plenty of local wineries/breweries, places to eat out, and great walking/riding trails. Albany is the closest town – it is big enough to have everything you need but small enough for the country town feel, with plenty of social sports and outdoor activities if those tickles your fancy.

🐄Practice details:🐏
99.9% cattle practice – predominantly beef cow/calf herds, with some dairy and feedlot work thrown in the mix. The odd sheep case comes in every now and then. Our clients are typically larger scale commercial operations as hobby farms are not our focus. We are a 2.5-vet practice with a full-time vet assistant. Sadly, our current assistant Rach is moving away, and she leaves behind big shoes to fill. We need someone to actually run the show while us vets flitter around pretending to do all the work. We are currently a team of ladies but welcome blokes to apply - as long as you can put up with us giggling at our own jokes and keep the toilet seat down.

🥰Our core values:🥰
📍 Working in a safe, supportive, fun team that looks forward to coming to work each day instead of going through the daily grind. We pride ourselves on looking after our team first and foremost, followed by our patients and clients.
📍 Good communication and respect of others within our team and client base
📍 Our clients are well trained – great people, safe yards (with working crushes) and are respectful of our time out of hours. We cull clients on poor temperaments, unsafe facilities or doing a runner on their bills.

🩺The vet position:🩺
📍 Roster: 4-day working week (8am-6pm)
📍 On call: shared between the vets (1 in 3 weekends), but we have very few after-hours calls (and can go weeks without them when it’s not calving season). We're very flexible with swapping on-call days with one another when needed. Bonus paid for after-hours calls.
📍 Work ute provided that is fully kitted out with all the tools of the trade, plus a lolly stash in the glove box
📍 Must be confident and competent in our typical case load and be registered with the WA VSB – unfortunately, this isn't a position suitable for a new grad or international vet that can’t be registered in WA. If you can AI that’s a bonus but not essential.
📍 Typical case load:
o Cattle pregnancy testing: we run several Ibex NXT Lites machines with re**al introducers for all of our preg testing so competence in ultrasound preg testing is a must with manual palpation skills for back up.
o Bull breeding soundness examinations using Lane Pulsator V machines.
o General emergency work (mainly obstetrics and sick animals) – we only provide emergency coverage to our regular clients, which significantly reduces our after-hours load and means we know we’re only going to properties we know are safe. We typically don’t get calls late at night/early hours of the morning as clients are well trained on what is a genuine emergency and know to call early if there are issues. A majority of our clients are within 40km of the practice, so we usually don’t spend long hours on the road every week.
o Basic surgeries and procedural work such as caesareans, calvings, eye ablations, claw amputations, contracted tendons, mass removals/drainage, stag castrations, umbilical hernia repairs, hoof trims, dairy calf disbudding.
o Disease investigations/post-mortem workups (which usually fall under the SDI/TSE subsidy programs).
o Most of our clients are Autumn calving herds, so Feb-June is typically filled with BBSE and calving related calls, and the remainder of the year is filled with preg testing.

💪The vet assistant position:💪
📍 Roster: 5-day working week 8am-5pm, no on-call duties
📍 Must have good experience in the cattle industry. Experience in a veterinary practice would be a bonus but is not essential as we can show you the ropes.
📍 Typical duties:
o Manning the phone and scheduling appointments
o Inventory management, ordering and restocking supplies (which means you get to choose the office snacks)
o Cleaning and maintenance of equipment
o Livestock handling and restraint
o Assisting with veterinary procedures
o Setting up and clean up at appointments
o Chauffeuring vets between farms and running general practice errands

👀What we’re looking for in both roles:👀
Competitive salaries offered, based on experience and skill set.
❌ Non-negotiable traits:
o Enjoys working with livestock
o Good sense of humour
o Must be a team player (there are no plebs on our team - everyone shares the workload and helps others when needed)
o Respectful of our gear
o Is clean/tidy and aware of maintaining good biosecurity between farms
o Holds a current Australian driver’s licence (auto only is ok)
o Non-smoker
✔️ Negotiable traits:
o Preferably likes their steak less than well done
o Is quick with a pun and laughs at our jokes
o Has baking skills down pat (or at least enjoys eating home baked goods – Milly makes a mean batch of brookies)

📞How to enquire:📞
Send us an email ([email protected]) or give us a bell on 0499 489 919.

12/08/2024

G’day everyone,

We have an exciting event coming up on Thursday the 29th August so hold on to your weaners! The markets and season have been challenging this year, and with this in mind we are getting together with Zoetis to present on all things weaning. This event will be held at Irongate Wagyu, a 3000 head fullblood Wagyu breeding and backgrounding operation in Kalgan.

Dr Jess (Bovitech Veterinary Services) and Dr Tom Burke (Zoetis) will cover a range of topics, including:
• Disease risk and prevention in weaners
• Ways to achieve mating/market target weights
• Cost effective and practical feeding strategies
• Weaning processes and protocols
• Early weaning management in a challenging season

As well as hands-on practical sessions on:
• How to condition score
• Alternative weaning practices (nose flaps)
• Vaccine handling and administration

We will also conduct a walk-through tour of the Irongate Wagyu weaning and confinement feeding infrastructure and facilities, to gain an insight into how they manage early weaning on their property.

Tickets are $20, which includes morning tea, lunch, and refreshments. All ticket proceeds go towards Blue Tree Project, a registered WA charity that supports regional and rural mental health. We hope to see you there!

Eventbrite ticket link: https://reproactivewmirongate.eventbrite.com.au

31/10/2022

Happy Halloween! 🦇 🎃 🧙‍♀️

20/10/2022

28/09/2022

Livestock farmers in the Great Southern are invited to a field walk in Manypeaks, at the Howie family farm; Pleasant View. Join us on Wednesday 19th of October at this free event, that includes lunch, talks and farm tour. Register now as tickets are strictly limited through the link below or call (08) 9851 7222

https://pleasantview.eventbrite.com.au

Proudly sponsored by Bovitech Veterinary Services & Grow Safe

07/09/2022

We have an exciting project coming up funded by the Cattle Industry Funding Scheme (CIFS) and we need your help! In conjunction with UWA and DPIRD, we are conducting research into the impact of oestrogenic clover on cattle fertility.

“Clover disease” in sheep is a syndrome associated with health and reproductive issues which occur from grazing pastures or conserved feeds high in oestrogen. Currently, there isn’t much known about the effects in cattle – current information gives conflicting opinions which makes it hard for producers to make management decisions.

If you are a WA producer that runs cattle, please help us by filling out this quick 10-minute survey to help us start the project. All of your answers will remain anonymous, and you can choose whether you’d like to be further involved with the study (i.e., providing cattle and pastures for sampling).

Thank you for your help and if you get the chance, please help us get the word out about this project by sharing with others.

You can use the QR code below, or use this link: https://uwa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9RK2IQUxmtsfiSy

26/07/2022

Holy cow! The year is getting away from us and before we know it, it’ll be bull buying season again. We’re proudly sponsoring Western Beef Association Inc. Bull Select Workshop, a day dedicated to honing your bull buying skills. You may be thinking “Déjà-moo? I’ve heard this bull before...” but we assure you there will be a lot of interesting content covered and we know everyone will learn a thing or two. This program covers the intricacies of choosing the right bull for your herd i.e., who to “swipe right” on in your shiny catalogues. If EBVs and their indexes are a foreign language to you, you’ll be fluent by the end of the day. If this hasn’t got you excited enough, you’ll be bullish to hear your ticket also includes tucker. Link is below, register before they sell out!
Hosted at Tullibardine Angus Stud

Registrations now open! Register here 👇
https://www.trybooking.com/CBIQT
Elders Bunbury Elders RuralNutrien Livestock & Breeding WAMilne FeedsZoetis BeefBovitech Veterinary Services Enoch BergmanASHEEP EsperanceForrest Farm Vets

21/07/2022

There has been a lot of talk about FMD and L*D of late (and by that we mean Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease – not to be confused with other common Facebook acronyms!). We’ve been receiving a large number of calls, so here are some facts to help clarify.

What are they?
Both FMD and L*D are highly contagious viral diseases that are not present in Australia. FMD (a picornavirus) affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, and pigs. L*D (a poxvirus) only affects bovids such as cattle and buffalo.

What do they look like and how are they spread?
FMD is excreted in all sorts of bodily fluids including breath, saliva, mucus, milk, faeces and semen. Animals can become infected by coming into contact with these excrements. Within a short period of time, sick stock show signs of fever, drooling and lameness caused by fluid filled blisters which develop on their feet, udders and in their mouths. While a high percentage of animals become sick with FMD, only a small percentage die (this is usually young animals). They can, however, continue to shed and spread the virus for several years once they have recovered – which makes the disease difficult to control without culling affected animals.
L*D is spread by annoying biting insects or on blood contaminated equipment. Infected animals may break out in rather ugly looking lumps across their body, which eventually scab over. They may also have weepy eyes, snotty noses and drool. Interestingly though, a large percentage of infected animals don’t show any signs but can spread it to others. Again, this makes the disease difficult to control without culling both affected animals, as well as others that have come in close contact.

What’s happening in Australia?
There are currently NO known cases of either disease in Australia (despite several misleading news reports as of late). Australia has stringent biosecurity measures and livestock traceability systems which help with the prevention, surveillance and control of diseases. There is a lot going on in the background without the general public being aware. This includes restrictions on the importation of “risky” products which may bring diseases into Australia. Travellers are also screened at random, as well as based on individual risk assessments. Remember, we have not had an FMD outbreak since 1872 – a big part of this can be attributed to our biosecurity practices.

What can you do?
It’s a great time to have a chat with friends and family about the importance of biosecurity and raise awareness of what we can all do to help reduce the risk of bringing exotic diseases into our country. So, grab a beer and an FMD/L*D free snag and get talking. The biggest risk is the importation of unknowingly infected animal products (like our not-so-clever mates in Kojonup that thought it was a good idea to smuggle superior pig semen in via their shampoo bottles). Even if your overseas dwelling rellies makes the best salami in the southern hemisphere, please ask them to leave it behind. As innocent as this sounds, any animal product may accidentally end up in contact with our livestock, or feral animals, and result in a disease outbreak. That leads to our next bit of advice – stop feeding animal products to your backyard pets (such as pigs) or overly confident feral animals that come scabbing your picnic leftovers at the park. It’s surprising how common this is without any awareness of the risks it brings. Save these tasty morsels for your pooch or ensure they are disposed of in a way they cannot be scavenged. If you’re away travelling, avoid contact with livestock and wildlife where possible. Declare on your Incoming Passenger Card where you have been, so quarantine officials can take appropriate steps (which may include disinfecting shoes). When you get home, wash all clothing and equipment, and avoid contact with livestock for a period of time – this includes zoos, farms (both commercial and hobby) and travelling petting exhibits. It would be wise to add a period of time to the end of your travels where you can get your washing done before returning to the farm (I’m sure the Perth rellies would love to see you).

Overall, remain calm and spend some time reviewing your biosecurity plan and updating where required – remember they are compulsory for your LPA accreditation. We’re happy to help with a review of your current plan or developing a new one if required. Don’t be afraid to report any symptoms of suspected disease to either your private vet or government biosecurity officer/vet. Alternatively, the Exotic Animal Diseases Hotline is 1800 675 888 – put it in your phone and on your fridge! We cannot emphasise enough how crucial it is to report symptoms, the sooner the disease is recognised and reported, the sooner it’s spread can be controlled. Do the right thing by your neighbours and community, report early and don’t sweep suspicion under the carpet.

Who doesn’t love a good game of myth busting? Let’s play.
“FMD is contagious to people” – partly myth. Only in rare cases has a person contracted FMD, it is not to be confused with Hand Foot and Mouth disease which is a completely separate disease that does affect humans but not animals.

“We should be vaccinating now, before FMD gets to Australia” – myth. While we have large stores of FMD vaccines at the ready, this is not the silver bullet. There are many different strains of FMD (over 60!), and the vaccine must be specific to the strain which is present. While the vaccines can be effective in certain circumstances, they are short lived and don’t offer full protection. Also, Australia’s FMD free status which allows us to export to a range of overseas countries, would be jeopardized by the use of any vaccines. This is because vaccinated animals can interfere with the interpretation of test results, so if a vaccine is used by a country, then it is presumed FMD is present. Remember, Australia exports over 70% of the red meat we produce and this would be significantly impacted if we introduced a vaccination program ahead of a disease outbreak.

“The Australian Government is deliberately withholding the L*D vaccine” - true, but with good reason. Currently available L*D vaccines are manufactured in countries with a lower disease status than Australia. Therefore, our government won’t allow the importation of these vaccines, as they may potentially be contaminated with other exotic diseases (FMD included!)

“Australia is at greater risk of FMD coming in than L*D” – myth. Current modelling poses the risk of FMD coming into Aus in the next 5 years at 9% (recently upgraded to 11% since South Indonesian infections) compared to L*D at 28%. L*D risk is higher as we are less able to control infected biting insects blowing across from Indonesia.

“Shutting down tourists from Bali will prevent FMD from entering Australia” – partly myth. Our biggest risk for contracting FMD is the consumption of FMD infected meat by animals such as feral or backyard pigs; so, managing illegally imported animal products is far more effective than banning Bintang bogans. Yes, tourists could bring the disease in on shoes and clothing, however the virus is only stable for a short period in this state and the risk can be reduced through foot baths and washing. Don’t forget there are a lot of other countries which have exotic diseases, so if we banned them all there wouldn’t be many places left to travel.

“The government is not doing enough to keep FMD out” – myth. Australia has one of the strongest biosecurity programs in the world. Their measures include risk profiling, mandatory declarations, x-ray, sniffer dogs, inspections, sanitation mats, the list goes on. Watch Border Control sometime, you’ll see all the idiots trying to bring back their beef jerky that get slapped with thousands of dollars of fines.
“It’s not a matter of IF we get FMD, but WHEN” – myth. This is being said a lot lately and it suggests that we can’t do anything to stop the disease entering our country. This is simply not true, as we’ve suggested above there is a lot being done and a lot we can continue to do, to help reduce the risk.

If this ramble hasn’t left you cross eyed, there is more reading you can drool over. We strongly urge you not to rely on the general media as an accurate source, as there is a lot of misinformation out there. When in doubt, seek information from government sources, industry bodies and your private livestock vet. We also encourage you to attend or tune into information days and webinars for the latest information. If you’re more of a listener than a reader, the first two are fantastic and were recorded recently.

-MLA Industry Webinar on FMA and L*D (19th July 2022): https://www.mla.com.au/news-and-events/industry-news/industry-webinar-on-fmd-and-lsd/
-AgWatchers The Facts on FMD from the Chief Vet podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/agwatchers/id1519923844?i=1000568967295
-DAFF Australia FMD: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/fmd -australia-prepared-to-handle-this-disease
-DAFF Australia L*D: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease
-DPIRD WA FMD prevention and preparedness: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/livestock-biosecurity/foot-and-mouth-disease-recognise-and-report-signs?nopaging=1
-DPIRD WA L*D prevention and preparedness: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/livestock-biosecurity/lumpy-skin-disease-prevention-and-preparedness
-Animal Health Australia; Australian Veterinary Emergency Plans for FMD and L*D (AUSVETPLAN): https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/ausvetplan/

12/05/2022

Warning: blood and surgery ahead! We thought we’d go out on a limb with this one, turn up your sound for best enjoyment.

Move over Jake the peg with the extra leg! Introducing Jake the calf with his extra leg…

One of the best things about working with livestock is that no two days are the same. This little critter was born unassisted with an extra leg, and was found fist pumping around the paddock.

A decision was made to remove the leg to reduce the risk of injury if the leg got snagged. This lucky calf got two vets for the price of one as neither of us can “stand” to miss out on the action, you see. Once we were done, who could tell it wasn’t a normal calf! After a successful procedure, the calf was renamed “Legolas” and we all high fived.

What weird and wonderful things have you seen this calving season?

P.S. this procedure was done under a combination of local anaesthetic and anaesthesia so the calf could not feel what was going on.

28/04/2022

Do scouring calves give you the sh*ts?

Forewarning, we are going to crap on about scouring in calves 💩. We no longer recommend the use of, or dispense commercial scour paste/tablets. Calf scours are caused by a range of bugs, these predominantly being viruses. Some of these products contain antibiotics, which are not effective against viruses, so their use is inappropriate and contributes to antimicrobial resistance. Some also contain actives that slow gut motility. While it may seem like the scouring is improving, this actually prevents clearing of the bugs so recovery is slower.

Death from scours tends to be caused by the blood turning acidic, dehydration, and shock. These products don’t treat these well. So! What do we do? Well, we recommend a balanced electrolyte that nurses calves through the dehydration. We have a pretty “sweet” recipe which we have found works better than commercially available electrolyte products, and have them ready made up for when you need them.

If you’re finding calves that are flat on their sides, oral therapy may not be sufficient and one of us with an IV fluid drip are the go. If you’re having issues with scours every year, we’re always happy to chat about preventative strategies, we know treating scours repeatedly can be a real pain in the bum!