Hunterville Vet Club

Hunterville Vet Club Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Hunterville Vet Club, 4 Bruce Street, Hunterville.

12/09/2025

Coughing Calves

I recently viewed some beef weaner heifers on a property that is very much focused on grazing young stock. As the calves were being yarded I noted a number appeared to be coughing. Nothing dramatic, just a continual cough here and there.
This was almost certainly as a result of lungworm infection. The weaners looked ‘okay’ but according to the owner, weren’t quite as good as normal. Drenching with Dectomax, which is very effective against lungworm, was recommended and the coughing ceased within a week.

Most ‘mectin’ drenches are still highly effective against lungworm, so where young cattle are drenched regularly we don’t tend to see too many problems. However, where drenching programmes are lax or large numbers of young cattle are run all year (ie spring calves followed by autumn calves) lungworm challenges can occur.
Keep your ears or hearing aids tuned for coughing calves and if you suspect problems give us a call for advice.

10/09/2025

Phantom Cows

With calving in full swing it probably feels a bit early to be talking about ‘Phantom Cows’. However, if they are an issue in your dairy herd and you want to do something about it, plans need to be made now.

The term ‘Phantom Cow’ refers to cows that have been put up to AI, have not returned, and are assumed to be in-calf when they are actually empty. If this remains the case until a January pregnancy test it is basically too late to take any remedial action. The answer is to scan cows 35-40 days after mating. This gives time to treat cows with non cycling programmes (CIDRs) and short gestation semen and still have them in calf by late December / early January.

So if you have had problems with good submission rates but find too many cows you thought were in calf being empty at pregnancy testing, give us a call to discuss early scanning to find Phantom Cows.

09/09/2025

‘Planning for Mating’

We are planning to have a REPRO Dairy Discussion Seminar at the end of September. We will have guest speakers from LIC and Diary NZ as well as one of our own experienced veterinarians! Come along and bring your staff. We would love to see you there and join you for a cuppa / beer, bickie and a chat afterwards.

When: Tuesday, September 23rd
Where: Rangatira Golf Club, 11am
RSVP: ASAP for catering purposes

09/09/2025

Black and Coloured Sheep

Gotland ewes with lamb afoot
Romney ewes with lamb afoot
Spotty / reverse badger

Phone Tony and Jacqui on 021 758 726 for more information.

08/09/2025

Here is our September Newsletter for you to take a look at. Give us a call if you would like further information.

'Lucky' - 3 year old, neutered male, well behavedFree to a good homePhone John 020 458 4397 if you are interested
20/08/2025

'Lucky' - 3 year old, neutered male, well behaved
Free to a good home
Phone John 020 458 4397 if you are interested

18/08/2025

Cattle grazing wanted, for any stock class, by one of our clients.

Phone Martin on 0274 840 541 for more information.

06/08/2025

Milk Fever in Ewes

This is a condition most often seen in older, multiple bearing ewes in the last month before lambing. The condition is caused by a drop in blood calcium levels which causes the ewe to become weak and sit down. Interestingly, although cows also get milk fever from a drop in blood calcium, this tends to happen very close, to or immediately after, calving.

Sudden drops in blood calcium in ewes is most often associated with a sudden feed change from high quality forages which contain a lot of calcium (new grass, chicory, plantain, brassicas and clover) to poorer quality pastures. It can also be caused by prolonged yarding or bad weather that reduces dietary intake of calcium.
Ewes down with milk fever, if treated without prolonged delays, will respond very positively to treatment, especially if given IV. With the current value of sheep, calling a vet can often be justified where more than one ewe is down.

Subclinical milk fever where ewes are affected but not down can be associated with ewe weakness, prolonged lambing and increased ewe and lamb deaths. This is the condition that using Hideject injection on older, multiple bearing ewes can help to prevent. The take home message is, don’t make sudden changes from high quality feeds to lesser quality ones without considering the risks posed by milk fever.

06/08/2025

Take a look at our August 2025 Newsletter.

If there is anything we can help you with please give us a call on 063228057

Does anyone recognise this cat? Distinctive white tip on the tail, very friendly. Found Mt Curl Rd. Please contact the c...
06/08/2025

Does anyone recognise this cat? Distinctive white tip on the tail, very friendly. Found Mt Curl Rd. Please contact the clinic if you recognise it.

2013 Ford Ranger, with dog / stock crate and mat$24,000 onoPhone Kim Lockwood on 063284711 if you are interested.
05/08/2025

2013 Ford Ranger, with dog / stock crate and mat
$24,000 ono
Phone Kim Lockwood on 063284711 if you are interested.

23/07/2025

Milk Fever Alert!!

Last week we dealt with 3 outbreaks of milk fever in older, multiple bearing ewes that were still some way off lambing. Given the grass growth we have seen recently (although not this week!) milk fever may continue to be a significant risk to ewes.

In 2 of these cases, ewes were changed from one feed type to another – chicory to grass. In the other case, ewes were on swedes and ran into problems when the leaf had been grazed off. A reminder to be very cautious around changing multiple bearing ewes close to lambing, onto poorer quality feeds than they have previously been grazing. Taking ewes off chicory, plantain or clover dominant pastures can be especially challenging.

Please call us if you are at all concerned with possible milk fever issues.

Address

4 Bruce Street
Hunterville
4730

Telephone

06 3228057

Website

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