VetSouth

06/08/2025

Your goal is strong, healthy calves – and colostrum is the key! 💪🥛 Feeding colostrum following the four 'Q' rules will ensure your calves don't fail to gain essential antibodies, proteins and energy through passive transfer.

Vet Emma gives a refresher of the 'Qs' and explains testing for failure of passive transfer here 👇

Colostrum is key to rearing strong, healthy calves. Feeding colostrum following the fours 'Q' rules will ensure your calves don't fail to gain essential antibodies, proteins and energy through passive transfer.

04/08/2025

Lambs are starting to hit the ground around the region – do you have everything you need?

✔️ Tags with imprinted numbers
✔️ Iodine spray
✔️ Colostrum/milk powder
✔️ Stomach tube
✔️ Woollen or plastic lamb covers
✔️ Anti-inflammatories/pain relief
✔️ Dextrose 40%, needles and syringe
✔️ Electrolytes and energy supplements (e.g. Ketol)
✔️ Metabolic bags (e.g. Glucalphos)
✔️ Minerals
✔️ Clostridial disease vaccines
✔️ Drenches
✔️ Disinfectant and antiseptic powder (e.g. Stalosan F)
✔️ Gloves

Save on supplies and set yourself up for a successful spring with our lambing Spring Order Deals, available this week only in-clinic or online.

👉 Conveniently order here www.vetsouth.co.nz/sheep-spring-order without having to leave the farm!

03/08/2025

Gloria Hosking-Harris the "owl lady" and native bird rescuers Bush Haven are true southern gems, providing incredible voluntary care for injured or orphaned birds in Invercargill 🦉🦜 We’ve proudly supported them for a long time, always ready to help when a bird needs veterinary attention.

👉 For a great read, check out this New Zealand Woman's Weekly's interview with Gloria below. They shine a spotlight on her decades of tireless work with owls and the passion that keeps her going.

Gloria Harris rescue mission began with two tiny chicks and became a lifelong passion for saving New Zealand's native birds.

02/08/2025

🚑 24/7 EMERGENCY CARE 🚑

For difficult calvings/lambings or other animal health emergencies this spring, call 0800 VETSOUTH 📞

We know you're starting the toughest part of the year on-farm. You can call us for a hand with emergencies at any hour – we've got your back, day or night, rain or shine. We have experienced vets on-call every weeknight and weekend as part of our ongoing commitment to being your partner in animal welfare.

31/07/2025

LAMBING SPRING ORDER DEALS ON NOW! 🐑

Set yourself up for a successful spring with our limited time deals on all your lambing needs.*

Conveniently order online here www.vetsouth.co.nz/sheep-spring-order or head into your local clinic between 1-10 August 2025 and SAVE on quality supplies 📋🛒

Includes selected: metabolics, energy and fluid therapies, drenches, minerals, injectables, disinfectants, animal markers, gloves, dog food and more.

Plus, when you place your Spring Order, you'll be in to WIN a $500 VetSouth voucher!* 🙌 🎉

Even better – pop in and shop around lunchtime on the below days for free food, a yarn with your vets, and the chance to bag awesome giveaways.

📍 Invercargill clinic – 5th August (we'll have an expert sheep vet available for you to pick their brains)
📍 Tapanui clinic – 7th August
📍 Winton clinic – 7th August (please note: this event is being held off-site at the Drummond Rugby Club from 11am-2pm)
📍 Gore clinic – 8th August (entertain the kids with our kids' corner)

*T&Cs apply, see in clinic for details.

30/07/2025

Weka Pre-School came along to our Calving Spring Order Deals day in Winton at the start of July, having a go at the kids' activities we had set up. Here's what they thought:

"The Tuataras loved the opportunity to take a stroll from the forest to visit VetSouth. For many, it was a special chance to see the workplace of a parent, while others were excited to share their own experiences of visiting the vet with their animals. This was a first for us – playing games, getting our faces painted, colouring in, and bouncing on a castle at the vet clinic! 🫟🖍️🏰

Connections like these with services in our local community are so valuable. They help us build meaningful relationships and a deeper understanding of the people and roles that support our world. Who knows... we might just have a few future vets and vet nurses/techs among our Tuataras." 👧🧒 🩺

We loved seeing you, Tuataras of Weka!

30/07/2025

Make your life a little easier this season with our Complete Calf Care programme! 🐮

It's designed to help you get your calves off to a great start, covering minerals, vaccines, drenches, and trace elements for your future milkers over their first 12 months.

Get a plan in place with us and we can ensure that what your animals need is delivered to your farm when you need it – for no extra cost.

Learn more here ⬇️

Our Complete Calf Care programme is designed to help make life a little easier for you when growing your youngstock.

29/07/2025

Everyone has slightly different facilities and systems for calf rearing, but there are elements that ideally every calf shed should have. There's still time to make small improvements to make sure this season's calves are housed as happily and healthily as possible.

Check if your calf shed is as well set up as it can be here 👇

A checklist to follow for a well set-up calf shed.

28/07/2025

Every year, farmers spend hundreds of dollars on vaccines to protect their flock from infection and disease. With the amount spent on vaccines, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how we use them, to get more ‘bang for our buck’ 🐑💰

Vet Heather shares her top tips for getting the best results from vaccinations here 👇

Every year, farmers spend hundreds of dollars on vaccines to protect their livestock from infection and disease. With the amount spent on vaccines, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how we use them, to get more ‘bang for our buck’.

26/07/2025

We were blown away when such a great crowd turned out for our equine seminar in Invercargill last week! 🐴🤩

Over the two events of our "In pursuit of peak performance" Seminar Series in Gore and Invercargill, more than 200 horse enthusiasts came along to learn a little more about the health of these animals. Whether you're a rider, owner, breeder, trainer or farrier, or if it's racehorses, sport horses, hobby horses, Pony Club ponies or even miniatures that you look after, we hope you got something out of the informative presentations.

Vets Grace, Megan, Heather and Brendon would like to say a massive thank-you to everyone who attended. We're so happy to be a part of the equine community here in the South and to help you keep your horses in tip-top shape 🙌