In this issue . . .

♦ MT Rates & Cow Condition

♦ Drying off Tips

♦ Dairy Cow reminders

♦ Sudden death - not always what they seem!

♦ Abortions - causes and when to worry

♦ Dairy Antibiogram - new test

♦ Considering Teatseal?

♦ Dry cow bits and pieces

♦ Autumn cattle promotions

Facial Eczema So far 2017 is looking like being reasona-bly moderate. The dry period meant that the FE season was delayed and it also lead to a good clean out of pasture and reduced litter. Humidity / night temperatures have also been less than usual. However we have had moderate counts (over 20,000) for over 6 weeks with the prospect of at least another 4-6 weeks looming. Counts consistently over 20,000 for 10 days or more will cause clinical damage if preventative meas-ures are not taken. So the advice is to carry on the good work. The highest counts traditionally occur in late March, and stay high for at least another month. Farmers who have used Faceguard should take advantage of the 1/2 dose follow-up which will give another 4 weeks protection at a very cost effective price.

MARCH 2017

VETTALES

Te Puke Veterinary Centre Newsletter

MT Rates & Cow Condition

We are coming to the end of preg-nancy testing season, and while some results have been good, many of you have had poorer in calf rates, a lower number of cows in calf to AI, and a larger num-ber of late cows. This will have an effect on next season with a slower calving leading to:

• Reduced spring milk volumes • Less replacement calves • Less recovery time for cows from calving to mat-

ing leading to ◊ More non-cyclers ◊ Higher MT rates

With this season beginning to wind down, NOW is the time to be thinking about setting up for next year. Reproduction is something that needs to be thought about for 12 months - not just the 3 months of mating. In the annual reproduction cycle, there are some must-do’s if you are wanting to achieve good in calf rates. Ensuring cows are at the right body condition at calving (5BCS for cows, 5.5 for heifers), is one of those must-do’s and is something you can directly influence in the upcoming weeks. It is a well-researched fact that cows in target BCS at calving will not only milk better than their lighter counter-parts, but will also have better reproductive outcomes. With the increased numbers of late calving cows and wider calving spread’s, it is particularly important this year to get it right. Cows will strug-gle to gain weight milking twice a day, even if you increase feeding levels. Once a day can lead to condition score gains, but needs to be implemented early and with good feeding to get the full benefit. Cribby, Bryce and Laura have all been through the DairyNZ BCS programme and can independently score your herd to help your dry-off decision making. With the recent rain and pasture covers increasing, the temp-tation will be to continue milking. When managing the end of the season, look carefully at cow condition and think about next season. It is important you don’t sacrifice peak milk production in spring for a few extra solids now.

After a most extraordinary spring, this was pretty much a typical BOP summer. Although most farmers got a bit short, the rains came in time to salvage the season and set up for a good autumn. Now is the time to take advan-tage of the conditions and set up stock condition and farm cover for next season.

To receive the latest updates in spore counts email admin@tepukevets.co.nz

or visit our website at www.tepukevets.co.nz

Dairy Cow Reminders

Leptospirosis

It is essential in order to avoid breakdowns that all ani-

mals on the farm are vaccinated at regular intervals.

♦ This includes all cows, heifers, calves and service

bulls, as well as any beef cattle associated with the

dairy enterprise.

♦ If we have missed any group or part group please let us know ASAP.

♦ If any of your animals are due to move off to graz-

ing, please let us know and we will make sure we

vaccinate them before they go.

Trace Element Testing

Copper is lowest in the winter and spring. ♦ The best way to know if stock are defi-

cient or are going to be deficient is to take liver samples in the autumn. Liver samples tell us storage levels and therefore give us a predictive measure for the ensuing months. Blood samples can only tell us whether they are low or high on the day. Blood samples are most useful in the spring to see if supplementation has lasted and if a temporary top up is required.

♦ Liver samples can be obtained from individual bi-opsies or from cull cow livers.

We have enclosed for your convenience a form for cull cow collection. If you prefer biopsies please give us a ring.

Teatseal in Heifers

Teatseal administered to maiden heifers approximately

4 weeks pre-calving reduces clinical mastitis by at

least two thirds, thereby reducing the cost and frustra-

tion associated with heifer mastitis.

This is a fantastic tool for anyone with heifer mastitis.

Book in your heifers now or talk to your vet about it at

your Milk Quality Review.

Rotavirus Vaccination

Calf scours is time consuming, stressful and expen-

sive. Rotavirus is the most common infectious cause

of calf scours and vaccination of cows and heifers

prior to calving is the most effective way of protecting

the calves. Talk to your vet about vaccination at your

Milk Quality Review.

Supplement Feeding

Introduce new feeds slowly over a week. It takes at

least this long for the rumen bacteria to adapt and re-

duce the risk of acidosis.

To avoid metabolic problems supplement with cal-

cium, magnesium and salt if feeding more than a third

of the diet as Maize silage.

Drying Off

Determine drying off date according to expected start of calv-ing and work backwards. Ideal dry period is 50-70 days. This is best for the cow, best for the udder and best for the calf.

Tips on the best way to dry off

• It needs to be abrupt! • Do not confuse the cow! She does not know what you

are planning. • Milking cows should be fed like milking cows while in milk

– DO NOT initiate condition score loss. If you cut back feed to reduce production the cow will use body muscle protein. To stop and reverse this process it take 3 WEEKS!

• Also if feed is decreased the immune function is de-pressed. This increases the risk of mastitis and increases SCC.

• Aim to cease milk production without impeding health or condition. No need for complicated systems of reducing feed and production – not in cows best interest.

Signals to the cow to stop making milk

• Change in routine – TAD to OAD (only for 1 or 2 days otherwise it becomes the new normal! Already on OAD – just change diet and milking time for last day.

• Milk pressure in the udder – don’t milk out completely at the last milking

• Removal of “milk stimulating” protein in the diet e.g. no fresh grass (or other quality protein) for 1-2 days before the last milking. Replace with ad lib hay, straw or very mature silage. Can go back to yesterdays paddock.

• Keep cows full and content. • Go backwards on your round for 1-2 days before dry off

and 3 days after dry off. Give lots of hay/straw/baleage. Rather than giving them a small break of fresh pasture. Small break = no space = depressed immune function.

What to feed...

• Keep feeding high energy carbohy-drate feeds such as maize silage or grain at milking cow levels until after the last milking.

• Remove high protein feeds before last milking – (fresh grass/soy / lucerne / ca-nola / DGG). Replace with hay or straw or low protein fibrous mature silage

Dry cow therapy...

• Dry cow therapy treatment should be done as a separate job and NOT during milking.

• Bring cows back to the shed after breakfast / lunch to a clean shed and fresh staff. Coming back to the shed at a short interval and odd time helps to “annoy” and thus dry off the cows.

NEVER RESTRICT WATER!

Over the next 4-7 days after the last milking change feed and minerals from milking cow to dry cow regime.

AGVANCE Leading supplier of Minerals, Vitamins and Pre-mixes for NZ farmers. Te Puke Vets supports and supplies a number of Ag-vance’s products including:

♦ Optiguard Calf mineral supplement that helps prevent scours

♦ Solutrace mineral supplement range - Metabolizer Plus 25kg - $259.00 excl GST

♦ Monensin 25kg - $293.60 excl GST

♦ Monozinc FE PK 25kg - $74.00 excl GST We hold a few bags of the above products in stock so if you run out give us a yell. You can also order through us. Prices are the same as direct.

ABORTIONS IN COWS

This is the time of year where we start noticing abor-

tions. Foetal loss of course has been occurring since

conception, but we notice it now because the cows

have been pregnancy tested and the aborted foetuses

are large enough to be noticed.

The question is what is ‘normal’ loss and when should

we be concerned. This varies depending on the date of

the PD, but for those who pregnancy test around 14

weeks after PSM, about 4% losses can be expected

through to calving. If this level of loss was to occur

within a week it would be of concern and would war-

rant investigation.

Causes

Most abortions are sporadic and make up the back-

ground ‘normal’ losses mentioned above. They include

stress (bad weather, yarding, transport etc), foetal de-

formities and infections of unknown origin. The most

common diagnosed causes include:

• Fungal spoilage of supplementary feeds

- Maize or grass silage most common, hay less so

- Occurs 2-5 weeks after ingestion

- Outer layers most likely affected

- Can test quality of food as indication of risk

• Neospora

- Protozoa that causes up to 30% losses

- Associated with infected dogs

- Most susceptible during mid part of pregnancy

• Cryptomeria type trees, Cyprus and Pine needles

- Quite common cause of abortion in this area

- Both trimmed or standing are dangerous

- Trimmed branches and windfalls most deadly

- Occurs mostly 3-10 days after ingestion

• BVD

- Affects all stages of pregnancy

- Can also trigger Neospora

• Nitrate poisoning

Diagnosis & Prevention

Fresh whole foetuses give the most information and

blood testing the aborted cows can also be useful.

Aborted cows should be separated from the rest of the

herd and foetuses and placenta buried. Dogs should not

be allowed to eat aborted material.

Weeks > PSM at PD ‘Normal’ Loss %

14 3.7

20 2.9

24 2.0

28 1.3

Sudden Deaths in Dairy Cows - Not always what they seem! Recently a farmer rang up to say that a cow had suddenly died (the same day) following the herd pregnancy test. Rectal tears are a known and accepted risk of ultrasound pregnancy scanning but thankfully they are rare and we are always keen to follow up on any suspected case. We therefore offered a free post mortem and were quickly on farm before the cow got too blown up. Even though farmers accept the risk of scanning it is never a pleasant experience confirming that a healthy cow has died as a result of a vet induced accident. It was a big relief therefore to find that the rectum and uterus were undam-aged. In fact the cow had an acute pneumonia caused by the rup-ture of a liver abscess into the vena cava. In some cases of this so called Vena cava syndrome the cow dies of lung haemorrhage with blood pouring out the mouth and nose. In this case it died of a rapid overwhelming lung infection. The cause of the liver abscess is unknown but it could have resulted from kiwifruit poisoning or even an infected naval as a calf. The same farmer had a second unexplained death a few weeks later. A post mortem revealed a slither of wire about 8cm long bur-ied in the heart wall. The high tensile wire (off cut from fencing) would have initially lodged in the forestomach (reticulum) and then made its way forward through the diaphragm into the heart. The cow may have been off colour at some stage but cows are very good at combating low grade peritonitis (especially with a shot of penicillin) so it wasn't really affected too much until the heart was punctured. These two cases are excellent examples of why it is a good idea to post mortem unexplained deaths. Both cases provided useful infor-mation that could help prevent further cases. The first case was particularly useful because the vet would have been unfairly blamed! Thank you for letting us know so quickly so that we had a chance to investigate.

Be Careful what you ask for.......

A mother was working in the kitchen, listening to her five

-year-old son playing with his new electric train set in the

living room.

She heard the train stop and her son saying, 'All of You

B*****ds who want off, get off now, 'cos we're in a

hurry! And all of you B*****ds who are getting on, get

on now, 'cos we're going down the tracks'.

The horrified mother went in and told her son, 'We don't

use that kind of language in this house. Now I want you to

go to your room and stay there for TWO HOURS.

When you come out, you may play with your train, but I

want you to use nice language.'

Two hours later, the son came out of the bedroom and

resumed playing with his train. Soon the train stopped and

the mother heard her son say,

'All passengers who are disembarking the train, please

remember to take all of your belongings with you.

We thank you for travelling with us today and hope

your trip was a pleasant one.'

She hears the little boy continue,

'For those of you just boarding, we ask you to stow all of

your hand luggage under your seat. Remember, there is

no smoking on the train.

We hope you will have a pleasant and relaxing journey

with us today.'

As the mother began to smile, the child added..........

'For those of you who are pissed off about the TWO HOUR delay, please see the fat controller in the kitchen.

Stay on top of Mastitis with

This Exciting New Test.

DairyAntibiogram is a new test now available to NZ dairy farmers which detects and monitors ANTIBI-OTIC RESISTANCE in mastitis bacteria. Antibiotic resistance is a serious health problem arising in

both human and animal medicine alike. It is a problem

where bacteria become more able to survive in the pres-

ence of antibiotic treatments, causing infections which are

increasingly difficult to cure. The end result is a situation

where we are powerless to treat infections which were

once very responsive to antibiotics.

Antibiotics are a valuable tool in the dairy industry, and

when used responsibly, they are vital for the maintenance

of good animal health and welfare. Bacterial resistance to

these valuable treatments is a threat to the viability of

dairy farming, and is perceived as a threat to human

health. Knowledge of the resistance status in your herd is

the key to choosing the right treatments for your cows, and

for monitoring and preventing the development and spread

of bacterial resistance.

DairyAntibiogram is a new test which shows you how sen-

sitive the bacteria on your farm are to different mastitis

treatments. The test is easy to have done, as it is per-

formed on bulk milk samples taken from the milk proces-

sors.

A DairyAntibiogram will give you valuable information

which, with the direction from your vet, will help you:

1. Plan to use effective mastitis treatments

2. Avoid using expensive treatments when other

cheaper options are shown to be effective

3. Know your resistance status and how this ranks

compared to other farms in the country

4. Develop biosecurity plans to protect a “Good”

resistance status

5. Identify threats to your herd which can be in-

vestigated further and managed or removed

6. Monitor if your resistance status is changing

over time

7. Help your dairy industry demonstrate that it is

using antibiotics responsibly

A DairyAntibiogram provides essential information to en-

sure the sustainability of using antibiotics on your farm. It

is likely that within the next few years certain antibiotics

will be withdrawn from use on farms completely and oth-

ers will only be allowed to be used if they can be shown to

be necessary and appropriate. Dairy Antibiogram could

provide that evidence. Please talk to your vet at your Milk

Quality review about DairyAntibiogram and incorporating

it into your mastitis management plan.

Special Introductory Offer $200 excl. GST

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DRY COW THERAPY

Dry cow therapy (DCT) is the cornerstone of mastitis con-

trol. Decisions made now have ramifications right though to

next autumn and beyond.

DCT influences:

• The level of mastitis at drying off, the dry period, calv-

ing and throughout the season.

• The bulk somatic cell count (BSCC) for the season in

particular the high grading risk times of spring, once a

day and autumn.

• The level of production. For every 100,000 increase in

bulk SCC there is a 1-3% decrease in production.

Recommendations:

A. Treat all cows with either DCT, internal teat sealant

(ITS) or both. All infected cows need to be treated with

DCT to reduce the herd infection rate for next season.

All non infected cows need to be treated with DCT or

ITS to prevent new infections.

B. Use long acting DCT rather than short acting, Long act-

ing DCT has a better cure rate and more importantly pro-

tects against new infections for at least 6 weeks longer

than short acting does.

C. Do the job properly. Plan the day, have enough labour

and disinfect thoroughly with teat wipes.

AVOIDING AUTUMN GRADES

The autumn is a high risk time of year for both inhibitory

substance and bulk SCC grades. Inhibitory substance grades

are common and most commonly due to mistakes with dry

cow. Dry cow grades invariably cause maximum de-merit points. Best practice measures to avoid these grades

include:

♦ Mark cows to be treated on udder, rump and head. Use

a paint that is a different colour than normal and lasts at

least a week. Most grades are from cows that get back in

the herd.

♦ Record the numbers of the cows to be treated.

♦ Separate out cows to be treated. Treat after milking fin-

ished and milk vat is disconnected.

♦ Treat only after thorough disinfecting of the teat end.

Dry Cow Snippets

⇒ A herd with an average BSCC of 200,000

has on average 15% clinical cases during

the year. A herd with a BSCC of 125,000

has just 8%.

⇒ Dry cow trials (where trained technicians taking their

time are responsible for the dry cow administration)

consistently show clinical mastitis rates for the first 4

days of milking of just 1-2%. These include problem

herds. Farmer data shows that in the field 4-5% is the

acceptable normal rate. This suggests that hygiene (or

lack of it ) is responsible for 3-4% of the mastitis we see

at calving. Similarly lactating intramammary trials

achieve much higher cure rates than what we see in the

field. Most farmers do not disinfect teats prior to treat-

ing them for mastitis and this could result in super-

infection of the quarter with faecal bugs, and conse-

quently lower cure rates.

Financial gains to be made from lowering Bulk SCC

Go to the Smart SAMM Gap Calculator at http://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/managing-mastitis/tools-and-resources/smartsamm-gap-calculator/ and have a play.

Example: A 300 cow herd producing 100,000kg MS per year at a $6.00 pay out. Lowering the BSCC by just 50,000 will have a gross benefit of $4,200 from increased production. This alone will pay for DCT but added to this will be other finan-cial benefits such as reduced mastitis treatments and less culling due to mastitis.

Reducing BSCC, clinical mastitis and culling can be achieved quite easily through a combi-nation of dry cow and good milking manage-ment. Talk to your vet.

Considering Teatseal this Dry Off??

With the dry period just around the corner, and many farmers starting to selectively dry-off their lighter cows, now is the time to organise your Milk Quality Review and plan dry off with your vet. As farmers improve their SCC, invariably the discussion at the milk quality review leads to the question “why do we need antibi-otics if our cows don’t have infections?” This is a great question and the short answer is they don’t, and a teat-sealant is a great alternative option in many cases. Dry-off and calving are the two highest risk periods for picking up infection. Both Dry Cow Therapy (DCT) and Teat Sealant (TS) help to prevent infection and how long this prevention lasts will depend on which product you are using. As well as prevention, DCT also helps treat existing infections. So what if I have a lot of uninfected cows and they don’t require treatment? TS is protective for as long as the cow is dry, so even in the years where you need to dry off early, the latest calvers will be protected from calving mastitis. This is an advantage over DCT where even the best products such as Cepravin only protect for 100 days. There are certainly risks involved with TS use in cows. A low cell count, good mastitis management and exceptional hygiene are required for it to be successful. There are an increasing number of farmers locally that have been using it with great results. If it is something you wish to discuss more, ensure you bring it up with your vet at the Milk Quality Review

MERIAL ANCARE AUTUMN 2017

CATTLE DRENCH PROMOTION

“PROVEN In the harshest

of environments” Designed to excel in the harshest of environments, Merial Ancare products are developed and tested right here in your backyard, and have proven to provide outstanding results where others have fallen short. Like thes rugged Casio watches, also de-signed for you and your environment, make sure

you get yours with selected Merial Ancare products.

The CASIO G-SHOCK Qualifying products:

♦ Eclipse P/O 5L (abamectin /

levamisole combo, no other

pour-on more effective against

resistance)

♦ Genesis Ultra P/O 5L

(Roundworms & all stages of

Liver Fluke)

♦ Matrix C Hi-Min oral 20L

(Triple combo, ideal quarantine

drench)

♦ Switch C Hi-Mineral oral 20L

(double combination) ♦ Switch Fluke10 10L (double combination

with fluke treatment)

The CASIO TOUGH SOLAR

Qualifying products:

♦ Eclipse P/O 2.5L (abamectin /

levamisole combo)

♦ Eprinex P/O 2x5L (Premium

dairy cow drench)

♦ Genesis injection 500ml x 4

(B12 + Selenium)

♦ Genesis injection 500ml x 4

(plain)

♦ Matrix C Hi-Min oral 10L

(Triple combo, ideal quarantine

drench)

♦ Switch C Hi-Mineral oral 10L

(double combination) ♦ Switch Fluke10 5L

ECLIPSE Taking your results to the next level From now on R1s need to be treated for both Ostertagia and Cooperia. In order to treat both successfully a drench should contain at least two anthelmintic classes, one of which is le-vamisole. Eclipse does just that and is the per-fect autumn / winter pour-on for young stock.

Purchase a 12.5L ECLIPSE Pour-on promo pack - 1250 doses (181-200kg) $2869 excl GST ... and you can also take your backyard to a new level by getting one of these STIHL gar-den tools.

Don’t need that much? Then enter the draw for a STIHL garden tool by purchasing any Eclipse pour-on drench during April and May!

IVOMEC Eprinex

THE PREMIUM PRODUCT FOR DRENCHING THE DAIRY HERD

NZ trials have shown that treating

cows at calving time with Eprinex

pour-on:

♦ Increases daily milk solid pro-

duction

♦ Reduces 2YO calving to conception interval

♦ Improves body condition and increases

liveweight.

The best time to treat is at calving. Other suitable times are any time during the dry. Eprinex has nil meat, bobby calf and milk WHTs.

SPECIAL price $495 excl GST

(1x5L treats 100 x 500kg cows @ $4.95 each