Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

FEBRUARY 20 WHAT’S INSIDE?

Keeping well and safe at work 2

Seedy toe 4VetNews

Ram palpationWhat’s it’s purpose and what are we looking for?

Often in summer you can find your vet bent down in a race behind a line of rams - what are we doing? We are palpating rams. This involves checking the testicles for defects to determine the ram’s soundness for breeding. It is preferable to palpate rams at least six weeks before mating, at sale time and at ram lamb weaning.

CONDITIONS THAT ARE COMMONLY

DETECTED INCLUDE

• Mono-orchidism (only one testicle present)• Micro-orchidism (one or both testicles are

underdeveloped)• Cryptochidism (no testicles present)• Epididymitis (lumps/inflammation in the

surrounding tubes)• Scarring and damage to the testicle or

scrotum• Scrotal mange

The above conditions affect a ram’s fertility, so detecting these problems early can help us to make decisions on which rams are best to use at mating and which rams are sound for sale. It is important to have at least a six-week buffer between palpating and mating so that unsound rams can be removed and replaced.

BRUCELLOSIS

Brucellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Brucella ovis. It tends to affect mature rams and It can cause epididymitis which can be palpated as lumps in the epididymis on the side of the testicle. The disease variably affects the quality of the semen from the ram, which in turn can lead to reduced lambing performance.

Brucellosis can be passed between rams by mating behaviour with each other and by mating an ewe who has recently been mated by an infected ram.

Risks include introducing a new ram to the flock and untested neighbouring rams jumping the fence.

Unfortunately, not all brucellosis rams will have lumps and fortunately not all rams with lumps will have Brucellosis. Other diseases, like Histophilus, and injuries to the testicles can cause lumps, even teaser rams will have very large lumps. The way we can distinguish if a ram with lumpy testicles has Brucellosis or not is through a blood test.

PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF

BRUCELLOSIS

• Keep good boundary fences• Test any new rams by palpation and blood

test if they haven’t been tested before you bought them

• Get your local vet to palpate rams every year pre-mating and pre-sale and blood test any suspicious animals

There is a Voluntary Brucellosis Eradication Scheme available which allows you to declare the farm as Brucellosis accredited after a series of blood tests and palpations have been carried out by a veterinarian. Accreditation is annually reapproved by doing the following: blood testing and palpation of all stud rams, blood testing a proportion of commercial rams and palpation of all commercial rams.

Please feel free to ask your veterinarian about ram palpation. We organise a series of ram runs in the district at premating time each year so call us to book a time.

Fishing competitionCarla Sheridan

Start working on your fishing stories and break out the sunscreen!

The annual Totally Vets Fishing Competition is on Saturday 4th April 2020. Tides are favourable with a high tide in the morning of 2.4m at 8am predicted. Weigh-in closes at 3.30pm followed by a BBQ and prizegiving at the Whanganui Fishing Club.

Last year saw a large number of boats and anglers making the most of fantastic conditions and great fishing.

Sponsors are already pledging support and we look forward to giving away plenty of prizes on the day.

If you would like an entry form or to find out more information, please email Carla.Sheridan@tvg.co.nz or call Carla on 027 229 4429.

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Looking aheadPossible animal health issues and tasks to consider with reminders for February include...

DAIRY

• CLINICAL MASTITIS – monitor cows and be aware of rising bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC), particularly if feed is

tightening and milk volume is decreasing. Prepare early for drying off and book in your Milk Quality Consult with your vet.

• If not done already get your PREGNANCY SCANNING booked in today as the longer you wait to do it, the less information you gain!

• LAMENESS problems have been widespread and challenging in the first half of the season and may worsen with dry hard ground. Monitor cows daily and act as quickly as possible to assess and treat those with sore feet.

Working together to keep well and safeKay Cave

Introducing a new section to our newsletter - a focus on health, safety and wellbeing.

Business owners, companies and industries are focussing on the health, safety and wellbeing of their people, because the personal and business impacts of injury or illness can be significant and have long lasting effects. A great video to watch is one made by Worksafe in conjunction with DairyNZ and you can view that here...

Companies are starting to move the culture from

a “tick the box” attitude to making health and safety part of everyday thinking and involving the people who do the work. They’re having safety conversations and encouraging their people to speak up when they see something risky or unsafe and are beginning to see the benefits.

Emma Dangen, FMG young farmer of the year finalist (2019) and a large animal veterinarian, tells how she “gets to have lots of safety conversations” and that “effective communication with farmers and clients is key to protecting the health and welfare of veterinarians, farmers and their livestock” See full article here...

Tararua Veterinary Services is on this journey too. We are committed to looking after our people, including our clients, and those we work with. We are encouraging our people to start the conversations with others and speak up.

The working farm presents many different situations and conditions for the vet every day at any time, including handling and treating

of animals, diagnostics, working with various facilities and yards, lifting and shifting heavy equipment, the number of helpers available, and the weather.

Health and safety is about protecting everyone on the farm from harm be it the farmer, the kids, the workers or the vets and others who come and go during the day. Good health and safety is about knowing what your risks are and taking some time to think about what needs to be done to do protect people, whatever they’re doing on the farm. Making sure that anyone that comes to your farm knows what the hazards are, is aware of your safety rules and knows what to do in case of an emergency.

Our vets and techs are looking to carry out their job safely. Having a conversation with you or your helpers before they start their work and working together in a way that doesn’t put themselves or others at risk is part of what they are encouraged to do.

Be Sunsmart - Slip, Slop, Slap and Wrap when working outside...

3Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

• FACIAL ECZEMA was a huge problem last year so, farm location and weather depending, preventative zinc treatment should have been started. Also consider doing some spore counts.

• For those who WINTER MILK, monitor Autumn calving cows’ condition, BMSCC and your feed quality/quantity. Dry off according to calving dates and administer dry cow therapy where appropriate.

SHEEP and BEEF • Monitor for signs of BARBERS POLE (pale

gums, depression, exercise intolerance, increased breathing) and drench at the first sign of trouble as every year we see a number of deaths from this disease.

• MATING PREPARATIONS – ensure all ram palpations/testing has been completed and reproductive vaccines are ordered

EQUINE• WEANING is a potentially stressful period

for youngsters so ensure excellent nutrition for young stock. Consider the need and plan ahead for branding, identification/

registration and vaccination(s).

• SEEDY TOE may not be something you will consider now - take a look at our article on P4 about this frustrating condition and be prepared for the wet weather to come.

DEER• Early in the month is a good time to

vaccinate hinds against LEPTOSPIROSIS, whilst later in February or March, depending on birth date, fawns can also be given their first Lepto shot, along with Yersiniavax® for YERSINIOSIS.

Copper, zinc and facial eczema have a complicated relationship Ryan Carr

Hopefully we all understand how serious facial eczema is and how much of an impact it can have on the health and production of livestock. When facial eczema spores are eaten, they release a toxin called sporedesmin. Sporedesmin is absorbed and makes it way to the liver. Here the liver does its thing and tries to break it down and get rid of it. Unfortunately though, as it tries to break it down it sets of a chemical reaction which severely damages the liver tissue. This liver damage has a whole range of negative effects including the severe sun burn of the skin which is the classic sign of facial eczema.

Dosing animals with high levels of zinc, usually in the water via a doseatron or mixed in with feed, is the most common method of preventing facial eczema. Zinc dosing is started when spore counts start to rise and should be continued until counts fall to consistently low levels. If done correctly it is a very successful preventative measure.

We are still not completely sure how zinc has its protective effect, but one of the main mechanisms is that zinc competes with copper

for uptake from the intestinal tract. If you have high levels of zinc in the gut less copper is absorbed from feed, into the body. Copper acts as a catalyst for the reaction between sporedesmin and the enzymes in the liver that causes all the damage. Higher liver copper levels means more damage from sporedesmin. Hence, we generally recommend that you don’t supplement any form of copper during the facial eczema season whilst you are dosing with zinc. A recent NZ study reported on a herd in which cattle that had been supplemented high levels of copper before starting zinc dosing. A serious outbreak of facial eczema occurred despite the cows having recommended blood levels of zinc for effective protection (ie the farm was getting zinc supplementation right).

So supplementing copper during FE season is bad but, copper is a very important trace element and one that is commonly deficient in our region. It is essential for many processes in cattle including growth and development, immune system function and reproduction. Long periods of dosing with zinc can reduce copper levels in cattle. Thankfully there hasn’t been any reported cases of zinc dosing putting animals into actual copper deficiency, but it does reduce their available levels. Copper availability in pasture also drops to its lowest point during the winter so it is important that animal levels are good leading into it.

So, to manage this complicated relationship a

recommended approach would be:

1. Supplement copper from calving through

mating at least and perhaps even up until

you start dosing with zinc (depending on

the needs and previous test results on

your farm).

2. During facial eczema season stop

supplementing copper in any form. If you

are using a commercial trace mineral

mixture use some bags that do not

contain copper for the facial eczema

season. Call the vet clinic and we can

organise these for you.

3. After you stop dosing with zinc for facial

eczema you can start supplementing

with copper again for the rest of the

season.

4. It is always recommended to get some

liver testing done in the autumn to see

what copper levels are doing and work

out if you need to intervene to keep

levels up over the winter (i.e. if cows

are grazing off and won’t have access to

trace minerals via a doseatron)

As always chat to your friendly vet team if

you want to know more.

Tararua Veterinary Services cnr George St & Main Street, Pahiatua P 06 376 8046 | 36 Denmark St, Dannevirke P 06 374 6062 www.tararuavets.co.nz

WIN A MAKEOVER FOR YOUR DECK

Go into the draw to win a Luna

Outdoor Set, Milano Nouveau teak coffee table,

plus accessories by purchasing $500 or more ofBoehringer Ingelheim products.

Prize valued at $1960.

Terms and conditions: A qualifying entry is one Totally Vets or Tararua Veterinary Services invoice containing purchases of Bohringer Ingelheim products to the value of $500 or more. Multiple entries will be allowed. Qualifying invoices must be placed into the entry box and will be drawn at the conclusion of the promotional period. Promotion runs from 1 December 2019 until 29 February 2020. Winner will be notified.

Seedy Toe Ellie Grieves

Most of you would have heard of seedy toe but often struggle to treat and control the spread of it, now is the perfect time to get on top of it before winter returns with the wet muddy conditions that it thrives in.

Seedy toe is a progressive separation of the inner zone of the hoof wall. It may be seen first at the white line, but it affects the zone of contact between the hard-outer wall and the inner layer of hoof tissue that lies against the white line. It starts at the sole and works its way up towards the coronary band. Long toes and poor hoof conformation can predispose a horse to seedy toe, but during the wet seasons the main cause is usually excessive and prolonged moisture and subsequently infection with bacteria.

Seedy toe might be an incidental finding during routine trimming. In the early stages you might only notice a powdery spot in the white line area. In time, seedy toe will spread

and cause the hoof wall to separate in large areas forming deep crevices. The area of hoof separation may sound hollow on percussion. Seedy toe only causes lameness in severe cases.

Treatment is directed at opening the affected area, treating with antiseptic, keeping it clean and dry until new horn has formed.

DEBRIDEMENT

All infected tissue must be removed. This can be accomplished with a hoof knife and scraping until healthy tissue is encountered. In more advanced cases, the hoof wall over the affected part needs to be removed. Problems in resolving the condition are often blamed on failure to eliminate every bit of infection. A farrier may need to examine the horse as often as every ten days to cut out affected tissue.

In more severe cases application of an antibacterial or antifungal product is required. A long list of commercial hoof disinfectants has been used with varied success. Anecdotal evidence suggests no one product seems to be effective in every case. A veterinarian’s recommendations can help an owner choose a product that will stop the infection without damaging healthy tissue.

A common problem is recurrence, which can be very frustrating. It is therefore very important to keep the area dry and clean to prevent reinfection.

Keep the pressure off the area by trimming (by creating a bevel or using a special shoe). New horn growth can take several months to a year depending on the size of the defect. Shoeing helps support the hoof and keep pressure off the toe while heathy hoof regrows.

Unfortunately, in New Zealand most horses are outside in a wet, muddy paddocks all winter. This is presumed to be the main reason that seedy toe is so prevalent here compared to other countries.

If you have any questions please contact your veterinarian at your local branch.