Keep up to date with all our latest news, articles of interest, and case studies from the veterinary world around Hawke’s Bay.
With the change of season and cooler nights fast approaching it’s time to consider how you will keep your working team warm this winter. Why it is important to keep your team warm over winter? In recent years there has been a real push to improve kennel conditions and to provide bedding and jackets…
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Facial Eczema Pasture Spore Counting Facial eczema is a disease caused by the fungus Pithomyces chartarum; which produces a toxin (sporidesmin) resulting in liver damage and photosensitivity. It grows on dead plant material at the base of the sward and thrives in warm, humid conditions. A good way to determine the risk level of your…
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Incidence of lameness varies between herds and varies during the season. Smaller herds still have an incidence of 10% lame cows in the herd, larger herds often show higher incidences: up to 30%. Wet periods will boost the number of clinically lame cows, due to gravel being pushed into existing white line defects, softening of…
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Heifer teat sealing is one of the most effective interventions we can perform to improve animal welfare on farms across New Zealand. Heifer mastitis before or after calving, or during the first lactation, significantly affects udder health and lifetime milk yield. Heifers have been shown to have a higher risk of clinical mastitis…
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With the typical Hawkes Bay summer weather upon us it is time to start thinking about the wind-up of this milking season. There are many aspects to consider when it comes to drying off your herd (think BCS, long term weather forecasts, expected calving dates, production goals etc), but on the top of the list…
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This season has been extremely challenging for all farmers in the Hawke’s Bay, the prolonged dry spell and lack of Autumn growth, difficulty in finding supplementary feed, delays in killing space, and cancellation of sales have all had a massive impact. The feed requirements of livestock are well known and can be easily found…
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Anyika Scotland was recently involved in the Hawke’s Bay Farming for Resilience pilot project to help Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmers navigate challenging weather and economic conditions. The project is producing monthly reports from February through to July 2024, providing evidence-based local information, insights and analysis across three common farm types (summer dry…
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This week’s pasture spore counts – Week ending 5th March 2021 Spore counts are continuing to rise in some areas and it is expected that the spore count will continue to rise more following the recent widespread rain adding moisture to the large amount of dead matter found in pasture at the moment. Combined with…
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Regional average spore counts are around the 25,000 mark, with hotspots across the region, indicating the risk is not over yet. One of the sites on Ocean Beach Road is still 115,000. Best advice is to monitor the spore counts on your pastures to assess risk more accurately. Hastings Results Waipukurau Results Further…
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Waipukurau After a slight increase due to warm rain a few weeks ago the counts have dropped again, and with cooler nights the spore counts are expected to remain in this mid-low zone. We still have some potential for warm weather for another month or so but it is the night-time temperatures that are needed…
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Alpacas are very susceptible to the toxic effects of facial eczema spores and high risk periods occur during the summer and autumn. The spores, produced by the fungus Pithomyces chartarum, are broken down in the digestive tract releasing the sporidesmin toxin. The toxin is absorbed into the circulation and reaches the liver where it is…
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What is it? Facial eczema is a disease affecting sheep, cattle and alpacas, and is caused by a toxin called sporidesmin. Sporidesmin is produced by the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing on pasture. The fungus grows in the base of pasture in warm moist conditions found at this time of year. When ingested…
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