In this issue:

Riverside Moos

VET ENT ENT

+ Metrichecking+ The Heard Health Visit+ Tail painting, non-cyclers

and cycling+ Disease Management

+ Calves+ Bulls+ Minerals and monensin+ Reminders

2020SEP/OCT

How enjoyable calving has been with the lovely weather. Sunshine and dry under foot makes life so much easier. The clinic has been super busy over the past month or so. Our great vet and tech teams have been working together to ensure we continue to deliver that great Riverside service.

As expected we started off the season with some challenging heifer calving’s. We have had to perform many foetotomies and caesarean sections to get some of those calves out without damaging the heifer or cow. Some of the discussions we have been having with our clients revolve around choice of bulls to be sure of easy calving, and good heifer growth

to achieve good frame and pelvic size. Some of the bulls used last mating season were not what they seemed. The calves being born were enormous! A mild winter with good feed utilization probably played a role also in allowing unborn calves to grow very well.

MetricheckingNow that we are in September, it’s time to think about mating. The build up to mating starts at calving. In the early post-calving period we have been focused on managing uterine disease by visiting farms weekly. The Metricheck device is a survey tool designed to detect uterine infections. Cows are batch

painted so we know which cows have been calved at least 10 days or maybe 14 days which is when we can use the Metrichecker. The best way to Metricheck herds is 10, 7 and 4 weeks prior to the planned start of mating. Tail paint-ing is useful to group cows so that we know how long they have been calved when we approach mating. Early cycling activity after calving is not as fertile compared to the sec-ond or third heats. Mating cows at the second or third heats will improve first service con-ception rates. If you haven’t Metrichecked the herd by mid-September it should be done soon. Undetected uterine disease will result in conception failure, late mating, phantom cows and increased empty rates. We use our techni-cians to Metricheck herds but we always have

vets do the treatments. These treatment visits would be a good opportunity for a herd health and reproduction catch up.

The build up to mating.

Managing cow condition between calving and mating is important. Condition loss should be restricted to one body condition score (about 40kg bodyweight). Knowing the total ME values of the diet and feeding accurately to requirements is critical to compensate for reduced voluntary feed intakes after calving, and to meet the demands of increasing milk production. At mating, cows should be at least condition score 4.5 and eating a balanced diet which reduces the risk of sub-clinical rumen acidosis. Carbohydrates in grass, supplements and concentrates must be balanced with fibre.

The Herd Health Visit.We recommend blood or liver tests a month or so out from mating to check selenium, copper, vitamin B12, and iodine, and in some cases to check for ketosis and fatty liver especially if you are concerned about cow condition loss. It is a good idea to also check fat to protein ratios continually.

A high fat to protein ratio can indicate a diet too high in fibre or cows losing excessive condition after calving. Body fat loss can result in high milk fat %, reduced appetite, reduced liver function and the development of ketosis.

Low milk fat tests can indicate poor fibre digestion from an acid rumen. Excessive concentrates in the diet or high sugar grass which reduce rumen fibre digestion can also reduce the milk fat %.

A declining or low protein percentage can indicate under feeding or low crude protein content of the diet. Milk and blood urea tests can be useful to assess protein balance in cows.

The fat to protein ratio should be around 1.2;

A herd health vet visit allows us to

+ Assess milk fat to protein ratios.

+ Assess rumen function.

+ Assess faecal consistency.

+ Assess body condition score of the herd.

+ Take blood/liver tests.

+ Evaluate the lactation curve. This can be a good diagnostic indicator. A low milk peak and rapid decline can indicate mineral deficiencies, poor feed intake, poor feed quality, energy deficits etc. Too often the herd-level diagnosis is overlooked.

Tail painting, non-cyclers and cycling cows.We advise that tail painting should start 5-6 weeks pre-mating, and should be updated weekly. By early tail painting the number of true non-cyclers will be minimised. Non-cycling cow programs are fairly straight forward and have good first service conception rates in cows that have been calved long enough. Late calver’s will generally have reduced conception rates. CIDR-treating large groups of cows can be problematic at calving with large numbers of calves arriving over a short period of time. For that reason we need to know all the cycling cows and minimise the group not cycling. The economics of CIDR treatments still tell us that early treatment is best to ensure these cows contribute to the six week in-calf rate and produce early next season.

Synchronising cycling cows can be very successful, but it puts huge pressure on at calving. We do recommend synchronising heifers so that they calve over a short period of time before the cows start calving. Synchronised heifer calving can have advantages in terms of better, more controlled springer management and improved mastitis control.

Disease management.Diseases to have under control before mating starts are lameness, mastitis, uterine disease, rumen disease and micro-mineral deficiencies.

Ensure track surfaces are low risk, ensure good track drainage, clean yards regularly, avoid tight corners and don’t push cows too hard.

Have a milking time mastitis risk assessment visit to ensure the milking machine is functioning correctly to reduce the risk of mastitis.

Metricheck and treat all cows well before mating starts.

Calves.We often see outbreaks of calf scours later in the calving period. Keep up the good colostrum management and tube feeding calves within 6

hours of birth. Keep measuring the Brix value of colostrum. Getting calves out into the sunshine as soon as possible is very important. This allows calves better access to grass and fibre which promotes early rumen development. Keep a close eye on joints and navels, and if you notice any coughing call us without delay. Coccidiosis is something to watch out for as calves start to eat grass. Straining and blood in poo are potential indicators of coccidiosis. Any calves that die should have a post-mortem examination. This information is valuable in determining what is going on.

Bulls.Bulls should ideally be on farm by now. Bulls should be free of Mycoplasma bovis and BVD, and vaccinated against Leptospirosis. Being free of BVD means seeing blood test results that confirm BVD antigen negative in all cas-es. Antigen positive bulls should not be used. Teaser bulls can be very useful as heat detec-tors, and to establish sexually active groups of cows. Getting cows cycling early with teasers could result in a higher first service conception rate in some cows.

Bloat.Be vigilant to bloat at the herd level. Clover and grass can result in frothy bloat. Bloat is often seen in the hour or so after cows return to breaks after milking when they are hungry. Prevention of bloat is the best way to manage it. Use bloat oil.

Minerals and monensin.At Riverside we custom blend minerals for our herds based on a range of parameters. One size does not fit all. Our blends promote appetite and milk production, sustain immune function, ovarian and uterine health and overall metabolism. The monensin we use promotes good rumen function, helps prevent acidosis and ketosis, increases energy availability from the rumen and reduces methane production.

Congratulations to the WINNERS of our Weber Baby Q BBQ competition!

Richard Tait of Clarevale Farming

Jo Moore of High Pines

www.vetent.co.nz

VET ENT ENT

Help support Hinds School Bike Track We will donate $1 from every cat or dog flea & worm treatment, sold in October 2020Hinds School plan on building a bike track around the school so children can take their bikes to school for a great time and to keep them

physically fit and active. Unfortunately some kids are unable to currently ride to school because the local roads are busy and dangerous.

VetEnt Riverside fully supports this fantastic community initiative and invites you to join us! We are really excited to be involved, as being an

integral part of this community is very important to our whole team. In addition to a lump sum donation already given to the school, VetEnt

Riverside will also donate $1 from every cat or dog flea and worm treatment, sold during October 2020.

It’s easy… + Simply come in to our clinic (1 Smallbone Dr, Ashburton) + Purchase your cat or dog flea & worm treatments + Nominate Hinds School

And we’ll do the rest! Thank you for your support.

Monthly Reminders.+ Pre-mating body condition score the

herd. Our technicians are DairyNZ

accredited for this.

+ Secure and health check bulls. Put in

groups so that they socialize.

+ Prepare teaser bulls

+ Metricheck herd and book in treatments

+ Tail paint early

+ Discuss herd anthelmintic treatments

with your vet

+ Collect milk samples from mastitis

cases to check which antibiotic is best

for your farm

+ Arrange a PureMilk visit to evaluate

milking machine function

+ Blood/liver test cows pre-mating

+ Arrange a herd health and reproduction

visit pre-mating

+ Vaccinate calves with 7 in 1 from 4 weeks

+ Oral drench calves from 4 weeks