We are excited to keep you informed about the changes about to start at our Katikati clinic. We have finally been given sign off to start renovations to our current clinic. The building will be expanding to better cater to the needs of our community and its animals.
Welcome to March! And the cooler, hopefully, a little wetter Autumn months. Autumn can bring relief to the farm as we get some much needed rain along with the warm air and ground temperatures which make it the optimal time for grass growth. But Autumn is also a time that we need to be aware of some potential health issues that may affect your livestock
Chickens are a wonderful small animal to keep, with the added bonus of fresh eggs in the morning. If you haven’t kept chickens before there are a few things to consider first.
Chickens can be grouped into commercial hybrids and heritage breeds. The commercial breeds of brown shaver and hyline are egg layer machines however they can be less friendly unless you have handled them a lot since they were young. The heritage breeds are
Tauranga, Te Puna, Katikati and Papamoa Village Vets are honoured to have once again taken home a major award at the 2018 Westpac Business Awards.
Respiratory tract disease is a common problem that presents during the summer months. It is often inflammatory in origin affecting lower or upper (or both) airways. Lower airway disease is commonly referred to as “Recurrent airway obstruction” (ROA) and upper airway disease as “Inflammatory airway disease” (IAD). Horses show variable signs including coughing, nasal discharge, increased respiratory effort, lethargy and exercise intolerance. Lower airway disease tends to be more severe than upper. Both ROA
Like all ruminants alpaca are susceptible to a number of internal parasites. These are similar to the internal parasites found in sheep and cattle including round worms, whip worms, tapeworms and liver fluke. This means alpacas who share grazing with cattle and sheep are susceptible to picking up infection from their faeces too. One worm that can be potentially life threatening to alpacas is called Barber’s pole of Hameonchus. Barber’s pole is a worm
What is Facial Eczema?
Alpaca are very susceptible to facial eczema, even more so than sheep and cattle! So what is Facial eczema? Facial eczema is a common and potentially dangerous disease that is common in the North island during the summer and autumn months.
It is a disease caused by the ingestion of spores produced by a fungus called Pithomyces Chartarum. The spores can be found in pasture, especially in the dead leaf litter,
Parasite Treatment: Living in the Bay of Plenty brings with it stunning weather (for the most part!) and ideal conditions for all manner of plants to grow in abundance. However with such warm and moist weather, young stock need to eat a lot of grass to meet their growing requirements and will be exposed to “Plenty of Worms” so to speak. These internal parasites do a lot of damage to young animals in particular,
Equine melanomas are a common occurrence for older grey horses and ponies . “Whiskey”, a 25 year old grey pony had numerous dermal melanomas which had been present for a number of years. Dermal (or skin) melanoma’s, present as black masses and commonly occur under the tail, around the anus, in the scrotum and on the face. Dermal melanomas in older grey horses are unlikely to be malignant, however melanomas in non grey horses
Facial eczema is caused by a toxin produced by the spores of a fungus growing on pasture. When ingested by cattle and sheep, the toxin damages the liver and bile ducts.
The damaged liver cannot rid the body of wastes and a breakdown product of chlorophyll builds up in the blood causing sensitivity to sunlight, which in turn causes inflammation of the skin.
The resulting liver damage can severely affect their welfare, affect production and fertility
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