NOVEMBER 2016

EWE MAIL

Drenching for Worms 2

Animal Health Summer Planner

3

Summer Smart Tips 4

Pink Eye in Cattle 5

Facial Eczema 6

Dental Hygiene in our Furry Friends

7

Blocked Goats 8

Inside What’s

233 State Highway 1, Bulls

48 Tutaenui Road, Marton

Email: team@srvs.co.nz

www.srvs.co.nz

BLOCKED GOATS Last summer we saw several cases of male goats with blocked ure-

thras (the tube they urinate out of). Under certain conditions

stones can form in the bladder and block the urethra in male

animals – most commonly cats, dogs, goats and even sheep. This is

a big problem because it is extremely painful and the electrolyte

imbalances that occur make the animal very sick. If they are blocked

the stones will not pass without assistance.

In goats and sheep the issue is complicated by the fact that a

catheter cannot be passed through to their bladder due to flexures

in the urethra. This means in most cases the treatment options are

either surgery to redirect the urethra or euthanasia.

The best medicine is to prevent the stones forming in the first place! Too much grain and dry, hot weather

seem to be predisposing factors for goats.

Bladder stones are not necessarily easy to prevent but here are a few tips:

Minimal feeding of grain/nuts – none at all if

possible. This is probably the most important tip!

Ruminants are made to forage and process fibrous

feeds.

Leave males un-castrated if possible or keep

female pets instead.

Fresh clean water and salt blocks to encourage

drinking (especially in the summer).

Acidifying the water with apple cider vinegar

may help.

PREVENT FLYSTRIKE BEFORE IT HITS!

1L = enough for 66 lambs or 40 medium-sized ewes

Zapp Encore packs are

available for hire from both

clinics if you don’t wish to

buy a full pack

Flystrike is an animal welfare issue

Zapp Encore is an easy to use

pour-on product that prevents

fly strike and can also be used

to treat flystrike if necessary.

Have you seen our Facebook page?? Find us on Facebook by searching

‘Southern Rangitikei Veterinary Services Ltd’

to keep up with the latest news!

It feels as though Spring has been and gone in a flash

this year! Temperatures have been mild which means diseases we

normally see over mid-late summer, such as Facial Eczema, Barber’s

Pole Worm (plus other gut worms) and flystrike may hit earlier than

we would usually expect this season.

Already in October we have seen lambs and calves with diarrhoea

that are fly blown around their back ends — this highlights the

importance of good parasite control to prevent faecal staining and

dagginess. In weather that is as warm and humid as we are experi-

encing at the moment it is essential to use a flystrike prevention

product on your sheep and lambs post-shearing. Zapp Encore® is an

easy solution, all you have to do is pour it along their back and

around the crutch area; it also treats lice, so has a double benefit if

you have seen your sheep itching frequently.

At the beginning of this year we were getting phone calls from farm-

ers and small block holders every day reporting clinical cases of facial

eczema and asking for treatment options. As we mention in our

newsletters time and time again there is no cure, and it does get

frustrating that even after reporting high spore counts for several

months over summer, some still choose not to take preventative

steps: Those of us with experience with FE would not wish it on our

worst enemy as it is just so devastating.

This year winter and spring have brought us humid weather

and mild temperatures, which is a recipe for high parasite

counts on pasture coming into summer. We have been hearing

from commercial lamb farmers that they’ve been starting their drench

programs early this year because lambs are already showing signs of worm

burdens.

There are ways to reduce the number of eggs on pasture that

don’t involve drenching:

As a general rule of thumb, young livestock (under the age of 12 months) shed a lot more eggs than older

livestock – goats are an exception to this! Adult goats do not develop a natural immunity to worms like

cattle and sheep do, therefore they still require drenching as adults. Adult cattle or sheep can be used to

‘clean up’ pasture that has been grazed by calves or lambs, and by following the young stock with the older

ones on your grazing rotation.

Most gut worms are quite host-specific, so cross-grazing with different species on your property can

also help reduce the egg burden on pasture without the use of drenches.

The majority of eggs are found nearer to the base of the grass leaf, so the risk of encountering prob-

lems becomes much higher if you are grazing your pasture down below 10cm, because your stock are

likely to be ingesting more parasite larvae. In these cases drenching becomes paramount in preventing

parasite issues.

We need to use drenches appropriately in order to preserve drench efficacy

These days we are far more aware of the need to prevent drench resistance, since widespread use of single-

active anthelmintics has already resulted in drench resistant worms in New Zealand. This means drenches

like Panacur, Bomatak C, and even Ivomec are no longer recommended for use in young stock or goats if we

are to prevent further drench resistance developing.

DRENCHING FOR WORMS

Above: A close up view of Barbers Pole Worm eggs under the microscope

Left: A heifer with clinical parasitism

DENTAL HYGIENE IN OUR FURRY FRIENDS

Staff Profile: SIÂN NICHOLS

Siân initially joined us as a casual staff member, mainly working as a Reception-

ist at the Marton Clinic. We soon saw her potential and employed her full time

as our Large Animal Technician in 2015. Siân has completed a Certificate in

Small Animal Nursing and Rural Animal Technology. She is a very versatile

team member.

You will normally find Siân out and about de-budding calves, blood testing,

weighing heifers, teat sealing, vaccinating animals, assisting the Production

Animal Vets or providing the SRVS facial eczema spore counting service. She is

equally at home in the small animal team, filling in for nurses when needed.

Siân lives locally and is part of the Bulls Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Dental problems are the most common

chronic problem in our pets. The issue be-

gins with tartar accumulation on the teeth, then

leads to gum infections and irreversible root infec-

tion. Untreated, your pet may lose teeth or be at

risk of kidney, liver, heart and joint infections. This

is because infectious bacteria pass from the mouth

to other organs via the blood stream.

Signs of dental disease include halitosis (bad

breath), the appearance of plaque/tartar on the

teeth, drooling, difficulty chewing, discoloured teeth, swelling around the mouth and/or eye. Dental

disease can be predisposed in small-breed dogs; certain diets and is more common with age. Your vet

will check the teeth at every routine appointment to establish the severity of dental disease. Unlike

humans, we cannot tell cats and dogs to hold their mouths open so both routine scaling and polishing

and teeth extractions have to be performed under anaesthesia.

Prevention is obviously better than cure – home care includes special-

ised dental diets like Hills Prescription diet t/d or Royal Canin dental.

There are also water additives and dental chews and of course you

could introduce teeth brushing.

Ask your veterinarian for management options, or if a dental procedure

is required for your furry friend.

FACIAL ECZEMA Summer/ autumn 2016 was the worst season we

have had for facial eczema in the Rangitikei and

nationwide for many years. Because spore counts have

stayed relatively low over the past few summers it has been

easy for people to become complacent about prevention for

facial eczema. As we all know weather patterns are difficult to

predict and every year we recommend taking measures to

protect your livestock. Ingesting large quantities of facial eczema

spores causes liver damage, and once there is liver damage in

your sheep and cattle there are no drugs we can treat them

with to reverse the damage.

Prevention is by dosing livestock with zinc, grazing management and pasture spraying. These steps can be

expected to reduce outbreaks but not completely eliminate them. If nothing else at least avoid grazing

‘high risk’ paddocks over danger periods. High risk paddocks are ones that are warm, with north facing

slopes, and the valleys of which have lots of shelter. Lower risk paddocks are those facing south, exposed

or windy hillsides. Similarly, ryegrass dominant pastures have higher spore levels than pastures containing

lots of clover or chicory.

There are several options for dosing animals with zinc:

Zinc bolus e.g. Faceguard Capsules® - zinc oxide capsules that sit in the rumen and slowly release zinc.

They last for approximately 4 weeks in cattle or 6 weeks in sheep. Our rural technician Sian can

administer these for you if you have suitable facilities to restrain your livestock e.g. yards with a race.

Once or twice weekly drenching e.g. Supa Zinc® - easy for small numbers but requires you to orally

drench the stock at least once a week.

Zinc in the water - use zinc sulphate and ensure you calculate the dose accurately. Start with low

levels to get the animals used to the taste or alternatively use water sweeteners. Due to inconsistent

water intake, this method does not work effectively for sheep.

Spray paddocks with anti-fungals e.g. Mycotak®. This works best on actively growing green grass.

DRENCHING FOR WORMS continued

ANIMAL HEALTH SUMMER PLANNER

Guidelines for de-worming of different species:

Cattle: Cattle under 12 months of age must be drenched with a combination drench i.e. a drench that

contains two or more actives, one of which must be levamisole (the most prevalent worm at this age, Cooperia,

is only susceptible to levamisole). Matrix® and Scanda® are good examples of these. Once they are over 12

months of age a single-active product is sufficient, for example Eprinex® pour-on.

Sheep: From now until Jan/Feb lambs should be drenched with combination drenches, such as First®, Matrix®

or Scanda®. Hoggets may need a drench if they are grazing high risk pasture or getting dags/faecal staining

around the crutch. Faecal egg counts can be done if you are unsure whether drenching is necessary.

Goats: Goats and goat kids should be drenched from now until Jan/Feb with a combination drench such as

Matrix® or Scanda®. The dose rate is slightly higher when using these products for goats than it is for sheep –

please contact us if you have any questions. Again, faecal egg counts can be utilised if you are unsure whether

drenching is required.

Horses: Adult horses should be drenched once a year with Equest® plus Tape. We can do a faecal egg count

if you are concerned your horse may need drenching more frequently than this.

Pigs and Alpacas: Unfortunately there are not many products on the market for pigs or alpacas.

We recommend using Dectomax® which is an injectable product.

November

5-in1 sensitiser vaccination for lambs.

Matrix® or Scanda® drench to lambs and

calves that are weaned.

Zapp Encore® pour-on to sheep for fly

protection.

December

5-in-1 booster vaccination for lambs.

7-in-1 sensitiser vaccination for calves.

End of month Zinc bolus to sheep and cattle

for FE prevention (depending on season—

please ring for advice).

Matrix® or Scanda® drench to lambs, calves

and goats.

January

7-in-1 booster vaccination for calves.

Matrix® or Scanda® drench to lambs, calves

and goats.

10g Copacap® bolus and Selenium injection to

calves.

February

Zinc bolus sheep and cattle again 6 weeks after

first one was given

Zapp Encore® pour-on to sheep for fly

protection.

Exodus® drench to all sheep and goats.

Matrix® or Scanda® drench to calves.

Seresto® Flea Collars

SRVS is proud to stock Seresto® flea collars in our stores.

Flea collars have, in our eyes, been a bit hit and miss in

the past, but the Seresto® collars from Bayer really have

set a new standard in long term flea control.

The active ingredients (imidacloprid and flumethrin) are

integrated into the actual collar, and a low dose of the

actives are slowly released into the lipid layer of the ani-

mals skin and distributed across the body to protect

against fleas and ticks for 8 months.

There is no odor or residue, and it kills fleas and ticks on contact.

The product will not wash off, even if your dogs go for swims regularly over

summer!

It also removes the hassle of remembering to do monthly spot-on treat-

ments—just put the collar on and they’re done for 8 months!

Summer Smart Tips for your Pets and Livestock

HOT DEAL:

$10 off all

Seresto®

flea collars

Summer sees the usual increase of certain seasonal-type conditions.

Chocolate is toxic to dogs and dogs are very partial to chocolate. The darker the chocolate the more

poisonous it is. If your dog eats it they need to be seen by a Vet. You need to know the amount and

type so that we can work out the toxicity level. If seen early (within 2-4 hours) your dog will be

made to vomit, otherwise supportive treatments may be required.

Slug bait is more common in the spring and summer as it is laid to protect your garden and crops. The bait can be extremely

toxic and dogs are usually having convulsions by the time we see them. Dogs may need to be heavily sedated and on fluids.

Treatments can be very expensive and in some cases may not even be able to save them.

Rat baits are less of a problem in the summer months but care needs to be taken to store baits away safely as they are

attractive to pets.

“Garbage guts” (especially Labradors) is common in dogs being grossly overfed at barbeques or fed inappropriate scraps of

food and bones. Chop bones are a NO-NO. This is like playing Russian Roulette with your dog’s life. Chop bones have 3

sharp pieces going in different directions which are ideal to lodge in the oesophagus or the small intestines. These lodgings

are life threatening and very expensive to surgically remove.

There are other things to be aware of in the summer months:

Dogs overheating when working

Pets over heating in cars (can happen quickly) - NEVER leave your animals in a vehicle.

Insect bites and stings (wasps, spiders, bees etc) can also be a risk.

The important thing is to be aware of and avoid un-necessary threats to your pets.

ALPHEUS® anti-parasitic capsules for cattle are a new and unique

solution for larval challenge in autumn pasture. During the autumn

with the increase in moisture, the number of parasite larvae on the

pasture increases dramatically. Cattle ingest these larvae which then

damage the gut and cause production losses. ALPHEUS® anti-parasitic

capsules have been developed to prevent this damage.

The capsule contains abamectin, and is given at the same time as pri-

mer tablets which contain oxfendazole and levamisole. This combination clears out all stages of susceptible

parasites including any abamectin resistant worms that may be present. The capsule lasts for 125 days and is

recommended for us in weaners (120-300kg) at the onset of autumn. Only one capsule may be given in the year.

It is really important to monitor what is happening, especially when your resistance status is unknown. The manu-

facturer recommends faecal egg counts (FECs) on day 50 and 100 after ingestion to monitor the situation. As with

all capsules an exit drench is required (a drench containing different active ingredients) after the 125-day mark is

up (or earlier if the FECs indicate).

If you think that ALPHEUS® anti-parasitic capsules may have a place on your farm I would recommend talking to

one of the vets to find out more. Giving one capsule does not mean you can forget about the weaners for 4

months, you still need to regularly check them, and monitor what is happening with FECs. The last thing you want

is to use these capsules and speed up the selection process for resistant worms. The cost of a capsule and 2

primer tablets is $19.05 incl GST so it is rather an expensive way to drench.

Pink eye is a common, highly contagious eye infection that affects all ages of cattle. Infections

will cause a significant amount of pain and distress to affected animals and can affect one or both eyes.

Animals will lose weight and produce less milk which can result in economic losses in outbreak scenarios.

Infections can often result in scaring over the eye which can cause blindness and permanent ocular lesions.

Moraxella bovis is considered the primary agent associated with the disease. The major predisposing factor that

allows infection to start is damage to the surface of the eye, which is usually in the form of dust, long seedy

grass or flies.

Eyes will appear red and inflamed, often with copious ocular dis-

charge due to the irritation. Depending on the severity, white col-

oured ulcers will be visible in the middle of the eye with varying de-

grees of blindness. Treatment involves antibiotics, and separation to

prevent further spread. There is a vaccine available called Piligaurd®,

which is designed to stimulate immunity in the eye to prevent the

eye becoming affected. The vaccine can be used in the face of an

outbreak with best results seen when animals are vaccinated 3 - 6

weeks prior to the onset of the pink eye season, and prompt segre-

gation and treatment of any affected animals. Please note that the vaccine is currently unavailable this month.

Let us know if you are at all interested and we can organise the vaccine for you.

PINK EYE in CATTLE