Lifestyle Farmer News

Facial eczema - what is your prevention plan?

Thursday, 6th December 2018As the weather warms up and we start to plan for summer, we need to start to plan for facial eczema season too. Facial eczema is a condition caused by a fungus growing in the dead ...
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What is Facial Eczema?

Saturday, 1st December 2018Facial Eczema (FE) is caused by fungal spores in the pasture which produce a toxin that damages the liver. The danger period is usually between January and May, depending on ...
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Prevent facial eczema with zinc

Saturday, 1st December 2018Late summer is when we see animals with facial eczema. This is due to a fungus that grows in pasture at this time of year and causes liver damage. The greatest risk period is from ...
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How Prepared are you for a Hot & Dry Summer?

Monday, 17th December 2018When keeping animals, whether as pets or for production purposes, there are five non-negotiable rules that need to be followed at all times, in order to ensure animal welfare is ...
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Cattle and Sheep breeds: the pretty, the ugly, and the angry!

Thursday, 6th December 2018We’re all used to seeing purebred dogs, but what about purebred cattle and sheep?! Unusual breeds of livestock are starting to get more popular. But why would you want (or not ...
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Animal Welfare - how will the changes affect you?

Thursday, 6th December 2018On October 1st the new animal welfare regulations came into effect. There are 45 changes so it can be a headache to find the changes that you need to know about. This is NOT an ...
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Summer: the beach, the sun… and, flystrike?

Thursday, 6th December 2018If you have sheep, you need to think about flystrike. Flystrike is the condition when flies lay their eggs in wool and the maggots that hatch begin to eat the sheep’s flesh. ...
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Parasites – no benefit, just burden!

Thursday, 6th December 2018Parasites – the word itself indicates they are unwanted guests on your property. There to live off your stock, they cause nothing but trouble. At the bare minimum, they reduce ...
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Facial Eczema: Be prepared this season

Saturday, 1st December 2018What is Facial Eczema (FE)?The fungus Pithomyces chartarum releases spores in pasture, which produce a toxin known as sporidesmin. This toxin damages the liver. The damaged liver ...
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Should I vaccinate my ewes for Toxo and Campy?

Saturday, 1st December 2018You may have heard about Toxoplasma and Campylobacter. Or you may have heard that you should be vaccinating your sheep to prevent abortion. But should you? When we talk about ...
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Holiday check

Saturday, 1st December 2018By Hanneke Officer, veterinarian Holidays are very exciting. Before you leave, however, make sure you’ve made arrangements for the care of your animals, whether they’re ...
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Calf Rearing: charming or catastrophic?

Friday, 10th August 2018If you have a bit of land and spare time, purchasing a few calves to rear can be a great option for you. Calves are cute, inquisitive and generally easy to handle. However, when ...
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What happens when you get a farm animal euthanized?

Friday, 10th August 2018It can often be stressful to make the decision to euthanize a farm animal. But once that decision is made, how do you proceed? If the animal is not sick or injured, you can ...
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NAIT- National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme

Friday, 10th August 2018What is NAIT? The NAIT scheme is an identification system that links people, property and livestock. It was developed to identify and trace livestock (cattle and deer) within New ...
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Some Practical tips for Vet visits

Friday, 10th August 2018Being able to enjoy having animals on a lifestyle block also means spending some money to keep these animals healthy. Some of this money will be spent on vet visits for routine ...
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Flystrike

Friday, 10th August 2018Flystrike season usually runs from December to March but in warm, humid weather can go right through to June. Flies lay their eggs in wool and the maggots that hatch begin to eat ...
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Do you rear calves? Keep them safe from Mycoplasma!

Wednesday, 1st August 2018It has become apparent that the two HIGHEST RISK practices for getting Mycoplasma are: buying infected animals, and feeding calves infected milk. Feeding whole, raw milk to ...
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New Zealand Set To Import Deadly New Rabbit Disease

Friday, 15th December 2017This title might sound like scare-mongering, but in fact- it's true. In 1997, rabbit calicivirus was introduced to New Zealand in the hopes of controlling (and devastating) the ...
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Chickens as pets

Wednesday, 13th December 2017Why have chickens? Eggs! Or meat if you’d prefer. Fresh eggs are much tastier than store bought and chickens will produce about one egg each per day throughout the warmer ...
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Alpacas - Things to know

Wednesday, 9th August 2017By Nick Law, Veterinarian, Anexa FVC Huntly So, you have a couple of alpacas on your lifestyle block. You sit down and think to yourself, I don’t know a thing about these ...
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Hoof trimming

Wednesday, 9th August 2017One of the most common problems that Vets see on lifestyle blocks is lameness. That is, we see a lot of limping sheep and goats. The most common reason we see lameness in sheep ...
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Calving or lambing?

Wednesday, 9th August 2017By Travis Scott, Veterinarian, Anexa FVC Gordonton At this point in the season most people will have, or be close to having, calves and lambs frolicking around their paddocks. ...
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Feeding Animals in winter conditions

Wednesday, 9th August 2017I don’t know about all your animals, but mine have been grazing mud for months! I’d like to talk about feeding appropriately through the winter months and managing pasture ...
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Chicken illnesses

Friday, 10th March 2017Recognising a sick chickenHealthy chickens have a full coat of feathers, a red upright wattle, bright eyes and non-scaly legs. A sick chicken is often lethargic, separated ...
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Warm weather worries

Friday, 10th March 2017 By Hanneke Officer, Anexa Rototuna Veterinarian With the warmer (and humid) weather approaching, there are several health conditions that might arise. FlystrikeFlystrike ...
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Lifestyle? Working every weekend!

Wednesday, 1st February 2017Believe me, I’ve been there when people say “10 acres? That must be so nice! Lots of space, beautiful views and peaceful walks on the weekend.” Not so much so; 10 acres ...
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Worm woes

Sunday, 4th December 2016From the moment ruminants start eating grass, they can be exposed to worms. Worms are ubiquitous, especially in paddocks previously grazed by other ruminants. When larvae ...
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Drenching calves and lambs - FAQs

Wednesday, 23rd November 2016How do we know our animals have parasites?Common symptoms of internal parasites include diarrhoea, dags, ill thrift, slow growth, coughing, pale mucous membranes (in sheep) and ...
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Attention: Cattle and Deer owners - Have you got your NAIT tags sorted?

Tuesday, 18th October 2016What is NAIT? New Zealand’s National Animal Identification and Tracing scheme is an identification system that links people, property and livestock. All cattle and deer within ...
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Ticks

Tuesday, 18th October 2016We are seeing a lot of ticks this season especially in young calves. You may also see them on your sheep, goats, horses, deer and dogs, so keep an eye out. The adult tick is a ...
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The A-Z of Spring Time

Monday, 17th October 2016A – Antics; there’s nothing like those first bright rays of sunshine to bring out a little craziness in all of us. Be mindful of misadventures. B – Bills; owning animals ...
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Common emergencies in paddock pets

Tuesday, 6th September 2016As a former lifestyle block owner, I have experienced emergencies in a range of different species. One would think, given the fact I am an experienced large animal Veterinarian, I ...
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Let’s talk about “gut” worms!

Monday, 29th August 2016The worm lifecycle takes 21 days to complete meaning that young animals should be drenched every 4 weeks to allow them to grow and thrive. If left untreated, animals can suffer ...
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External parasites you should know about

Monday, 29th August 2016 Cattle Ticks – You may see engorged ticks in warm areas such as between the legs and in the ears. Treat with Bayticol or Python ear tags. Lice and Mange - Signs include ...
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Vaccinations

Monday, 29th August 2016Note that these vaccines are given under the skin. Ask you Vet if you are unsure of how to give an injection. Clostridial dz There are a number of clostridial diseases ...
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Getting your calf or lamb

Thursday, 25th August 2016By Lucy Picott, Veterinarian, Anexa Te Kauwhata There are plenty of places to source calves and lambs and there are pros and cons to each. The most important thing is to get ...
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Raising healthy calves and lambs

Thursday, 25th August 2016By Lucy Picott, Veterinarian, Anexa FVC Getting your calf or lambThere are plenty of places to source calves and lambs and there are pros and cons to each. The most important ...
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How to save money on your vet bills

Monday, 22nd August 2016Being able to enjoy having animals on a lifestyle block also means spending money to keep these animals healthy. Some of this money will be spent on vet visits for routine ...
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