Orange Veterinary Hospital
57 Molong Rd
Orange, NSW, 2800
orangevet@orangevet.com.au
www.orangevet.com.au
Phone: 02 6361 8388

Our apologies for the gremlins this month - please delete the first Large Animal Newsletter you received yesterday and keep this one!

Great to see good early autumn pasture growth after such a dry summer.

Some points to be mindful of:

  • early short pasture growth has high water content so supplementation should continue until pasture has some depth
  • the pulpy kidney part of vaccinations only lasts 3 months so young stock in particular may need re-vaccination
  • cows heavily pregnant or lactating can be at risk of hypomagnesaemia (grass tetany) or hypocalcaemia (milk fever) on short green growth
  • pregnant ewes yarded for shearing etc are at risk of hypocalcaemia
  • horses prone to laminitis (founder) are at risk with current pasture flush – removal from pasture and preventative help from Equishure (buffered bicarbonate) are essential

If you have any concerns regarding stock health we are happy to help - call 6361 8388.

 SetWidth260-Mar-14-AL-and-MP-pasture-copy

Andrew Litchfield and Michael Pratten inspecting rapidly growing pasture following recent good rainfall
Contents of this newsletter

01  Calving cows - what's normal, and when to intervene?

02  Sheep at risk of vitamin E deficiency

03  Managing arthritis in your horse

04  Equine first aid kit

05  Mastitis and Metacam®
01 Calving cows - what's normal, and when to intervene?

It is important to understand the normal calving process in order to know when to intervene. The normal calving process is divided into 3 stages of labour, as follows:

Stage 1 – Soft tissues of the birth canal, including cervix and vulva, dilate in preparation for calving. Signs typically seen when a cow enters stage 1 include frequent sniffing of the ground, licking at the hind end, increased vocalisation, raised tail, softening of the vulva and restlessness. Appearance of the amniotic sac (water bag) outside of the vulva signals the end of stage 1 and the start of stage 2.

Stage 2 – The calf is expelled out of the cow. In this stage the cow will lie down and abdominal contractions can be seen as the calf is delivered. This stage takes an average of 70 minutes in a normal calving (measured from first appearance of the water bag/amniotic sac). Progress of calf coming out should be observable every 15 – 20 minutes.

Stage 3 – Expulsion of the placenta. Normally this should be completed within 24 hours of calving.

Watch for the following signs of difficulty calving - this is when you should intervene:

  • Slow progress of expelling the calf in stage 2 i.e. no further progress after 20 minutes
  • Two hours of labour have passed without complete delivery
  • Presence of the water bag or feet without any further progress of calving
  • It can be seen that the calf is not in the correct position. Examples of this include if only one leg can be seen outside the vulva, or if the bottom of the feet are facing up.
  • If there is meconium (yellow discharge) from the vulva - this indicates a very stressed calf!

Assistance to help finish the calving should be given to all heifers once you see the feet or nose of the calf outside the vulva.

Here are some tips for assisting a cow that is having trouble calving:

  • Ensure the vulva and perineum are thoroughly cleaned with a disinfectant (such as chlorhexidine or iodine) before having a feel inside
  • Use plenty of lube – no such thing as too much!
  • Do not try to pull the calf out unless you are sure it is in the correct position
  • When using mechanical calf pullers, force should never be excessive – the calf will come with steady traction providing it is not too big and is in the correct position.

When is it time to call the vet?

  • If you have tried for 30 minutes and the calf is not out
  • If you can feel that the calf is not in the correct position and you are unable to correct it
  • If the calf is not progressing out despite using steady pulling/traction with the calf in correct position - this likely indicates that the calf is too big to come out without veterinary intervention.
02 Sheep at risk of vitamin E deficiency

Key message: spring drops weaners may be at risk of vitamin E deficiency now.

Vitamin E is found in green pasture, and levels decline rapidly as the feed dries off. Due to the long dry summer we have experienced, it is not uncommon to see vitamin E deficiency especially among young sheep in light condition.

Dry pasture and high concentrate grain rations are deficient in vitamin E, and significant deficiency can occur in late spring drop weaners after only 6 - 8 weeks of dry feed or grain only diets.

Signs of vitamin E deficiency

  • Substantial reduction in weight gain
  • Two Kangaroo Island trials in Merino weaners who had nil green feed for at least 6-8 weeks prior to trial, revealed daily weight gains in treated sheep as follows
       - 154 versus 18 gms per day
       - 304 versus 125 gms per day (D Lehmann pers. comm.)
  • Increased risk of white muscle disease (WMD) leading to reluctance to walk and muscle wasting
  • Increased susceptibility to disease
  • Reduced shelf life and colour of meat in grain finished prime lambs even if normal vitamin E on entry to feedlot (Cameron Jose 2006 MLA funded trial) 

Prevention

  • Provide green pick and/or high quality bright green hay with intact leaves every 2 months
  • Add to ration:
       - Sometimes can arrange for pellet manufacturer to add to pellet
       - Not practical to attempt to add vitamin E to on farm to grain
  • Oral drench of 2000-4000 IU every 8 weeks ~ 15–30c. This is normally the preferred method of prevention. 

Vitamin ADE injection is not effective in preventing vitamin E deficiency. It has only 50 IU per mL - and this is equal to the daily requirement. Therefore, the dose rate of 1-2 mL would have to be repeated every 48 hours for adequate vitamin E supplementation. 1-2 mL daily of Vitamin ADE would lead to vitamin A toxicity.
03 Managing arthritis in your horse
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Just as dogs, cats and people suffer from arthritis so too can your equine companion.

Osteoarthritis is irreversible degeneration of cartilage and bone at a joint surface. The loss of cartilage in the joint exposes underlying bone, causes severe inflammation, pain and secondary bony changes. To the left is the knee of a horse with severe osteoarthritis. The red arrow is pointing to the problem area.

Wear and tear on joints due to a horse’s active lifestyle and poor conformation can contribute to the development of arthritis. Horses with swollen joints, pain on flexion or recurrent lameness should always be examined for arthritis, especially older animals. Diagnosis can be confirmed by x-rays of the affected joints.

Anti-inflammatories like phenylbutazone (Bute) can be used to provide pain relief but should be only used under veterinary supervision, and pentosan injections can reduce the rate of cartilage breakdown. There are many other ways your vet can help your horse to be comfortable in their senior years including steroid injections, glucosamine sulphate or arthroscopy.

Each animal’s case is individual so talk to us to find out what option works best for your horse.
04 Equine first aid kit
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SetWidth170-Wound-management-2

There is nothing worse than being away from home, at a rally or competition, travelling and not near veterinary care, and needing some basic first aid for your horse. A first aid kit doesn’t need to be elaborate. Provided that you can do some basic first aid yourself, this is often enough to get by until a vet is available if necessary.

Consider some of the following for your basic first aid kit:

  • Digital thermometer: rapid read thermometers can be purchased from a chemist
  • Antiseptic wound cleaner such as Hibitane or Betadine
  • Clean leg wraps for emergencies. These should be separate to your everyday leg wraps
  • Gamgee: an absorbent padding for wounds to be placed under leg wraps
  • Self sticking bandage like Vetwrap can help keep bandages in place
  • Antiseptic cream or ointment like Septicide
  • Torch
  • Scissors
  • Notepad and pen
  • Card with emergency contact details (like our number!)

A first aid kit should not become a medicine cupboard. If it becomes too large, it will get left behind rather than travelling with your horse.

The photos to the left show the same wound 6 weeks apart. It went on to heal well and the horse is back in action. All this was achieved with good cleaning, medication and bandages.
05 Mastitis and Metacam®

Mastitis is an extremely costly disease to manage on a modern dairy farm. Some costs are clear to see: the costs of discarded milk, additional labour costs and the treatments themselves can really add up. Equally significant are the adverse effects on your herd performance.

Trials have revealed that cattle with mastitis demonstrate:

  • Reduced reproductive performance
  • Lower milk yields (typically 5% reduced yield)
  • Higher cell counts
  • Increased risk of culling

Additional trials have shown that treatment of mastitis with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (meloxicam - Metacam®) produces:

  • Decreased cell counts
  • Reduced risk of culling

This trial was published in the Journal of Dairy Science

The trial looked at the effect of treating cows with mild clinical mastitis with Mamyzin® alone or Mamyzin® + Metacam®. The results showed that cows infected with mastitis and treated only with Mamyzin® have a staggering culling rate of 28.2%. The addition of a single dose of Metacam® reduced the culling rate to 16.4%. The graph below shows the much higher culling rate in cows with mastitis which were treated with only Mamyzin®, compared to cows which also received a dose of Metacam®.

Take home message – add Metacam® into your mastitis treatment protocol!

Figure 1 Cumulative percentage of cows with clinical mastitis treated with Mamyzin and either Meloxicam () or the vehicle (control, ) that were removed (culled) during the 45 weeks after enrollment
The Fine Print
This email contains comments of a general nature only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional veterinary advice. It should not be relied on as the basis for whether you do or don't do anything.

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