Goorambat Livestock Vet Services (Dr Stacey Hall) provides a personalised, production animal focused
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Services include treatment of an individual animal through to herd and flock health management:
• Preventative health management plans
• Disease investigations and post mortems
• Farm biosecurity and welfare plans
• Brucellosis management
• Shearing sedation
• Calvings/lambings/kiddings
• Lameness
• Reproductive management
• Parasite control
• Farmer education
These are my sheep. They have shelter but are not using it. I hope your animals are making better choices.
I have been seeing increased numbers of livestock losses as a result of the recent stormy weather (hypothermia, pneumonia). Please be extra vigilant with your stock.
I also recommend regular monitoring of worm egg counts as wet, humid weather favours larval survival on pastures.
Goorambat Livestock Vet Services would like to wish our valued clients and followers a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.
Emergency services are available for livestock over the holiday period.
Some cows have no concept of personal space!
Wishing all my valued clients a happy and safe holiday season.
Important reminder:
I have been seeing an increase in intestinal worm related issues recently (mainly small ruminants) due to the very wet season. Barber's Pole worm seems particularly prevalent. These animals generally do not scour. Often the first sign is lethargic or dead stock in your paddock.
I am encouraging clients to regularly check faecal egg counts and drench accordingly. Particularly susceptible classes of stock include suckers (usually >6 weeks old), weaners, yearlings and pregnant stock. If you have any questions or concerns please give me a call.
Not so sure how helpful these ‘assistants’ were while trying to clean out my car. Country life!
Please see below information regarding a local Biosecurity and Foot & Mouth Disease information session run by Agriculture Victoria staff this coming Wednesday 17th August 7.00-8.30pm at the DEWLP Office in Sydney Road. Register by scanning the QR code or let me know you are interested and I can email you a copy of the invitation with a direct link to the registration page.
Meet Mouse. He’s in charge of bookwork and rodent control at Goorambat Livestock Vet Services. 🤣
The team at Goorambat Livestock Vet Services wish all our clients and friends a safe and happy Christmas.
I am in Canowindra, NSW this week on a sheep ultrasound pregnancy scanning course. I am learning how to make the most of my new equipment. Hoping to be set up and ready to do some scanning in local flocks early in the new year. Get in touch if you are interested.
One of the hazards of summer in Australia, especially when you live on a farm.
This comes as a timely reminder to check your pets and working dogs daily for grass seeds before they pe*****te the skin. The most common place is in between the toes (and in ears) but this collection came from all over her body. Once they enter the body, grass seeds can migrate under the skin and through the tissues, resulting in abscesses, pe*******on into the chest or abdomen or even into the spine.
In livestock grass seeds often cause abscesses around the face and neck and can be lodged in the eye causing significant irritation and increasing the risk of pinkeye.
Any guesses on how many seeds I removed from my retriever tonight? This is her collection from our backyard today...
We recently had an outbreak of Rotavirus in our poddy raised lambs, with 16/17 unwell over the course of a week. Rotavirus damages the lining of the small intestine leading to a malabsorptive diarrhoea. Supportive care is the only treatment. We spent hours nursing sick lambs, feeding electrolytes and giving IV fluid and glucose therapy. Sadly we lost 3. Our little black-faced lamb was resuscitated twice. The malnutrition during their illness has set back their growth.
Rotavirus can affect most species of animals, including humans. It most commonly causes symptoms in the very young. Vaccines are available for cattle, horses and pigs to provide immunity through mum's milk. Human babies are vaccinated in the first few months after birth. There is no vaccine for sheep in Australia. Vaccines save lives!
Very happy we were able to get this big baby out alive. He was coming in a breech position (tail first). With thanks to my 11yo son for being my lambing assistant.
It's been a busy couple of weeks at Goorambat Livestock Vet Service, especially with lockdown and the kids home from school again. Here they are doing their book week challenges farm style with our 17 poddy lambs. Home learning has also included 'How to conduct a post mortem on a sheep'.
The most interesting case of the week was a cow with a uterine prolapse that didn't appreciate our trying to help. In the end we had to lasso her and secure her to a tree. Thankful that Simon was able to come along and lend a hand or two!
Remember Spot, our critical-care calf from a few months ago? She had us worried again in mid-July when we found her severely bloated, with signs indicating acute pain and cardiac and respiratory compromise.
("Mum, Spot looks like the Hindenburg!")
She had been having intermittent issues with mild bloat and chronic rumen distension prior to this. Breaking into the hay shed the night before with her heifer friend Belle and helping themselves to hay and the end of a bag of oats probably didn't help!
Unfortunately tubing her only removed a small amount of gas as the tube kept filling with rumen contents. A needle placed over the gas cap removed the initial distension but she bloated again shortly after. Due to her history a rumenostomy was created in her left side to allow excess gas to vent. We also lavaged her rumen to remove the excess grain and reduce the distension. 4 weeks later she is still with us. We have had no more bloat but her belly remains distended. I think her lot in life is to have delayed digestion and she only gains weight slowly. She is definitely a fighter though and makes some interesting sound effects when she runs around!
If anyone has seen this little dog please get in touch. She went missing from her home near Thoona a few days ago and her young owner is very worried.
The recent cold, wet weather has seen an increase in cases of metabolic disease in cattle. Hypomagnesaemia (grass tetany) and hypocalcaemia (milk fever) are both life-threatening conditions that require immediate treatment. Signs can include staggers, tremors, excitability, aggressiveness, convulsions and sudden death. Lactating cattle and those in late pregnancy are most susceptible. These conditions can also occur in sheep. During wet weather effective grazing time is reduced as animals take shelter and their daily intake of minerals may be insufficient. Management of nutrition in high risk periods is critical to prevention of outbreaks. During recent farm visits, despite green grass in paddocks, I am still identifying a need for supplementary feed. Please get in contact if you would like to know more about these conditions and how they may affect your stock.
The cow in this video is showing signs of low magnesium (hypomagnesaemic grass tetany). Handling and treatment of these animals can be quite challenging when they want to charge at you!
How do you convince a pig to stand still for an examination of her sore leg? Feed her popcorn!
My rumen drench system is my favourite piece of equipment at the moment and I'm glad I made the investment. It makes drenching a dehydrated cow with 30-40L of electrolytes quick and easy. Like in other species, fluid rehydration can make the difference between life and death for sick cattle.
Today was the weather for metabolic diseases. This girl calved yesterday and was found flat out this morning suffering from milk fever. It was touch and go for a bit but after two bags of IV calcium she was up eating hay and looking for her calf.
My second stop for the morning was another cow who was also flat out on the ground and bellowing, this time suffering from grass tetany (low magnesium). IV magnesium settled her symptoms and saw her back on her feet by early afternoon.
Both conditions can be fatal if not treated in a timely manner.
Here are some of the animals that live with us here at GLVS. The long weekend was spent looking after them!
Marking lambs?
Goorambat Livestock Vet Services has recently purchased a NumNuts ring applicator. This injects pain relief at the location of the ring, improving welfare, recovery times and mothering up for your lambs. https://numnuts.store.
Interested in giving it a go? This is your opportunity. Give us a call to find out more.
Need a hand marking lambs? Message or call Simon Hall on 0413 296 395 to discuss rates and availability.
At Goorambat Livestock Vet even the resident cow gets a birthday party. Happy 1st Birthday Belle!
Mother’s Day at GLVS saw us treating another critical patient. This little fellow had been attacked (probably a fox) with most of his tail missing and bite wounds around his neck. His blood glucose was dangerously low and he was unable to drink due to his swollen face.
I am pleased to report he went home yesterday afternoon and is able to lap milk from a feeding syringe.
For anyone following the progress of our little intensive care patient, this is Spot one week on.
She is still having some gastrointestinal issues but is drinking 3-4L of milk per day. Her name comes from the distinct brown spot on the top of her head. A big thanks to my family for their assistance at all times of the day and night over the last 7 days.
Our intensive care patient is still with us. It has been touch and go for the last few days with the development of a fever and recurrent abomasal bloating. She has required decompression of the gas in her abomasum via a needle through her belly. She is now drinking from a bottle but her digestive system is still not functioning properly. We are all getting quite attached so we hope she will keep fighting.
This little one has been in our calf intensive care pen in our hay shed for just over 24 hours. She was barely conscious when she arrived but responded well to several litres of intravenous fluids and glucose. She is still very weak and her gut is not functioning very well so she remains in a critical condition. We are all hoping she pulls through but she has a tough road ahead of her.
I swapped my green overalls for more formal clothes this morning, marching as part of Benalla's Rose City Band for ANZAC Day commemorations. Lest We Forget.
It’s not just mice multiplying in our hay shed! As well as running a 24/7 vet service we are also raising orphan lambs. A week ago we had one, now there are 5...
20 years on and I still feel joy when I have the privilege to pull a live calf. Many of the calvings I get called to I deliver calves that didn’t survive the birth process. Such a shame after getting to full term and a financial loss to the farm enterprise. If in doubt call early, you might save a valuable little life.
116 Benalla-Tocumwal Road
Goorambat, VIC
3725
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It’s not just mice multiplying in our hay shed! As well as running a 24/7 vet service we are also raising orphan lambs. A week ago we had one, now there are 5...
20 years on and I still feel joy when I have the privilege to pull a live calf. Many of the calvings I get called to I deliver calves that didn’t survive the birth process. Such a shame after getting to full term and a financial loss to the farm enterprise. If in doubt call early, you might save a valuable little life.
