Howick Veterinary Clinic - Large Animal

24/04/2024

Colostrum – Life-saver for calves

What is Colostrum?
Colostrum is the thick, yellowish first milk produced by a cow shortly before giving birth. It contains many antibodies from the mother, which get directly absorbed into the bloodstream of the calf. In addition to this, it is more nutrient dense than normal milk, and also provides local immunity in the calf’s stomach and intestines.

Why is it important for a calf to drink Colostrum?
Most antibodies are not passed to the calf via the placenta, so another mechanism needs to exist. During the first few hours after birth, special pores in the intestine of calves are open and big enough to allow direct absorption of these antibodies from the colostrum into the calf’s bloodstream. After 6 hours, and until 24 hours, these pores will start to close. If the calf did not consume colostrum in this time, the pores will close and it will be impossible to absorb such antibodies after that.

Why are antibodies important for a calf?
Antibodies are small particles in the bloodstream that help the body fight against diseases. If a calf does not have antibodies (it did not get colostrum), it will be much more susceptible to certain disease syndromes, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, navel ill etc. Often, calves that have not received colostrum, will die.

When must a calf get colostrum?
As soon as possible. After birth, it takes a few minutes to an hour to stand, depending on breed, ease of birth and due to a variety of other factors. Once standing, the healthy calf will naturally try to locate the udder, and start drinking. We need the calf to have received colostrum within 6 hours after birth, and at the very latest, 24 hours after birth. After this, the pores have closed and it is too late.

How much colostrum does a calf need?
Approximately 10% of body weight during the first day. This means about 4 liters, split between multiple feedings.

Can I just feed normal milk or milk replacer?
No. A newborn calf needs colostrum, either from it’s own mother or from another cow that has calved on the same or previous day. Freezing colostrum from good, old cows is another option to consider. Keep in deep freeze and thaw in warm water and feed as needed. If no other option exists, a synthetic called Bioglobin can be used.

Any more questions?
Pop by and visit us at the Howick Large Animal Clinic and we can discuss this issue further.

03/04/2024

The second in our informative series of cattle diseases. Today it's Lumpy Skin Disease.

Lumpy Skin Disease (Isifo sesikhumba esinezigaxa)

Spring is the time to vaccinate against Lumpy Skin Disease (L*D).

What is L*D?
Lumpy Skin Disease is a disease caused by a virus (Capripox Virus), and is transmitted by biting insects (mosquitoes, biting flies, midges etc).

What are the clinical signs of L*D?
Multiple, firm nodules on the skin and mucous membranes. Often, the animals will have a fever, and may develop pneumonia secondary to L*D.

How do I treat L*D?
It is best to consult a veterinarian regarding treatment for this disease. Because L*D is caused by a virus, antibiotics cannot cure the disease. Anti-inflammatory treatment is indicated. Often, a covering antibiotic is given, to prevent and treat secondary bacterial infections.

How do I prevent L*D?
Prevention is better than cure. All animals need to be vaccinated with a vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease (eg. Lumpyvax) in the spring (August, September, October). In a herd where the mother cows have been vaccinated, calves must be vaccinated from 6 months of age, also in the Spring season.

03/04/2024

A further update from Endeavour Alpacas on Lucy's progress. So happy to see she is healing well.

28/03/2024

Hi everyone - please note our Medicines shop hours for the Easter Weekend.
Wishing you all a happy and safe Easter Break.

26/03/2024

The story of Lucy the rescued Alpaca. So glad that our vets have been able to assist along the way with healing of her many wounds and regaining her strength and health.

20/03/2024

Redwater in Cattle (Umbendeni)

In recent weeks, the number of Redwater cases in cattle have started to increase in the KZN Midlands. Being one of the more common diseases in cattle in our area, having a good understanding of this disease is important.
Redwater is the common name for the disease caused by the protozoa of the Babesia genus. Two species are recognized: Babesia bigemina (African Redwater) and Babesia bovis (Asiatic Redwater). Both are transmitted by the blue ticks, belonging to the Rhipicephalus family (previously Boophilus). These ticks are one-host ticks, which becomes important in the prevention strategies.
As a rule of thumb, newborn calves are protected from this disease via immunity attained from colostrum and through an innate immunity. This protects the calf for a period of four months or older. Whether or not an animal will get the disease depends on a multitude of factors, including the species of Babesia involved, the number of ticks, the level of infection of the ticks, the previous exposure to the disease, the age and breed of the animals, the immunity of the animal etc. Often, an animal that grows up in a certain environment will be resistant to Redwater on that farm and then get ill when moved to a new farm (new ticks, new species of Babesia, stress, different tick load).
The clinical signs appear about 8 to 14 days after the disease enters the body by a tick bite from an infected tick. Fever is usually very high, above 40 degrees, but can be much higher. Animals are lethargic, ears hang, they don’t eat, they may abort, and they show signs of anemia. They also pass a blood-tinged urine (hence the name Redwater). With Asiatic Redwater, we often see neurological signs, such as aggression, head pressing and convulsions.
The diagnosis is made and confirmed by clinical signs and a blood slide done by a vet and examined under the microscope. If you have a dead animal where you suspect Redwater, cut off the ears and bring them into the clinic and we will test for you! In a plastic bag please!
Treatment is by using either of the following drug groups diminazine (Berenil, Rednil) or imidocarb (Imidox, Babex, Forray). However, for acute cases we prefer to use a diminazine (Rednil), as it seems to work quicker. We also add a tetracycline (Hitet, Terramycin etc.) if we have no diagnosis yet, in order to cover for Gall sickness as well, which presents similarly. Then, as with any sick animal, we give them a Vitamin B complex. We also give animals with a fever an anti-inflammatory (various options exist). It is best to consult a veterinarian for a sick animal.
Prevention is key to minimizing losses, and is focused on achieving immunity in young beef calves (vaccination or exposure, depending on the farm). Strategic tick control is important for heifers and adult cows and varies as required by the farming operation (consider dairy vs beef). This is a long and intricate discussion, and a specific program should be implemented on your farm, in consultation with your local veterinarian.
What has been your experience with Redwater?
We would like to know. Please comment below and share your story.

13/04/2022

Good afternoon everyone,
Please see notification of our Medicines Trading hours over Easter.

09/03/2022

Good morning every one,
Our phone lines are currently down and we cannot hear callers.

Should you need to reach the Clinic, please use this number for the time being:

084 509 1407
Thank you.

28/02/2022

Good morning
Please note that the Medicines Wholesalers will be closed today from 1:00pm for financial year end stock take.

Back open tomorrow at 08:00am

Thank you for your understanding.

31/12/2021

To all our customers and clients:

Please note that our Medicines shop will be closed tomorrow 01st January 2022

Wishing you a safe and happy New Year - thank you for your continued support throughout the year.

24/12/2021

PLEASE NOTE:
We will be closing the clinic and Medicines at 1pm today.
Medicines will open again on Tuesday 28 December.
Clinic - we will have emergency veterinary cover over the festive weekend - please call our clinic number to obtain details of which vet is on call - 033 33 7216

Wishing all of our customers a Merry Christmas. We hope your festive season is safe, happy and blessed.

11/11/2020

20/10/2020

Our vets visit clients and attend to emergency calls all through the Midlands - with scenery like this, you couldn't ask for a better 'office'!

28/09/2020

Looking for vaccination advice? We can help! Pop into the clinic or Medicines to collect a copy of our basic vaccination programmes for: Pigs, Sheep, Dairy and Beef cattle.

14/09/2020

Spring is in the air and that means lots of new arrivals - this little one made it's way into the world via Caeserian at the Clinic.

01/09/2020

Welcome to the Howick Vet Clinic (Large Animal) page. We thought we would be launching our page on a lovely, sunny Spring day - I guess it's not called the misty Midlands for nothing!

We look forward to sharing stories, interesting cases, videos, promotions, and much more with you. Like or follow us to keep updated of our news!

16/03/2020

16/03/2020

16/03/2020