CARE OF THE HERDS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 19, 2 September 1946, Page 6

CARE OF THE HERDS

VETERINARY SURGEON’S REPORT RANGITAIKI DAIRY INTERESTS In his report to the annual meeting of Suppliers to the Rangitaiki Dairy Company last Wednesday the Veterinarian, Mr Alex Thomson, stated as under: — During the year the following vists were made: Milk fever 211; Calving 155; General 695; Horses 316; Vaccinating calves 164; Pigs 47; Dogs 17. Total 1705 visits.

The amount of work to be done is steadily increasing and the point to which good service can be given is long since passed. Larger numbers of calls can be made, in a smaller area but this district is large and long distances are travelled in the spring months. I shall be very pleased to see another veterinarian here and I hope the Board of Directors will allow me to improve the service to the Ruatoki and Galatea suppliers before intensifying the work on the Plains. Milk fever cases were more numerous than usual and there were numbers of cases of the complicated type that does not respond well to any treatment. This type occurs most frequently in the cow that, is grossly fat. A number of farmers treat their own cases by the intravenous injection of calcium borogluconate. The technique is simple and the veins are large but in spite of that I have seen some enormous swellings as a result of their efforts. I must emphasise that it is not sufficient to get the cow on her feet; she must get a suitable laxative and she must not be milked for 24 hours or serious relapses will occur.

Bloat caused losses on some farms in the spring and again in the autumn. Mastitis caused serious loss on a few farms in the spring but once the dry weather sets in there was little trouble. I am pleased to note that vaccine still gives good results in the control of this disease. Recently a number of farmers have been using sulphonilamide in oil as a method of attack on the streptococci responsible for mastitis and so far results have been good. Good results have also been got by the oral administration of this drug in suitable cases. It has come to my notice that some farmers seem to be able to get sulphonilamide tablets from chemists and they are using these to treat cases of mastitis. The doses given are in most cases totally inadequate and will only lead to the development of sulphonilamide resistant strains of streptococci and the sooner this practice is stopped the better will be our chances of cleaning up serious outbreaks with this useful weapon. I hope that pennicillin will also be available as a treatment in the not so distant future. However these methods are costly and while numbers of cases may be cured the infection may still be spread by one or two unsuspected carriers. The only satisfactory method is to use these drugs in conjunction with the herd control scheme conducted by Mr Hodson.

Calving trouble was common especially in the early spring and it entailed much heavy work. In the autumn I encountered a number of cases of a particularly nasty type;— the calf having died and decomposition set in long before the cow or, more frequently, heifer started to calve. A number of cows died of septicaemia and only post mortem examination revealed the true cause.

Dandelion Poisoning: An unusual condition was encountered amongst horses in the Galatea district during the drought. Some horses died, I think some had to be destroyed and one or two slightly affected ones did not get worse. The trouble was finally pinned down to the eating of a plant of the dandelion family which seemed to thrive during the drought. Calf Scours: As usual this condition caused serious trouble on some farms. I have tried sulphaguanidine in a very limited number of cases but am not impressed with the results got so far. The methods of control are so well known that I need not enlarge on this subject.

Red Water in Calves: This condition caused loss on some farms. In some cases the cause is dietetic but I am of the opinion that some of the cases are of bacterial origin and that good results might be got by the use of a suitable “sulpha” drug given in good time. The unfortunate position is' that the calf is usually dying when seen to be ill. Paratyphoid and pleurisy caused serious loss in some piggeries. Proper feeding and keeping pigs clean and dry will help to keep pigs free of these ailments. If pigs are healthy try to avoid buying others at sales. I find that the sale is the dumping ground for salvaged stock

in many instances. Sulphonilamide gives reasonably good results in both conditions when used with discretion but again I find it misused by so-called experts. Canine Distemper: An extensive outbreak occurred in the autumn and many good dogs died. Cases treated in the early stages with antiserum recovered promptly but this serum is useful only at the beginning of the attack. Drugs of the “sulpha” group are extremely useful in the complications of this disease—Pneumonia, dysentery. While vaccination is not quite 100 per cent, successful it gives a very useful immunity against this disease and I strong advise all those who think anything of their dogs to have them vaccinated.

Vaccination of Calves: 3,557 calves were vaccinated against contagious abortion. I think the results got from vaccination in previous years show the value of this method of reducing losses due to abortion and, I have no hesitation in advising every farmer to immunise his calves. I am pleased to report that most of the farmers who had their calves vaccinated were most helpful and some went to considerable trouble to make this monotonous task a little easier.

I wish to place on record my appreciation of the assistance and cooperation given by Mr liodson at all times during the year and more particularly during the last few months when I have been more than busy. Thanks are also due to Mr Ward and his mechanics who have at all times given the car and truck prompt attention.