Animal Health

Animal Health

No mud but something has changed

“SOMETHING HAS changed. I just can’t figure it out — it’s not wet, and there is no mud.” This was Jeff’s first comment when I returned his phone call couple of months ago. Jeff* and his wife Karen* milk 650 cows through a 60 stand rotary...

Rod Dyson
Animal Health

Milk additives: Do you know what you’re feeding?

OVER THE past decade, the availability and popularity of milk additives has increased with many dairy farmers. In Australia and New Zealand such additives are frequently added as a powder to whole, unpasteurised milk, prior to feeding to replacement...

Gemma Chuck
Animal Health

Livestock tolerating peat fires conditions

Livestock are resilient to smoke including carbon monoxide and ash fallout from fires, Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne has advised. The advice comes as peat fires continue to burn in the state’s south-west a week after they...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Renewed calls to end tail docking

RESEARCH SHOWING less than one-in-10 dairy farmers still dock cows’ tails has prompted renewed calls for farmers to eradicate the practice altogether. While the latest Dairy Australia Animal Husbandry Survey found 91 per cent of dairy farmers had...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Disease danger follows calving

ACETONEMIA (ALSO known as ketosis) is a disease of recently calved animals that is caused by an energy imbalance. This means the cow’s energy intake does not meet her energy requirements, resulting in the body breaking down tissue to obtain its...

Dairy News
Animal Health

A very long night

This month I am breaking with the tradition of writing a technical animal health article. Instead, I thought I would share my recent experience during the St. Patrick’s Day bushfires in southwest Victoria. It had been a pleasantly warm day...

Gemma Chuck
Animal Health

Don’t let lameness derail production goals

THERE ARE three aspects associated with dairy farming that can elevate or decimate farm profits and individual cows — feed, fertility and lameness. All three are highly related, outside environmental causes to lameness. Feed As obvious as it may...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Reading the signals

RECOGNITION OF disease in young stock is an integral part of their management. Some diseases have obvious clinical signs, whilst others can be more difficult to detect. It is important to recognise subtle ‘signals’ from animals, which let us...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Watch out for mycoplasma

Dairy Australia is reminding farmers to remain vigilant and on the lookout for mycoplasma in their cows and calves. An emerging cause of disease in cows and calves in Australian dairy herds for more than a decade, Dairy Australia said mycoplasma had...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Ensure treatment protocols meet needs of your farm

In seasonal calving areas, many herds have either just started or are in preparation for the autumn calving season. Due to the nature of seasonal and split calving patterns there can be extensive time periods between treatment of animals with...

Gemma Chuck

Trending stories

Animal Health

No mud but something has changed

“SOMETHING HAS changed. I just can’t figure it out — it’s not wet, and there is no mud.” This was Jeff’s first comment when I returned his phone call couple of months ago. Jeff* and his wife Karen* milk 650 cows through a 60 stand rotary...

Rod Dyson
Animal Health

Milk additives: Do you know what you’re feeding?

OVER THE past decade, the availability and popularity of milk additives has increased with many dairy farmers. In Australia and New Zealand such additives are frequently added as a powder to whole, unpasteurised milk, prior to feeding to replacement...

Gemma Chuck
Animal Health

Livestock tolerating peat fires conditions

Livestock are resilient to smoke including carbon monoxide and ash fallout from fires, Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne has advised. The advice comes as peat fires continue to burn in the state’s south-west a week after they...

Dairy News
Animal Health

Renewed calls to end tail docking

RESEARCH SHOWING less than one-in-10 dairy farmers still dock cows’ tails has prompted renewed calls for farmers to eradicate the practice altogether. While the latest Dairy Australia Animal Husbandry Survey found 91 per cent of dairy farmers had...

Dairy News