Productivity and profitability are core requirements of any cattle-based business. We offer a farm animal veterinary service, with expertise in herd management, disease prevention and control as well as a thorough and caring approach to bovine care.
VetCentre has been a part of the farming community for many years providing quality and dedicated service for our region’s farmers small holdings
Common cattle services include;
- Fertility work
- Nutritional and metabolic disease
- Infectious disease control
- Lameness
- Herd health planning
You don’t need a bull around to produce calves
A bull’s main function is for breeding – to get cows in calf. Bulls need to be sound for breeding and be able to serve all the cows on heat. They need to be of quality genetics. Some commercial cattle farms prefer to have the cows artificially inseminated with bull semen. The semen is kept frozen in liquid nitrogen and then manually inserted into the cows during their cycle.
Calving may require a vet’s assistance
When a calf is normally presented, the cow will give birth without assistance. Sometimes the calf is malpositioned and may even be in a breach position. If a cow is having issues birthing it is best to call a vet for assistance.
Vaccines
Maintaining healthy herds is important for all cattle producers and vaccination is important against some serious, common diseases. Some of the more common vaccines for cattle include, among others include;
Leptospirosis
This is a bacterial infection which can result in infertility, fever and abortions
Clostridial vaccines
Clostridial diseases are also caused by bacteria of the genus Clostridium. Clostridia is most times found in soil and faeces. It is also present in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy animals, and while not all species of clostridia cause disease, when they do it can be fatal.
Pestivirus
Reproductive losses such as abortion, stillbirths as well as calves born with severe birth defects is the result of this cattle disease. With the development of a vaccine there is now a reliable way to ensure immunity to the herd.
Bovine ephemeral fever
This is a viral disease spread by insects. It causes a debilitating fever and the affected cattle stop eating. They can also have joint swelling and lameness. They may lie down and not want to get back up. The vaccine is available on a veterinary prescription.
Find yourself a good vet
The vet helps with herd health, immunisation, advising on animal welfare needs, on nutritional requirements, bulls, breeding, calving and much more.
If you’re getting into farming with livestock, find yourself a good vet who can help you when your problems arise.