Eltham Vet Service

11/03/2026

Don’t be fooled! Spores that have already been produced before the temperatures have dropped are still toxic, and for the fungus to stop growing we need cooling to get soil temps below 12 degrees for 3 days in a row. It is super variable again - those in low spore count areas are not reporting clinical signs and we have not seen many raised GGTs (the liver enzyme marker for FE). Those in high spore count areas are seeing cases including a drop in milk production as the first sign.
Keep spore counting your own farm to know where you sit.

03/03/2026

Spore counts are very variable at the moment even between paddocks on the same farm. Most farms should be treating at full zinc dose. Are you treating with zinc through the water alone? Water treatment is the least effective way to treat. Book in some zinc and liver enzyme testing to see how effective your treatment really is.

02/03/2026

🚨New Newsletter Alert🚨

https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/newsletter/february-2026

24/02/2026

It’s normal for a small percentage of pregnant dairy cows to continue showing heats while in calf — especially in early pregnancy.

What’s normal?
Typically, 1–3% of pregnant cows may show heat signs. In herds using wearable technology, this figure can be slightly higher — around 3–5% — particularly in active, high-producing herds.

Why does this happen?
• Pregnant cows continue to produce waves of follicles (eggs) on their ovaries, these follicles produce oestrogen.
• Usually, oestrogen levels aren’t high enough to trigger visible heat because the egg is not ovulated.
• Some cows have a lower threshold for showing heat signs — so even small increases in oestrogen can result in mild heat behaviour.
• Some cows have a lower threshold for heat signs to develop so they may show heat while pregnant.
• High production animals can have lower progesterone levels (the hormone present during pregnancy) and this can mean low levels of oestrogen can cause mild heat signs.

One of our clients herds with wearbles is having a high percentage of the cows identified in heat that have been confirmed pregnant with a recent ultrasound pregnancy test. 31% of cows on in the last 26 days are pregnant. While this is only 4.4% of the herd it highlights that cows identified as empty using wearable technology should be double checked before culling by scanning or milk testing.

Cows identified as empty by wearable technology should always be double-checked before culling — ideally with ultrasound scanning or milk testing.

23/02/2026

SPORE COUNTS ARE ON THE RISE!
FE costs the NZ dairy and red meat industry $330 million dollars per year. It is not the cows with clinical signs that are responsible for these huge losses. FE is a liver disease that results in a loss of production in dairy cows. For every one animal with skin signs, it is estimated that at least 10 more have liver disease and loss of milk production. We can assess this by blood testing for liver damage. Contact us to discuss or book in testing.

23/02/2026

19/02/2026

With the increased use of wearables, we are seeing more cows being flagged on heat even while pregnant due to the technology’s ability to pick up subtle heat signs.

Recently we have noticed we are making changes to pregnancy dates in a number of herds. In three of our wearable herds that are 100% AB (no bull matings), 3–5% of cows had a change to their expected calving date, to an earlier mating.

This is an important reminder — if you rely on expected calving dates for:
-Grazing and feed planning
-Reproductive performance tracking
-Targeted dry-off dates

It is still well worth doing a whole herd pregnancy scan, even in wearable herds.

16/02/2026

We can check cattle blood zinc levels to assess how your system is working 2-3 weeks after you start full zinc rates. Cost is $270 all-inclusive for 10 cows. Contact the clinic to book today. With the recent rain and cold weather spore counts in our district are incredibly variable. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security, spores will be back. Continuing to monitor local spore counts and spore counting on your farm is the best way to decide when to have zinc at full rates. Spore counts are rising. What is happening with your young stock? Check out regional spore counts and preferably spore count on the farm where your young stock are grazing. Zinc boluses are usually the best option for young stock as water treatment with zinc is too variable. Young stock that get FE take longer to conceive and are more likely to be empty at 1st mating. When using boluses it is important to time them right and even more important to dose to the weight of individual animals rather than under dosing and leaving animals open to FE or overdosing and causing zinc toxicity. We have scales for hire. Ring the clinic to order your zinc boluses or book the scales.

13/02/2026

Worried about when to bolus your young stock with Zinc for Facial Eczema? Dan Mix could help bridge the gap between now and bolusing as it has adequate zinc levels prior to using a bolus. Contact the clinic or Daniel for more info.

10/02/2026

Eltham Vets would like to introduce and welcome our 2nd new grad, Rachel. You will see her both on farm and in the small animal clinic - Be sure to give her a warm welcome.

Hi, I'm Rachel.
I’m a 2025 veterinary graduate, born in Canada and moved to New Zealand when I was eight. I’m keen to get involved in a wide range of cases and explore the region. Outside of work, I love spending time outdoors and am looking forward to getting back into orienteering and learning to surf.

10/02/2026

Another week with the spore counts looking to be on the rise. As we said last week now is the time for spore counting your own farm and half rates of zinc in areas approaching 15,000 (with the exception of Rawhitiroa, Te Roti, Matapu, & Pukengahu who are at full rates) with the knowledge that this is only so the cows adjust to the taste of zinc oxide or sulfate, not that the cows will be 'half protected' - we would expect that most of you should be close to full rates by now.
As always you can check out our website to see a great resource for a FE plan and current spore counts - https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/news/spore-counts