Eltham Vet Service

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

06/02/2026

🌽✨ Gold Sponsors – Thank You! ✨🌽

A massive thank you to our Gold Sponsors, who each generously donated $500 to support this year’s Maize Maze.

🌟 Eltham Vet Service
🌟 FarmGen
🌟 LC Building ltd
🌟 Moa Milking and Pumping

Their contributions help cover essential costs and ensure we can deliver a fun, safe and memorable experience for everyone who comes along.

We’re so grateful for the support of these local businesses and the difference their generosity makes to our community 💛

👏 Thank you for being part of the Maize Maze story!

02/02/2026

Eltham Vets would like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff member Rhiannon. You'll be seeing her both on farm and in clinic looking after your pets as well.

Hi! I’m Rhiannon. I grew up in sunny Southland on a sheep farm. I graduated from Massey University in 2025 and made the move to the Naki not long after to be a mixed vet! Outside of work you’ll find me travelling, running or enjoying anything outdoors.

02/02/2026

Another week with the spore counts looking to be on the rise, and with the predicted weather we can assume they will continue this upward trend. 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 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'.
Check out our website to see a great resource for a FE plan - https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/news/spore-counts

29/01/2026

Come along to the DairyNZ Taranaki Tech Expo - Holly and Ryan will be there to talk to you about how Eltham Vet Services are able to help get the most out of your tech and unlock your farms potential.

Date: 5th February
Time: 10:15am- 1:30pm (Gates open at 10am)
Where: Stratford A&P Showgrounds, 9 Flint Road East Stratford.
First 100 farmers through the gate will receive a free coffee!
Be sure to register now using the link below⬇️

Register at https://www.dairynz.co.nz/events/details/6df26d1f-1dc4-f011-bbd3-7c1e5289e8d7/Taranaki-Dairy-Tech-Expo/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPouO9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFsZzZZbHBXa0lRcG1SQ3lLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvINLN-iaMPXZ97Jd4yUNrxg_ugo88L4iVz4sdiHrxiwtpIyq3zwDPIlZzbR_aem_s5gIq8MZT6PKgddkf310Dw

Join us at the Taranaki Dairy Tech Expo in Stratford to hear about the advances in dairy technology and how you can use it to unlock your farm's potential. Hear from a panel of local farmers on tech they use on-farm, and how it's helped their farm business. A large number of tech companies will als...

26/01/2026

Even with the cooler weather & lack of sunshine in the past week, the rain and humidity has meant we have seen large jumps in spore counts in multiple areas including some hot spots around Rawhitiroa. If you are in these areas you should be getting your zinc to protective full dose rates in your cows and considering zinc bullets in your young stock. If you are not in these areas you should bring in 3 grass samples from your farm, to get a gauge on your risk and make a plan. It is hard to predict the season at any point, so spore counting on your farm, then testing your cows via milk and blood for zinc (once at full rate) are your key action points. A drop in milk is often the first indication of liver damage, so it can be helpful to have your vet run bloods to assess liver function on any cows surprisingly going off their milk. Don't forget you can access our spore counts and more info on our website https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/news/spore-counts

19/01/2026

As expected, there are very little spores across the board this week, and another great example of how one paddock can have spores while another on the same farm has none. We are offering a package deal of 3 x Spore Count Samples for $45 (all brought in at the same time). Just bring the samples in 3 x separate packages (we have brown paper bags for free at the clinic on the counter if you want, or just bread bags are fine) and we will do the samples on the day you bring them in. For further information and articles keep an eye out on our website - https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/news/spore-counts

19/01/2026

12/01/2026

It's that time of the year again where we start checking spores weekly on our monitor farms. This year we have changed it up a little by getting 2 samples from each farm - This shows how much the spores can really differ paddock to paddock. As expected, spores are very low with across the board, with one of the Pukengahu samples showing elevated spores. A reminder we have our FREE FE Seminar on Thursday 15th 11am-2pm, please call the clinic if you are wanting to come along. For up to date information please check out our website https://www.elthamvetservices.co.nz/news/spore-counts