CVH provides all general and emergency on-farm health services for livestock, including alpacas, and horses. Stockyards with horse and cattle crushes and loading ramp make it easy and cost-effective for large animals to be treated at our hospital. Our separate stable complex enables 24 hour care for cases such as equine colic and wound management.
Our pathology and herd health services are linked directly to the merchandising of livestock products such as vaccines, drenches and external parasite treatments. Faecal egg-testing, especially of sheep flocks, allows monitoring of parasite burdens and resistance and our in-house pathology laboratory is backed up by a separate autopsy room. As with small animals, we undertake a range of routine blood tests for large animals as well as specific pathology tests for diseases such as pestivirus.
Herd health
Our practice has a strong focus on preventative herd health and disease management, and CVH facilities incorporate a dedicated autopsy room. We are experienced with a wide range of seasonal and chronic diseases affecting both flocks/herds and individual animals. For example, we regularly undertake:
- Pestivirus herd profiling
- Johne’s Disease testing
- Ovine Brucellosis accreditation and testing
Individual animals
Often a valuable production animal or horse requires specific individual attention. At CVH we provide similar medical, diagnostic, pathology, radiology, ultrasound and endoscopy facilities as for small animals. We have surgical experience in horses and production animals and use anaesthetics designed specifically for large animals.
Parasitology
After nutrition, controlling internal parasites is the second most important livestock production issue, especially in sheep. We undertake in-house internal parasite testing – faecal egg counts (FEC) – of sheep, cattle, alpacas, goats and horses and this monitoring of parasite burdens plays a critical role in determining which large animal products are required. If CVH supplies the internal parasite drench, we offer FREE follow up faecal egg testing in 10-14 days.
We also carry out FERT – faecal egg reduction trials – to test the efficacy of drenches and to detect drench resistance in sheep flocks.
Call us and make an appointment to speak with one of our vets. We are happy to talk to producers about integrating faecal egg counts and parasite monitoring into their farm management programs.
Accreditation schemes
CVH vets are accredited for the following accreditation and market assurance programs (MAPs):
- Johne’s Disease in cattle and sheep
- Ovine Brucellosis
Reproduction
Pregnancy diagnosis
PD is an important component of our work in production animals, especially of cattle. Our vets pregnancy test by ultrasound, always backed up by manual testing as required. Read more about pregnancy diagnosis and why it is such an important part of cattle herd management.
Obstetrics
All our vets are experienced and competent with dystocias (difficult births) and other obstetric problems in livestock and horses. Foalings are a true emergency – time is absolutely of the essence once a mare begins to foal, but we also encourage cattle producers to call earlier rather than later. Our 24 hour line (02 4832 1977) is always open and it is far more cost effective to have our vets attend a calving when there is a good chance a live cow and calf will be the outcome.
Fertility testing
Three serious diseases have the potential to cause abortion and/or infertility in cattle – Pestivirus, Campylobacter (Vibriosis) and Leptospirosis. CVH undertakes testing for pestivirus and campylobacter, and we stock vaccines against all three diseases.
Bull testing
The health and fertility of bulls is critical. A great deal of breeding potential, time and budget can be wasted if producers find out too late their bulls are not performing to capacity. Our vets perform physical tests on bulls – semen examination and soundness examinations (checking conformation, especially feet/hooves, penis and testicles). We can do this on-farm, or we have the facilities to undertake testing of tractable bulls on site at the veterinary hospital.
Camelids
The Crookwell district is now home to significant numbers of alpacas and llamas. Our vets have developed expertise working with alpacas in particular and they are an important part of our practice.
Horses
CVH equine practice covers all aspect of horse health, wellbeing and emergency care. This includes medical and surgical problems such as colic, gelding, umbilical hernia surgery, pregnancy diagnosis (manual and ultrasound), foaling, lameness and wound treatment. Our vets are accredited to perform Thoroughbred registrations.
We stock a full range of equine drenches and vaccines, including Hendra virus vaccine, and we have vets accredited for the use of the Hendra vaccine.