ATTN: Farmers& Lifestyle Block Owners - WEEKLY SPORE COUNTS
Please see below the Spore Count readings for New Plymouth from 11.02.19. We will be updating this for you on Neighbourly on a weekly basis. If you are concerned about your stock, please feel free to contact the clinic on (06) 7584006.
FACIAL ECZEMA - What is it?
Facial eczema (FE) is a disease of grazing ruminants and camelids. It is caused via liver damage by a toxin produced in a fungal spore that grows in the dead “litter” at the pasture base.
The ideal growing conditions are warm and damp with high humidity – often following a dry spell. If you see mushrooms growing it is ideal FE conditions.
The toxin damages the liver so that is can no longer metabolise correctly resulting in a build-up of chlorophyll in the blood (the green colour in grass). This chlorophyll reacts with sunlight to cause a deep-seated sunburn that results in the characteristic eczema signs.
Signs to look for
- a drop in milk production
- cows are restless, seeking shade and lick their udder
- exposed unpigmented or thin skin reddens, thickens and peels
Not all animals affected with facial eczema show physical signs (i.e. clinical FE) although liver damage (i.e. subclinical FE) has occurred. It is estimated that for every clinical case there will be 10 cows with subclinical facial eczema.
Prevention
There is no cure for facial eczema, so prevention is the only way of protecting animals. To be effective, preventative measures need to be in place before eczema spores are found.
Preventative measures include monitoring pasture spore count and either dosing animals with zinc or spraying pastures with a fungicide.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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63.3% Summer
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35.4% Winter
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1.3% Other - I'll share below
New Year, New Questions You Won’t Solve!
I get smaller every time I take a bath.
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Share your summer photos! 📷
Taken some beautiful snaps lately? Whether it's rainbows, sunsets or a beautiful summer's day, we'd love you to share the joy with us.
Share a photo in the comments below
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