Our Large Animal vets offer 24-hour emergency services. We are fully ambulatory and available to attend to your needs on your block or at one of our clinics. We have portable equipment such as surgical supplies and calving equipment, and hospitalization, x-ray and ultrasound equipment in-clinic for appropriate cases.
It is helpful to have a description of the problem, including the type of emergency and how long it has been going on. Our customer services team will help guide you if there is anything helpful you can do while you are waiting for our arrival.
Examples of some common emergencies that need an emergency call-out
- Deep lacerations, puncture wounds
- Toe-touching or non-weight-bearing lameness. We may be looking at fractures, ruptured ligaments or tendons.
- Colic - Not eating feed, lethargic, laying down, rolling, kicking at belly, walking backwards. This can progress very quickly and needs urgent attention.
- Bloat - regardless of cause, this needs immediate attention
- Gain overload / Rumen Acidosis. A sudden feed of carbohydrates that is more than the animal is used to can progress very quickly
- Struggling to breathe - Sudden open mouth breathing is an emergency. Certain pasture toxicities can kill multiple animals fast.
- Down and not standing- especially if they were other well and are now weak, twitchy, or around labour and lactation- e.g. metabolic disease will kill fast
- Nervous disease - head tilts, circling, apparent blindness, head-pressing or “star-gazing”
- Pregnancy problems
- If a ewe, doe or cow has been in active labour for 2 hours, or an alpaca longer than 20minutes with no great progress, get us on the way.
- Prolapses
- Malpositioned babies
- Abortions with sick mothers
- Babies
- Bloat- Abomasal bloat, toxic infectious bloat, and gut twists are common in our young animals on milk
- Coughing- pneumonia
- Swollen joints, lameness or won’t stand
- Cold and lethargic
- Won’t drink - Any milk-fed baby that will not drink will go down very quickly and should always be considered an emergency.
If your animal is exhibiting any of these conditions, don’t delay. Call us 09 238 2471.
