Vet Students – work experience 

Clutha Vets clinics in both Balclutha and Milton have a busy small animal schedule in which a range of interesting medical and surgical cases is seen all year round.  Two or three small animal vets work fulltime in Balclutha, and usually one in Milton.

The large animal work is more variable depending on the time of year, and it is worthwhile giving consideration as to which month would be most worthwhile for you to come and visit us.  This way you can get the most out of it and see the things that you want to.

The main activities for large animal work occur mostly within the timeframes given below:

Dairy

• Calving from late July until the end of October, with work slowing down into November.
• Disbudding calves from September to December.
• Pregnancy testing from mid January on into May.  Usually done with back pack scanners and individual head sets, checking empty cows manually.
• Reproductive services (metrichecking and CIDRs) in October, November and December.

Sheep

• Ram palpations and vasectomies from January to March.

Beef Cattle

• Pregnancy testing in March and April.
• Dehorning and castrating bull calves from February to April.

Deer

• TB testing mainly in late summer and autumn.
• Develvetting from October to early February.

There are various other large animal jobs that occur all year round such as equine work, individual sick animal visits, lame cow treatment, emergencies, and the occasional goat and alpaca visit.

Please phone or email us at the clinic if you would like further information on what to expect if you have a particular time in mind in which you would like to visit.

For Nothern hemisphere students please be aware of the seasons in New Zealand