Parkside Vets - Farms and Smallholders

03/12/2024

⭐⭐ 50% ROUTINE FARM VISITS ⭐⭐

As our diary gets busier with all of the routine farm work at this time of year, now is the perfect time to remind all of our clients that we offer a 50% visit fee for all routine work which takes 1hr or longer to complete.

Examples of applicable jobs:
🐑 Blood sampling (e.g. for health schemes)
🐮 Pregnancy diagnosis & scanning
🐑 Tup & bull semen testing
🐮 Disbudding & dehorning
🐑 Herd & flock health planning

To book in, please contact the office on 01382 811111 and arrange a suitable date.

30/11/2024

🐄🚜 Happy St. Andrew's Day, Scotland! 🚜🐑

Today, St Andrews Day we reflect on the rich traditions that make our country unique. As we honor St. Andrew's Day, we’d like to give a special shout-out to the farmers who work tirelessly to produce high-quality Scotch beef and lamb.

At Parkside Vets, we're proud to support our local farmers. Our dedicated vets work hand-in-hand to ensure the health and wellbeing of livestock, providing top-notch care and expert advice. Together, we play a crucial role in sustaining Scotland's agricultural heritage and ensuring that the meat on the table is not only delicious but also responsibly produced.

Here’s to the resilient farmers, the diligent vets, and the unbeatable quality of Scotch beef and lamb. Let's celebrate the spirit of cooperation and community that makes Scotland so special.

Slàinte Mhath!

23/11/2024

🌨️🐑 To Our Remarkable Farmers: 🐄❄️

On a day when the Scottish skies are heavy with sleet and snow, we commend the unwavering dedication of our farmers. Your resilience and hard work, whether tending to fields or caring for livestock, are the backbone of our community.

Even as farming faces tough times, your spirit shines bright, keeping the traditions of the land alive and thriving. You have our full support as you navigate these challenges. Here's to the warmth you bring, not just to your livestock, but to all of us who rely on your tireless efforts.

Stay warm, stay strong, and know that your hard work is deeply appreciated. Let's raise a cup of hot tea to the true heroes of the Scottish countryside! 🌾💪🐑🐃🚜

22/11/2024

🐑🐑 Why Farmers Should Scan Their Sheep 🐑🐑

Scanning your sheep is a crucial management practice that can significantly boost your farm's productivity and profitability. Here's why:
1. Identify Pregnancy Status: Scanning helps determine which ewes are pregnant and how many lambs they are carrying. This allows you to manage your flock more effectively.
2. Optimise Nutrition: Knowing the number of lambs allows you to tailor feeding programs to meet the specific needs of each ewe, ensuring they receive the right amount of nutrients.
3. Improve Lamb Survival Rates: By drafting ewes into groups based on their pregnancy status, you can provide better care and increase the chances of lamb survival.
4. Manage Dry Ewes: Scanning helps identify barren ewes, which can then be sold or managed separately, reducing competition for feed and resources.
When should you scan?
The optimum time to scan your ewes for single or twin status (multiples) is 80-100 days after the rams have been removed from the flock, if you scan earlier or later than this, it may result in inaccurate records.

Scanning Percentages Explained:
• Hill Flocks: Aim for 100-120%.
• Upland Flocks: Target 120-170%.
• Lowland Flocks: Strive for 170-200%.
These percentages represent the number of lambs scanned compared to the number of ewes put to the ram, giving you a clear picture of your flock's reproductive success.
Scanning your sheep is an investment in the future of your farm. 🌾🐑

19/11/2024

15/11/2024

🐮BVD🐮

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (or BVD) is a highly infectious disease which can cause significant losses within a herd. Scotland is currently certified as "BVD Free" but this doesn't mean that we should be complacent with regards to prevention.

As BVD is a viral disease, there is no treatment available for infected cases and therefore our focus must be on prevention and control.

The preventative measures for BVD that you should consider implementing on farm include:

🐮 Purchase new stock from BVD accredited herds (this is the highest status of health clearance available for BVD testing and requires two full years of clear herd check tests)
🐮 Ensure all stock is kept at least 3m away from neighbouring stock to prevent transmission of disease
🐮 Isolate all incoming animals (including those that have been away at a sale) for at least 21 days upon their return to the farm
🐮 Ensure all breeding stock are vaccinated in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines (please note that not all vaccines are licensed for use in breeding bulls)
🐮 Consider testing new stock for BVD antigen to prevent the introduction of a PI animal into the herd

08/11/2024

🐑 Sheep Lameness 🐑

Lameness is one of the most important health and welfare issues we see affecting our flocks. Not only does it cause pain for the sheep and reduce performance, it costs a huge amount of time and money trying to ‘firefight’ bad feet.

The most common causes of lameness is Footrot and Scald which are caused by the same bacteria - Dichelobacter nodosus, this can survive for up to 30 days in the soil and is spread by the feet of infected sheep.

The Five Point Plan is the agreed national strategy for trying to reduce lameness issues to 2% or less. It includes both preventative and therapeutic measures in order to tackle lameness by reducing disease challenge, building flock resilience and establishing immunity:

🐑Quarantine new animals, ideally footbath and isolate for 4 weeks
🐑Treat clinical cases within 3 days and isolate to reduce disease spread
🐑Avoid spreading infection at gathering and handling - consider lime around water troughs, gravel around gates/handling entrance to prevent poaching, cleanliness of handling systems etc
🐑Cull severely affected animals and repeat offenders - the first year culling may be high but it will reduce as you progress
🐑Vaccinate to stimulate immunity - protocol for vaccination is farm-dependent

Although previously advised, foot trimming is no longer recommended while sheep are lame as we now know it can delay healing, lead to further damage and contribute to the spread of disease - increasing your lameness problem! Foot bathing is still recommended but make sure you are taking the time to do it properly as per the product description.

By making a commitment to reduce lameness you can make a real difference to your flock's welfare and your productivity, while requiring less input from you as things improve - from the second year onwards it is possible to reduce lameness to 1%. Contact the office on 01382 811111 to chat to one of our vets about how we can help.

01/11/2024

❗❗BRAVOXIN DOSES❗❗

We will be opening a bottle of Bravoxin (clostridial vaccine) next week which we are hoping to split between as many clients as possible.

If you require a small number of doses for your livestock, please contact the office on 01382 811111 and ask to speak to one of the vets.

29/10/2024

PNEUMONIA

For those of you that attended our client evening at the start of the month, you’ll know how important a disease pneumonia is! For the unlucky ones who couldn’t make it, here’s a rundown on what you need to know:

🐮 Pneumonia can have long lasting effects. Not only are affected animals sick during the active infection, there can be permanent scarring to the lungs causing recurring issues, poor growth and reduced daily weight gain

🐮 If you have one obviously sick "clinical case" of pneumonia in a group, you will have others that are not obviously sick, known as "subclinical cases". Subclinical cases may not appear to be unwell but will have reduced growth rates and may be susceptible to other diseases due to the strain on their immune system.

🐮 Prevention is better than cure - for both your stock and for your wallet! Vaccination can make a huge difference in managing pneumonia on your farm. Although it is an upfront cost, it saves significant costs in the long term through reduced treatment costs and improved health of stock.

🐮 Prevention requires a multifactorial approach - vaccines play a huge role but don't forget about the importance of good ventilation, minimising stress, avoiding mixing differing age groups, clean and dry housing and good colostrum management.

🐮 Ideally we would recommend that animals are vaccinated BEFORE periods of stress so that the vaccine has time to work and build immunity, in preparation for the challenge of housing.

If you have any queries regarding pneumonia treatment or prevention for your farm, please call the office on 01382 811111 and ask to speak to one of the large animal vets.

25/10/2024

⭐SERVICES OFFERED⭐

Here at Parkside, we aim to provide a wide range of high quality services to help our clients maintain high standards of health and productivity. We have six dedicated large animal vets, so you will always see a large animal vet, no matter what time of day or night you might need us!

We offer the following services for all of our farm and smallholder clients:
🐮 PD scanning
🐑 Bull and tup fertility testing
🐐 Routine blood sampling (e.g. BVD, Johne's, MV etc)
🦙 Herd and flock health planning
🐮 Worm egg counts and fluke testing
🐑 Vasectomies
🐐 Dehorning
🦙 Castrations
🐮 Emergency work (e.g. Caesareans, sick animals etc)
🐑 Fertility work (e.g. Sync programmes)
🐐 Official Veterinarian (OV) work including TB testing, Brucellosis investigations and Anthrax inquiries
🦙 And much more!

If you would like to book in or you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the office on 01382 811111.

22/10/2024

👛👛 SAVINGS AVAILABLE 👛👛

Are you aware of all of the savings that are available to our farm and smallholders clients?

🐮 We offer a reduced visit fee for routine work that will take >1 hour, if the visit is booked in advance. This could include blood sampling, PD's, castrations, dehorning, fertility testing etc.

🐑 If you have sheep, goats, camelids or young calves then you can bring these to either our Kings Cross Road or Ladybank surgery for examination and save on the visit fee! (Please note that we do not have handling facilities for adult cattle or large numbers of animals).

🐐 We offer a discount on our vaccine orders if they are paid for at the time of collection

If you would like to take advantage of any of these offers, please contact the office on 01382 811111.

19/10/2024

📣 SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

Your Quins team to face tomorrow at home.

Always an entertaining game of rugby. Spectators more than welcome. 🥳

After a few weeks of cancelled fixtures the team are raring to go ! 😁

Kick-off: 2pm

Thanks to our player sponsor Parkside Vets - Equine Parkside Vets - Farms and Smallholders for generously sponsoring Nicola Howat this season. Your support is much appreciated.

10/10/2024

Today, on World Mental Health Day, we want to highlight the crucial role vets play in supporting the mental health of our farming community. 🐃💚

Farming can be an incredibly rewarding yet challenging profession. The pressures of managing livestock, dealing with disease outbreaks, and the isolation that often comes with rural life can take a toll on mental well-being.

As vets, we are not just here to care for animals but also to support the farmers who dedicate their lives to this vital work.

Let's break the stigma around mental health in the farming community. It's okay to ask for help, and it's okay to talk about your struggles. Together, we can create a supportive and understanding environment where everyone feels valued and heard. 💪☺💬🐑

30/09/2024

SUSTAINABLE FARMING GRANTS

There is just 3 months left of 2024 and of the sustainable farming grants scheme run by the Scottish Government, but there is still time to perform tests on your farm so that you are eligible to claim.

The scheme is available to all farmers who have cattle and/or sheep regardless of the numbers of animals that you may have.

Each farm can claim £250 per investigation per calendar year, up to a maximum of 2 investigations. All work must be completed by 31st December 2024 and all completed paperwork must be submitted by 28th February 2025. Please note that you can only claim once for each year, so you must ensure that all forms are submitted together as you will not be able to submit another claim later.

The following investigations are included in the scheme:
1. Bull fertility testing
2. Calf respiratory disease investigations
3. Cattle faecal roundworm testing
4. Cattle liver fluke testing
5. Sheep scab
6. Sheep iceberg disease testing
7. Sheep lameness
8. Sheep faecal roundworm testing
9. Sheep liver fluke testing

Please contact us if you would like to book in for any of the eligible investigations, or if you have had work carried out this year that would be eligible for claiming.

27/09/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT - ANDREA GOODMAN

How long have you worked at Parkside Vet Group?
I joined the Parkside team at the start of 2024.

What is your favourite part of the job?
My favourite part of the job is getting to know clients and their farms,

Is there anything about the job that you don't enjoy?
I don't enjoy disease outbreaks as I am very aware of the devastating impact and frustration that they cause, I do enjoy being able to help and guide people through but they are never nice to deal with.

What are your special interests?
I really enjoy obstetrics and farm animal surgery.

Do you have any animals of your own?
I have two older horses, Maverick and Amir and a young vizsla called Archie.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I am a 100/200m sprinter, cyclist, surfer and enjoy tackling big hills in an attempt to tire out my crazy dog.

If you didn't work as a vet, what would your dream job be?
I would like to be a mountain guide that also owned a cosy pub somewhere out in the sticks.

25/09/2024

PARKSIDE FARM AND SMALLHOLDERS EVENING

If you were planning to come along to our client evening on Wed 2nd October on cattle respiratory disease, be sure to book your place by 5pm on Friday 27th by calling 01382 811111.

We look forward to seeing you there!

23/09/2024

JOHNE'S DISEASE

WHAT IS JOHNE'S?
A disease that causes chronic enteritis - ie ongoing inflammation/damage of the guts. It is caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). Although we typically think of Johne's affecting cattle, it can also affect sheep, goats and camelids. Cattle tend to be infected young but don’t start to show clinical signs until 3-5 years old, often a stressful event (calving/transport/sale) can trigger the clinical signs.
The most common clinical signs are:
- Diarrhoea
- Severe weight loss
- Poor milk yields
- Infertility

HOW CAN WE TEST FOR IT?
In the early stage of disease, there is no perfect test for Johne’s - sometimes you can get a ‘false negative’ which means an animal is infected but the test doesn’t pick it up. There is both a blood test and a faecal test we can perform, sometimes using in combination to give a more accurate result. Screening blood tests are often used as part of health scheme monitoring.

CONTROL
Once you have Johne's in your herd, it can be very difficult to eradicate it - the long incubation period means animals can be shedding disease before you realise they are infected. Testing every 6-12 months with culling of positive cases can be done - 2 consecutive clear tests could indicate you’ve managed to get control. Good control methods include:
- Rapid culling of positive animals
- Do not keep calves from known infected cows as breeding replacements
- Do not feed waste milk to calves
- Separate newborn calves from infected cows and use replacement milk
- Buy any new animals from accredited herds
- Minimise faecal contamination of feed and water sources
- Keep calving pens as clean as possible

VACCINATION
There is a vaccine available for Johne's but it is only used in very specific cases and it is only licensed for sheep and goats. It may be suitable for use in herds with extensive losses. The vaccine does not remove the disease from the herd but it can help to reduce the number of severely affected animals. It must be used alongside other control methods and it will have a detrimental effect on future testing for both Johne's and TB.