St David's Game Bird Services

08/11/2024

With the end of the rearing season upon us, if you flat pack and store your sheds for next year – here are our recommendations.

A step-by-step guide

- Assess your rearing season – if there were specific disease or other challenges, tailor your ‘cleanout’

- ‘See it, clean it’ - take off all organic matter by blasting the surface with water as it’s a hiding place for bacteria and viruses over the winter. Faeces is acidic, and will rot a wooden shed and corrode those that are metal

- Apply detergent with a foaming lance at low pressure. It’s important to select a quality product, with a high alkaline pH, to counteract the acidity of any remaining faeces particles. DT Max is a powerful dirt remover, is high foaming and has a pH of 12.5 (highly alkaline). Once applied it should be left for 20 minutes to expose the bacteria, and then removed with a high-pressure water jet, making sure that there is no residue left behind.

If you need any support or would like to discuss a tailored approach clearing your site that tackles any specific challenges you had during this season, get in touch.

12/09/2024

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘄?

In this article, vet Matt Balfour explains the main reasons why numbers are so low this year and what can be done to support the birds there are.

Click for more: https://tinyurl.com/49tsrmbr

Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Grouse season well underway and numbers are at the lowest in memory. Dr Matthew Balfour BVM&S MRCVS of St David’s Gamebird Services describes the main causes of the decline, and what can be done to support the birds. Unfortunately, as many of you will already ...

03/08/2024

𝗚𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵

Maintaining and promoting good gut health is important to help birds combat parasitic and bacterial challenges.

Using buffered organic acids such as Ultimate Acid or ABC pH for the first 3 – 4 weeks after release can help promote good gut health. This product works by helping to stabilise the gut and reduce the risk of protozoa, such as Hexamita, from developing.

Get in touch with our team if you'd like any more information.

27/07/2024

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

Currently, and particularly after heavy rain, rearing fields and release pens are susceptible to heavy parasitic worm burdens. Whilst signs of gape worms are fairly easy to spot, clinical signs of gut worms are not always clear and both pheasants and partridge can harbour significant worm burdens. Proactive worming treatment is critical to maintain bird health through to release.

Pheasants usually require worming within a couple of weeks in the release pen and then usually around every 3 weeks. This can be carried out in the water or feed.

02/07/2024

If you’re visiting the Scottish Game Fair, do come and see us! You’ll find us on Gamekeeper Row, stand GK11. Vets Matt Balfour, Emily Munro and Charlotte Cole, Field Services Technician May Millar and Practice Administrator Rachael Holloway will be there over the three days.

We look forward to seeing you there!

27/06/2024

High temperatures can cause an increased risk of heat stress in your birds, which can lead to a decreased regulation of their immune system and an increased susceptibility to disease.

If you’ve been concerned by the higher temperatures we have experienced, read about ways you can support your birds before, during and after, periods of hot weather, here: https://stdavids-gamebirds.co.uk/news/heat-stress-in-game-birds/

24/06/2024

We have seen more Coccidiosis so far this year, which could be put down to the warm and wet conditions. As a result, we continue to encourage game farmers. keepers and shoots to maintain vigilance, specifically when it comes to water quality and gut health. If the birds can develop a healthy microbiome, they will build resistance to such diseases.

Staying on top of routine microscopy checks can help identify diseases like Coccidiosis early, which means we can reduce use of medication and antibiotics, only using them when it’s necessary. Call our head office on 01392 872932 to book a visit.

18/06/2024

It was a pleasure to join and support the ‘Walk and Talk’ evening at Fonthill Estate.

Hosted by Fonthill Estate Gamekeepers, the Farm Management Team and Land Agents, it was an excellent opportunity for attendees to learn more about its farmland and its bird conservation work – both the story so far and what is next.

13/06/2024

St David’s Game Bird Services’ Veterinary Surgeon, Dr Nathan Hiom is featured in the latest edition of Sporting Gun, offering readers a glimpse into the efforts of vets and gamekeepers to ensure the health and welfare of gamebirds in a challenging spring, weather-wise.

Read the full article here: https://sporting-gun.com/shop/product/sps-july-2024

30/05/2024

Maintaining good biosecurity into the rearing fields and sheds is critical to a successful rear. This includes:

•Foot dips: Using effective and approved products, at the right concentration and replenishing as instructed. There are very few products that will stay effective for 7 days
•Water hygiene: At this stage the birds aren’t drinking huge amounts, therefore what they do drink needs to be clean. Flush lines regularly and use a water cleaner and disinfectant such as Aqua-clean – a stabilised hydrogen peroxide-based product - to achieve this.

Find out more about our range at or speak to you vet or visit: https://poultrypharm.co.uk/

23/05/2024

As birds grow, pecking behaviour becomes more common as they investigate their surroundings.

Controlling the amount of light into the shed – without compromising ventilation and airflow – can help with aggressive behaviour, at this stage. For example, creating dappled light into the shed using external angled baffles on the window and door vents stops penetrating light, without compromising ventilation and airflow.

Creating red light with coloured plastic or light bulbs can also have a calming effect. Increasing enrichment can also help – talk to your St David's vet about the options.

08/03/2024

In the latest Shooting Times & Country Magazine Gamebird Guidance column, St David's Game Bird Services Director Dr Kenny Stokes-Nutting discusses bird losses on smaller shoots and how our team is helping to mitigate these losses.

The latest issue of Shooting Times is out now!

This week, Simon Garnham tells us serious crop damage means pigeon numbers must be thinned, and catching them as they come to roost makes for an exciting challenge. You don’t need top-end kit to land monster bream in the delta, as Miles Malone discovers. And we all know about the three-legged stool of conservation, but its flip side for the game rearing industry has serious repercussions say Felix Petit.

Subscribe today and never miss an issue. To shop, visit: bit.ly/3YDMEMK.

30/01/2024

We are thrilled to present an article featured in the latest edition of Gun Trade News. This piece covers subjects such as the AI vaccine, updates on diseases, and insights into shooting trends, as seen through the perspective of St David's Game Bird Director, Kenny.

Check out page 22 >>

Read Gun Trade News GTN 98 February by The Game Fair Ltd on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

29/01/2024

𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Getting off to a good start with properly cleaned and disinfected rearing equipment should be at the top of the agenda. Often equipment including rearing sheds and runs would have been left outside all winter and are due a good clean before using again. Wild animals are likely to have utilised the shelter over the cold months and so now we must ensure any biosecurity hazards such as virus or cocci challenges are targeted and reduced.

06/01/2024

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

Although we have the potential to search for many diseases, we focus on the following three infectious pathogens that we know cause an issue during lay and with chick health...

05/01/2024

𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

Blood is taken from a proportion of the caught-up birds (~60 birds) and sent to an external laboratory for ELISA analysis. The test evaluates the level of antibodies present in the blood to specific infectious diseases. Our vets can then interpret these results and antibody levels to provide a likelihood as to which diseases the birds may be harbouring.

Discuss our blood testing service with your vet or call our head office on 01392 872932 to book a visit.

03/01/2024

𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐰𝐞’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦.

As the new year begins, it's important to reflect on the significance of blood testing in laying flocks. More and more estates and breeding farms are utilising taking bloods in January from adult birds as they are being caught up for breeding stock. The results will establish an understanding as to the possible infectious diseases that birds may have been exposed to through the winter period and the risk they may bring to our bio-secure rearing sites. This is beneficial as we try to reduce spread of disease such as Mycoplasma Gallisepticum that can be transmitted vertically through the laying hen to the chick.

Blood testing can be arranged through the practice. We can help advise a specific plan for your laying site for disease prevention.

24/12/2023

The St David’s Game Bird Services team wishes you all 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝. We look forward to seeing many of you in 2024, whether that be out in the field, on site around the UK or at seminars and events.