Westpoint Farm Vets

04/11/2024

Last week we had it all going on between visits and call outs at our Horsham/ Sevenoaks branch, from pumpkin carving to client meetings!

Thank you to Zoetis for sponsoring our well attended meeting focusing on Startect wormer and Cidr Ovis, it’s always a pleasure to catch up off farm with our valued clients.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next meeting!!

22/10/2024

There are still spaces available for our meeting next Monday!

17/10/2024

11/10/2024

Fun was had by all at this weeks annual BIVTA conference! A mix of practical demos held at Hartpury College, followed by a day of  interesting talks delivered by  Vets, reps, and knowledgeable people! Westpoint farm vets are proud to have three of our techs on the committee for the British and Irish veterinary technician Association, supporting drive forward in ensuring vet techs  get the recognition, they deserve as  professionals as well as pushing for a change in legislation that will allow them to perform much more within their role.

17/09/2024

Time is running out for you to secure your tickets to the annual British and Irish Vet Tech Conference, despite what the name suggests it’s not just for techs but for ATT’s, farmers, Smallholders, vets, agriculture students, in fact anyone who has an interest in livestock! There will be a vast range of experienced speakers and some practical demonstrations as well as the chance to network with likeminded people.

Last year was a sell out so grab your tickets now! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Come join us at the BIVTA Vet Tech and ATT Conference for a day of learning and networking in the world of veterinary paraprofessionals!

16/09/2024

Massive congratulations to our clients, mother and daughter team, for their impressive collection of rosettes won at the findon sheep fair on Saturday. Deborah showed her first ram for the first time and scooped a first place with Mo and Olivia seemed to clear up with the rest!! Gemma our vet tech even helped out by showing in a few classes!

🏵️🏵️🏵️🏵️🏵️🏵️🏵️

🐏1st with a zwartble shearling ram
🐏1st with zwartble ram lamb Mo
🐏homebred zwartble ram lamb got 3rd
🐑2nd place with zwartble shearling ewe
🐑4th with zwartble ewe lamb
🐑4th with the Zwartble group of three
🐏4th with the border ram
🐑2nd with the border shearling ewe
🐏4th with homebred border ram lamb
🐏3rd with the zwartble ram lamb in the WOH
🐏4th with Tornado in the WOH

26/08/2024

Bluetongue Virus (BTV3) has been confirmed in a sheep in South Norfolk.

Updates on the current situation and the newly installed Temporary Control Zone (CTZ) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bluetongue-information-and-guidance-for-livestock-keepers

Please be assured that we are monitoring the situation. The best tool we have is vigilance for signs, detailed in the link and in our various infographics. We are here to field any concerns from our clients.

23/08/2024

Follow up funding for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway is now available!

Continue your proactive work, with funding now available to follow up with further testing and advice on endemic disease control.

These visits are doubly beneficial as they can serve as medicine visits to ensure that your health plans and prescriptions are up to date.

For more information, head to: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/farmers-how-to-apply-for-funding-to-improve-animal-health-and-welfare -publication-update-history

22/08/2024

If you're an aspiring tech, already working as one, or simply interested in the possibility of a job in the technical agricultural sphere, then check out the British and Irish Vet Tech Association conference on the 9th of October.

19/08/2024

Our wonderful Wi******er team performed an incredible feat over the weekend! A 24 hour swimathon!

If you would like to donate to their cause, there is still time!

19/08/2024

🥳

Ami Sawran, clinical director at Westpoint Farm Vets, received the honour for her work on llamas and alpacas.

12/08/2024

Another excellent set of results at a 2024 Summer show, this time we are celebrating Simon and Julie Dain and Family at Peter Brand Farms, Pentlow, who achieved Champion Female and Reserve Overall (any other down breed) with their Dorset Down shearling ewe at this year's Suffolk Show.

Well done!

08/08/2024

It's that time again! has rolled around, and we are hoping to take lots of lovely photographs with our clients today as we highlight what it is to spend a day in the life of a farm vet.

We would love to share your photos and videos - feel free to send them over.

Here's a reminder of last year's antics. Morrisons Farmers Guardian.

06/08/2024

The Ceva swine team are pleased to be sponsoring BIVTA Vet Tech and ATT conference this year.

Follow the link below to get your tickets, see you there!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bivta-vet-tech-and-att-conference-tickets-946779642397?aff=ebdsshcopyurl&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=organizer-profile&utm-share-source=organizer-profile

British & Irish Veterinary Technicians Association - BIVTA

06/08/2024

Strike while the iron's cold and book in your freeze branding now!

06/08/2024

It’s been a few days of tusks and trotters for Andrew and Gemma! Barry and Pumba are looking good tip to toe!

05/08/2024

When you're absolutely furious about having had a plasma transfusion, but secretly grateful for the life-saving antibodies it provides. And the photo op.

01/08/2024

Nuisance flies not only debilitate livestock through strike, but through transmitting painful eye conditions. These can pass through a group of animals very quickly, so proactive fly control is essential.

Eyes can be brought back from the brink with prompt attention, pain relief and specific antibiotic therapy. Give us a call if you have any concerns, or for advice on holistic fly control measures.

31/07/2024

*** 📒 Calling any overseas graduates preparing for the next RCVS statutory exams. 🐮 ***

We are offering a two day intensive course in farm animal skills to help you prepare for your farm OSCE stations on the 21st and 22nd August.

For further details, or to register, please contact our Chelmsford Branch.

29/07/2024

Sleepy calves awaiting their disbuds - anaesthesia with a touch of sedation is a huge move towards supporting the welfare of calves for routine procedures such as disbudding.

Maddy was very pleased to find all of her patients napping in preparation for their disbud session, which passed without undue stress.

25/07/2024

Haemonchus is still lurking!

If you see a lethargic animal, make sure to check their mucous membranes - we are still seeing clinical cases of haemonchus. Sometimes our treatment of this is very targeted so as not to cause resistance in other worm populations, so it's vitally important to perform faecal egg counts to understand if you have mixed burdens or not.

Please give us a call if you have concerns over parasite management or haemonchus in particular.

23/07/2024

Knowledge transfer is a huge part of a farm vet's job. Empowering farm teams to take care of routine tasks is important for the smooth running of farms.

Here is Ian running what appears to be the smiliest AI course we have ever seen.

19/07/2024

Tell me you love your job without telling me you love your job.

Look at the size of that smile as Katie delivered this gorgeous healthy calf!

18/07/2024

These goats are doing a fabulous job of keeping the scrub down for the RSPB, creating the perfect habitat for some of our rarer birds and insects.

Gemma our tech has been out worming them before they move onto another part of the reserve tomorrow. You’ll see as well as those mighty horns they are donning some rather snazzy collars, the RSPB are thrilled with the no fence collar system.

15/07/2024

It was a long night for our Sophie, but all for a happy ending!

Rescue teams worked through the night in a battle to save a cow stuck in a muddy river in Horsham.

15/07/2024

Today vet Emily, tech Gemma and our Cambridge University student Maya went out to castrate 3 pigs that were seized by the RSPCA from a farm in Wales. They are now living their best life in rural Sussex, well at least they will be once the sedation wears off!

12/07/2024

🪂Melissa Pearmain from our support team in Chelmsford reached new heights when she bravely jumped out of a plane to raise money for The Daisy Garland, a children’s epilepsy charity.
The charity is a cause close to Melissa’s heart as they have been supporting her niece Mia and family with help and advice.

The Daisy Garland raises awareness of childhood epilepsy, provides families with night-time breathing monitors and funds specially trained dieticians to work within NHS hospitals.

Joined by Mia’s brother and aunt, the three of them have so far raised an amazing £630 for the charity.

11/07/2024

Do you use vet tech services on your farm or small holding? Or are you unsure of how you can utilise them? Why not take a peek at the brand new British & Irish Veterinary Technicians Association - BIVTA website, where you’ll see how techs all over are worth their weight in gold!

We at Westpoint are proud to have not one but three of our techs on the committee of BIVTA, supporting the progression of the role and making techs a farm yard brand!

See if you can spot them in the meet the team section of the website👏🏻

UPCOMING CONFERENCE BOOK NOW! Welcome to BIVTA We are delighted to have you on our website! We want to take a moment to introduce ourselves as the British and Irish Veterinary Technicians Association (BIVTA). We were formed in 2021 at the request of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). A...

09/07/2024

Our new multi-purpose crush at Chelmsford's Coalyard Clinic is serving us, and this sheep very well, as vet Mia could very safely and comfortably drain an abscess that had developed on an awkward spot!

04/07/2024

With the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway for sheep focusing primarily on parasite control, now is an excellent time to register (through an improved, shorter system) for your funded veterinary visits. For more information, head over to the dedicated AHWP section of the APHA website - for any queries, we are here for you.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-health-and-welfare-pathway/animal-health-and-welfare-pathway

02/07/2024

Haemonchus burdens are still featuring heavily in our small ruminant workload.

Please make sure to check mucous membrane colour on your animals - particularly if they are lethargic or losing condition. The larval stage of this 'barber pole' worm can debilitate an animal before they start laying eggs and showing up in faecal egg counts, so it's important to stay alert for signs of poor health. Haemonchus populations increase when it is warm, and particularly after bursts of rain.

27/06/2024

Shearing of camelids is well underway, but if you are still waiting for your herd to be sheared, please bear in mind the following tips.

24/06/2024

We love to see our clients perform well at shows - it was a particularly spectacular one for Smith Farms Clacton at St Osyth at the Suffolk show this year as they took supreme for the second year running, and topped it off with a reserve champion as well.

Below you'll find an article about some up and coming junior handlers :)

We would be really happy to share the good news if you happen to be out and about on the show circuit - just get in touch!

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24355924.twins-celebrate-third-birthday-competing-suffolk-show/

20/06/2024

Occupational hazards of being coastal vets... getting stuck on an island in the middle of your rounds. Unfortunately, there wasn't an ice-cream van in sight, so Ian just had to wait it out on the way back from an emergency lambing.

17/06/2024

We see far more alpacas than we do llamas, but we are always thrilled to see such a handsome and gentle giant like this fella.

We weren't attending to him for medical reasons, we just like a photo opportunity - seems he does too!

13/06/2024

If you ever wanted to see a textbook case of photosensitisation, this is it.

The white-haired areas are raised, and appear 'sunburned' - often this is associated with animals eating plants that affect the body's ability to cope with UV exposure. Luckily, Ian attended to this lovely girl today who had been grazing some hedgerows. These are going to be inspected to see what the likely culprit is, and she gets a little time out in the shade with supportive care.

10/06/2024

Our Chelmsford branch is looking for an additional administrator to help serve our growing client base. We would love to hear from motivated individuals with customer service or reception experience, and a knowledge of farming and agricultural industries.

If you are looking for a part time role in a friendly, busy farm practice, then please feel free to enquire - if this might suit someone you know, please share!

06/06/2024

Our Chelmsford branch is holding an unpacking course at the practice next week, which should prove a useful refresher for experienced breeders- or an introduction to those new to it. Ami will also cover neonatal cria care and field your breeding questions! Please give the practice a call if you wish to come along.

We are holding a camelid unpacking and cria care course on the 13th of June. Please see our flyer for further details.

RSVP asap to secure your spot and give us an idea of numbers.

05/06/2024

Ice, ice, baby - Abbie and Gemma, part of our South Eastern Tech Team have been busy freeze branding some lovely dairy heifers over the past few weeks.

Our tech team are always up for husbandry jobs that help you to be more efficient in the day-to-day workings of busy farms - feel free to give us a call for more details on their services.

31/05/2024

We are supporting a camelid welfare research project, funded by the Animal Welfare Foundation UK.

Led by Ami Sawran, the research team are looking for potential participants to help us understand if the head shape and facial fibre coverage in UK alpacas is changing.

We are looking for participants in specific areas in England currently. If you are interested in participating, please send Ami an email to the address on this flyer.