Donview Vets Farm & Equine

22/01/2025

Ewe Vaccinations

🐑 Vaccinating at 4-6 weeks pre-lambing ensures antibodies for these diseases are passed into the colostrum.
🐑 Ensuring adequate intakes of colostrum containing these antibodies within the first 8 hours of life and for the first few days helps control diseases such as lamb dysentery, pulpy kidney, tetanus and pasteurellosis. Large losses can be experienced when sheep are not correctly vaccinated.
🐑 Once sheep have received the primary course, they must have a booster annually. Why not vaccinate all stock at this time to make it easier to remember?
If starting a primary vaccination course (e.g. haven’t vaccinated before), please speak to your vet for appropriate timings.

20/01/2025

Today is , known as the saddest day of the year. Let’s make time to catch up with each other over a cup of tea and have a Brew Monday instead.

Comment below with a picture you've taken lately that cheers you up!

Remember that these charities are here to help:
Farming Community Network - https://fcn.org.uk/
RSABI - https://www.rsabi.org.uk/

17/01/2025

As equine vets, we know how important it is to keep a close eye (pun intended!) on our horses' health. A sore eye can be a sign of various underlying issues, from minor irritations to serious conditions that could lead to vision loss if left untreated.

Key reasons to check a sore eye:
1.Prompt diagnosis: Early detection can prevent more severe complications
2.Pain management: Just like us, horses can experience discomfort. Addressing it promptly keeps them happy and healthy
3.Preventative care: Many eye conditions can be treated effectively if caught in time

If you notice any signs of redness, squinting, excessive tearing, or discharge, don’t hesitate to contact your vet.

15/01/2025

Preventing Scour in Beef Calves

Scour is the leading cause of losses in suckler calves under three weeks of age, but the costs extend past the mortality figure, with growth weights heavily affected.
Prevention is always the best course of action. This requires a combination of maximising calf immunity, whilst minimising the amount of bugs they’re exposed to in early life.

If you are noticing an issue in the herd, the first place to start is recording the number of cases and calf mortality. From here we can investigate potential causes and work to minimise future outbreaks.

If you want to speak to a vet about this, please call the practice on 01467 621429

10/01/2025

Fit like? Happy New Year and welcome to our November & December 2024 Farm & Equine Blog!

With cattle well settled in their winter housing accommodation they are (more) convenient for handling procedures (if appropriate). It is only 5 months until Aberdeenshire 'Turnout'!!

We've seen a few cattle lameness issues. Foot-trimming of suckler cows and stock bulls, using foot trimmers with mobile designer kit is beneficial for maintaining good hoof health in the herd. Footbathing is well worth considering, particularly if dry, absorbent bedding is in limited supply.

Well into the new year will see us out PD'ing (Pregnancy Diagnosing) and Pelvic Measuring commercial and pedigree herds. Pelvic Measuring and Reproductive Tract Palpation assesses the size of the heifer's pelvis to see if she should be able to deliver a calf naturally and look at any abnormalities within the uterus/ovaries. This helps to ensure you are selecting the best, easy calving, healthy heifers for your herd's future. PD's can help to ensure early culling of non-productive animals, with the expense of keeping a non-productive heifer/cow for a year and losing out on your beef calf payment if she doesn't calve within a 410-day period, it's better to get these cows away.

Pneumonia Problems. With the up and down temperatures we are seeing, it's little wonder there's bibbly noses, coughs and splutters. Of course, there are the cases that we are unable to save despite extensive treatment. If you are seeing Pneumonia (or even unexplained) losses get them submitted, or we can take samples to SRUC, this is invaluable in getting a plan constructed with your vet. Having a discussion about a vaccination programme designed for your farm and even having a look at older steadings and considering if there are any modifications that can sook out the warmed cattle breath from the sweat boxes that are our old North East sheds, designed to maintain a straw and balancer diet big-chested Hereford, now expected to fast-grow a racing snake limousin!

We're beginning to see the start of pedigree lambing which means the commercial lambing won't be far away either. A worrying and stressful time for farmers, hopefully the spring weather will be more favourable in 2025. If you're using Heptavac P, this is in short supply which may hamper annual pre-lambing vaccines so if you need to get your flock vaccinated, stock up soon!

There has been plenty routine (vaccines, bloods, dental) Equine work to keep us busy through the last couple of months. I have had a number of vetting's to complete over November and December and even though it is a task that always requires a degree of diplomacy, it is always nice to undertake these vetting's, I meet many wonderful horses and ponies this way.

Cheers the noo, Bruce

With thanks to one of our clients for letting us use their video.

09/12/2024

🎅💊With Christmas fast approaching it is important to check your pet’s medication and food levels to make sure you have enough to cover them over the festive period. 🎅💊

To make sure you have enough medication or food our last day for ordering before Christmas will be Friday 20th December and Friday 27th December for New Year.

Please see the attached photo which highlights our opening hours for both our Inverurie Branch and Kintore Branch.

🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄🎅🎄

03/12/2024

🎄 Northsound 1 Mission Christmas 🎄

We are pleased to be a drop off point again for this very worthwhile cause. Please pop any donations into reception 🎅🏻

04/11/2024

Farm & Equine Blog October 2024

Welcome to October's Farm & Equine blog!

We saw some pregnancy toxaemia at the beginning of the month with our autumn calvers. Typically happening in older fat cows in the last six weeks of pregnancy. It is caused due to increased energy requirements from the foetus and usually coincides with reduced feed quality for the cows. This means they become energy deficient and start mobilising fat to compensate for this energy shortage. Best way to prevent this is to have the cows in optimal body condition for calving and to stay on top of their nutrition!

We have had some interesting septic arthritis cases in heifers, this is a bacterial infection of the joint, usually caused by a puncture wound. Success rate for treating these cases is poor and the best chance is to catch them early and treat with antibiotics that are broad spectrum and can pe*****te into the joint. In severe cases we can flush the joint and pack an antibiotic straight into the joint to help and clear the infection.

Pneumonia season is upon us!! Pneumonia cases have started in the last two weeks. All cases so far have been acute deaths. The causative organisms have been Syncytial virus and Pasteurella. Critical to avoiding these cases are preventative vaccination, if this is something you are concerned about and would like to discuss please get in touch.

Equine work has been mainly routine, a couple of cases of mud fever leading to cellulitis. None of these were serious, but all of them needed antibiotic's to clear. Best way to prevent it is to wash heels and pastern area with hibiscrub. If picked up early, washing the legs will help to prevent the cellulitis.

On a lighter note, I attended the annual Shetland pony sale at Thainstone mart at the beginning of October, the sale went down smoothly with sellers and buyers both going home happy.

Thank you, Mark

28/10/2024

🕸🦇Spooky Season is here! 🦇🕸

Ever wonder why your horse might be spooking at things that seem perfectly normal? Here’s a quick rundown on why your horse might be jumping at shadows:

Health issues: If spooking seems sudden or severe, it's worth checking in with your vet. Discomfort, pain or eye issues can make a horse more jumpy

Heightened senses: Horses have incredibly sharp senses and are naturally wired to be alert to potential threats

New environments: Moving to a new place or changing their routine can make your horse feel uneasy. Any new sight or sound can be a source of anxiety

Past experiences: Sometimes, past traumas or negative experiences can cause a horse to be more reactive to certain stimuli

Lack of confidence: Horses with less training or confidence might spook more easily

If you are worried about your horse’s spooking, drop us a message or give us a call.

21/10/2024

We had our last client evening on Wednesday 16th October where we were speaking about Haemonchus Worms in sheep.

Douglas Palmer from Norbrook and our very own vet Molly, delivered an informative presentation to some of our clients.

As you can see the evening was very well attended and we had delicious food from Kemnay Farm Shop.

Kemnay Farm Shop Norbrook Laboratories GB

21/10/2024

As the leaves change and autumn sets in, it’s important to remember that laminitis doesn’t take a season off. Even though the weather is cooler, horses are still at risk.

Laminitis can be triggered by factors such as changes in diet and rich pastures. In addition, horses with uncontrolled PPID (Cushings) are at even greater risk of laminitis in the autumn. Stay vigilant and keep an eye out for any signs of discomfort in your horses.

What to watch for:
Lameness
Heat in the hooves
Changes in behaviour

Prevention tips
Be mindful of rich pasture and sudden changes in diet
Keep up with regular trims and hoof health checks
Keep your horse’s weight in check to avoid additional stress on their hooves

Keeping your horse healthy through every season is key to preventing laminitis.

18/10/2024

Thinking about investing in new calf housing or updating your existing buildings?

There are a few things to think about which our team can also assist with, especially when it comes to disease transfer, access and overall housing suitability for youngstock performance.

These are just a few things to consider!

14/10/2024

A reminder of our client meeting on Wednesday evening (16th October). There is still a few spaces left so please give Sarah a shout

Haemonchus Client Meeting

Please see attached poster for details of our Haemonchus meeting on the 16th October. If you can join us please let Sarah know.

09/10/2024

Caring for the Older Horse Client Meeting

We have our final client meeting of 2024 on the 22nd October - if you would like to come along please give Sarah a shout to book your place.

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03/10/2024

Haemonchus Client Meeting

Please see attached poster for details of our Haemonchus meeting on the 16th October. If you can join us please let Sarah know.

02/10/2024

Farm & Equine Blog September 2024

Welcome to the third instalment of our monthly blog!

September has been a very quick month, autumn calving has kicked off with prolapses, caesers and some calves needing repositioned to allow natural calving.

We held a very successful Pneumonia client evening on the 26th with Fiona Crowden from SRUC which was very well attended by clients. The evening was very informative; chatting to Fiona about pneumonia findings in the PM room, to housing ideas to prevent Pneumonia in your herd. Hedwich one of our vets also chatted about different vaccines available to further prevent Pneumonia. With the changeable weather we are experiencing it is really important to keep an eye out for any cases, if you don’t already and would like to have a vaccination plan in place for housing cattle please give us a call.

We have reviewed and created new Animal Health and Welfare plans this month, these (along with Health & Performance Reviews) are a requirement for QMS assessments, these are a great opportunity to review your farm and any issues you may have had to create an ongoing plan with one of our vets. If your assessment is due soon, please drop your health plan off to be reviewed as soon as possible.

Sheep worms have been out in force this month, we have completed many FWEC’s (Faecal Worm Egg Counts) where we are able to plan responsibly with clients on how best to treat for the appropriate worms found. We have seen a few cases of Haemonchus in the last month and are planning another client meeting on the 16th October with Norbrook to discuss the rise of Haemonchus and other worms troubling sheep.

Also a wee reminder, we are nearing the end (31st December 2024) of the preparing for sustainable farming grants, this is a Government funded incentive where you can claim up £250 for each investigation (maximum of 2) to improve your herd or flocks’ health. The categories for investigation are Bull Fertility, Calf Respriratory Disease, Cattle: Liver Fluke, Cattle: Roundworms, Sheep Scab, Sheep Iceberg Diseases, Sheep Lameness, Sheep: Liver Fluke and Sheep: Roundworms. Further information can be found by calling the practice and speaking to Sarah or a vet or from the attached link:
https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/preparing-for-sustainable-farming--psf-/preparing-for-sustainable-farming--psf--full-guidance/

Horse work has kept us busy this month, there have been some abscesses, laminitis cases, Xrays and Guttural Pouch Washes. We’ve had a few enquiries for horse worming, it’s too early for treating for some worm species and we would recommend a FWEC if you are concerned your horse might have worms. After the first hard frost is the ideal time to be looking at worming so there’s no need to panic for a couple of months yet! If you would like to put a worming programme together for your horse or are concerned about worms please get in touch. The highlight of my equine calls was visiting a Shetland Pony foal who behaved very well for her passport and microchip, with thanks to her owner for allowing us to use their photo.

Thanks,
Bronagh

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