Our tup testing day on Tuesday 24th September was very successful.
We tested just under 40 tups with a failure rate of 26% which is even higher than the expected rate of 16% - 22%!
This highlights the importance of getting your tups examined before they are used, saving disappointing scanning rates.
If anyone has missed the day then please get in touch, we are happy to arrange further testing at Syke or on farm.
Keep an eye out for future tupdates!
Here's a little sneak peek of what's to come ๐ซฃ...
Have you guessed what it is yet ๐?
Make sure to turn on your page notifications so you don't miss out ๐จ
There has been loads of work going on behind the scenes here at MBM ๐ฉบ๐๐
We can't wait to share our exciting news with you all!
Keep your eyes peeled ๐...
**LUNGWORM ALERT - Prevention is much safer than cure!**
Farm vet Jennifer found some potentially deadly beasts in her lab samples today! This guy throwing shapes on the dancefloor is a first stage lungworm larvae; adult lungworm live and reproduce in the main lung airways called bronchi, their eggs hatch almost instantly into these immature larvae which move up the airways to be coughed up and then swallowed so they end up in the faeces on the pasture where they can then infect other cattle!
Most adult cattle develop a strong immunity to lungworm infection through repeated exposure in their 1st&2nd grazing seasons, so the animals that are most at risk are:
-Grazing calves & youngstock
-Young adults that were excessively wormed as youngstock e.g. given long acting wormers designed to protect all summer
-Adults that have had little exposure through grazing patterns eg dry cows at grass from indoor grazing systems
-Immune compromised animals
Speak to the vets to check if your stock are at risk and get a robust prevention plan before the damage is done โ
This morning a farmer had been watching one of his cows making to calve but nothing happening, today he got everything right...
He restrained the cow in a clean straw bed, got a bucket of warm soapy water and cleaned her before checking the calf. He found two feet and a head all in position but it was tight, he popped 2 clean leg ropes on and gave the feet a pull manually, neither would come out beyond the fetlock (first joint), so he stepped back, called the vet and went for fresh clean buckets of water.
The cow needed a caesarean, because the calf was never overly worked and the vet was called promptly, a clean surgery was performed and this little chap nor his mother took any hurt. Up on his feet before the vet cleaned up and taking his first good feed off his mum before he was an hour old. Happy calf, happy cow, happy farmer, happy vet ๐
Top tip: always clean the cow before checking the calves position, dirt brought in by your arms will go through the wound if it turns out you need a caesarean but will also make it more likely the cow will develop post calving infections affecting future fertility.
Happy mum with 2 big healthy lambs, shortly after her caesarean section. A sight to warm the cockles when it's so cold outside!
Sheep louse
Sheep lice feed on skin and hair debris and can cause itching some cases. They tend to be more of a problem in winter, when sheep have long fleeces. Clinical signs can be confused with sheep scab, so it's important to get the correct diagnosis and treatment. in this case, one of our vets collected hair samples from a group of itchy sheep for microscopic examination at the practice. This revealed the wriggly louse seen here!
#colostrumisgold
Making sure lambs get enough good quality colostrum, quickly, is one of the most important things you can do to give lambs the best start. Aim for 50mls/kg of colostrum within 4 hours. #colostrumisgold
January diets
When your portion isn't big enough....
Sheep scab
We have seen a few cases of sheep scab recently - heres a short video showing the itchy mites themselves! Remember it is a notifiable disease in Scotland, so please report any suspicions of disease as soon as possible.
Merry Christmas from MBM!
Milking video
The heavy downpours last week didn't make for an enjoyable milking for one poor client - hopefully there were no holes in their wellies!