Leahurst Farm Animal Practice

13/01/2025

After slipping on her way to the examination crate this sow needed a bit of moral support to walk over the ice back to her pen ❄️

13/01/2025

We've had a visitor today around the yard who looks like he might be lost - if anyone is missing a cat or recognises him then he is around the leahurst campus

09/01/2025

We hope that everyone's staying safe with this wild weather ❄️

Just a notice to remember to check your water troughs and buckets when the weather drops below freezing - we often see a rise in blocked ruminants (urolithiasis) at this time of year, and lack of water due to frozen over water sources can contribute to the disease

07/01/2025

Why not make protecting your animals from clostridial disease one of your new year resolutions? ✅📒

Clostridial diseases (tetanus, blackleg, and pulpy kidney) are fatal infections caused by exposure of clostridial bacteria that live in the soil. Vaccination is an easy and effective way to help build immunity against the toxins

If you have goats/sheep/alpacas no matter the size of the flock and are interested in vaccinating against clostridial disease then please contact the practice to book yourself in for a visit, preferably this week to split the cost of a bottle

06/01/2025

Thank you for everyone who shared this round, the owner has been located and the sheep are back home 🐏

Anyone missing some sheep?

These two wandered onto campus on Christmas eve after the police called us about livestock on the Chester high road. DEFRA are still in the process of tracing their owners but please share around if you recognise the breed

02/01/2025

Anyone missing some sheep?

These two wandered onto campus on Christmas eve after the police called us about livestock on the Chester high road. DEFRA are still in the process of tracing their owners but please share around if you recognise the breed

20/12/2024

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Farm Animal Practice!🌲

Just a note to say we are closed from 5pm today and will reopen at 8.30am on Thursday 2nd January

There will of course be a vet on call for emergencies throughout this period. Call the out of hours emergency number 07973 247977 if you require assistance

18/12/2024

Here we have some of our students performing blood sampling as part of a metabolic profile on a dairy herd

A metabolic profile can help us view the overall picture on how effective a diet is and how the cows are performing on their current forage rations

Please contact the practice for more details and to find out of these tests would benefit your business

15/12/2024

fantastic opportunity for a new consultant to join us and the Cattleeye team 🐄

Fantastic opportunity to join us and CattleEye and work on our new KTP project. This post builds on an ongoing collaboration between the University of…

10/12/2024

Join us for farmers drinks next Monday at 8pm at the Wheatsheath in Raby!!

09/12/2024

Thank you everyone who came to our calving course!

We had a great time teaching about calving principles, how and when to safely interve and lots of discussion

24/11/2024

A single embryo pregnancy for this nanny goat!

Ultrasound is an effective, non-invasive method for diagnosing pregnancy. Finding out the number of babies the mum is having can help with planning proper nutrition during her pregnancy and help prepare for kidding

On the second picture you can see a skull, nose and ribcage!

17/11/2024

Cold stress in calves 🐄

With the temperature dropping at this time of year, please remember that calves, especially those less than three weeks old, are more susceptible to becoming too cold to their limited ability to regulate heat. When temperatures dip, they use more energy to maintain warmth, which can affect their growth, immunity, and overall health. Wind, wet conditions, and inadequate shelter or nutrition can exacerbate cold stress, making it crucial to provide proper housing, bedding, and nutrition to help calves withstand winter conditions.

Jackets can be used to keep them cosy at this time of year 🧥

14/11/2024

Calving course! 🐄

We are delighted to be offering a calving course for our bovine clients - all abilities welcome!

This will go over basic principles behind calving, what to have prepared, common malpresentations, when to step in and assist, and when to ask for help

It will consist of a classroom based discussion and a practical session using our calving simulator model

Please call the practice to book on as space is limited

13/11/2024

We are lucky to have a dermatology department on campus that can advise us on more complicated skin cases - a diagnosis was made to why this alpaca was itchy using a 'dermatoscope' to closely look at the skin surface and find any parasites that could be bothering him.

04/11/2024

Ketosis in dairy cattle 🐄

Ketosis is a metabolic disorder that occurs when energy demands exceed energy intake, which can happen when a cow is at peak lactation (producing a lot of milk) or is not eating enough food. This results in molecules called ketones accumulating in the blood which causes the cow to feel lethargic, stop eating, and loose weight, and can be very dangerous when left untreated.

After we found high ketones in this cows blood, we treated her with oral glucose (propylene glycol) as well as glucose into her vein since the ketosis was more severe. This immediately spikes her blood glucose levels to provide an immediate energy source to reverse her energy imbalance. She is now doing well and back to eating normally