Vale Farm Vets

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Vale Farm Vets We have a dedicated team of 12 farm animal vets serving the farming communities of Devon and Somerset

We have a dedicated team of 12 farm animal vets serving the local farming community of Devon and Somerset from our Cullompton, Tiverton and Honiton branches. Specialists within the practice travel nationally and internationally, offering veterinary consultancy such as mastitis and embryo transfer services.

Last week we said goodbye to wonderful Mandy, who has been with us for 22 years.Mandy has been a huge part of the Vale. ...
17/03/2025

Last week we said goodbye to wonderful Mandy, who has been with us for 22 years.
Mandy has been a huge part of the Vale. During her varied career she has been involved in expanding the mastitis lab at Tiverton, running huge mastitis trials for various drug companies and milk recording organisations, and organising the farm animal office. Mandy is famed for keeping everything and everyone running smoothly!
The Vale has hugely benefitted from her skill and hard work during her time with us, and she will be missed.
We wish her and partner Ian a wonderful retirement in France 🇫🇷

We have had conversations with many of you already about your Bluetongue risk and with a licensed vaccine readily availa...
04/03/2025

We have had conversations with many of you already about your Bluetongue risk and with a licensed vaccine readily available many of you have decided to get it ordered and your stock protected.

For those of you who are still undecided what to do, please speak to one of the vets when out on farm, or give us a call and we can go through your options with you. The situation on each farm will be different and we want to work with you to find the best possible tools to protect your stock 🐄🐂🐑

For more information check out the following Battle Bluetongue campaign from Ruminant Health & Welfare:

https://ruminanthw.org.uk/bluetongue-virus/battle-bluetongue-campaign-2025/

It feels like spring arrived today... we've been busy lambing and calving. These 3 girls all arrived this morning by cae...
24/02/2025

It feels like spring arrived today... we've been busy lambing and calving. These 3 girls all arrived this morning by caesarean-what a great start to the week! 🐂🐑

🦟 As you will be aware, the Bluetongue restriction zone has now been expanded and now covers some of East Devon. The sit...
15/02/2025

🦟 As you will be aware, the Bluetongue restriction zone has now been expanded and now covers some of East Devon. The situation is constantly evolving, but here are some important things you need to bear in mind for your business and your stock.
⛔️ If you are IN the restriction zone, animals can move under a general licence straight to slaughter, or to a slaughter market. Animals can move within a restriction zone as normal (if you have land that straddles the zone, all your land is considered in the restriction zone), as long as animals are showing NO clinical signs of the disease. If you want to move animals OUT of the restriction zone, you will need to apply online for a licence, and also arrange (via UKfarmcare) for a blood test to be done before the licence can be granted. At the moment, this is paid for.
⏰️ Obviously the rapid change in zone will have an impact on how quickly this can be approved, and the current advice is to apply with at least 10 days notice of wanting to move any stock, to allow for licences to be granted and blood results to come back in time.
⚠️ Risks for all livestock, regardless of zone: Bluetongue is spread by biting midges, and whilst we are in the seasonal low activity period, once midges become active, the risks of spread will be high. The virus can also be spread by the sharing of needles. This is an important risk to consider for flocks who might be planning to vaccinate stock for other diseases.
🐄🐂 Cattle are mainly at risk from symptoms such as milk drop and abortions, which will affect productivity. 🐑 Sheep are at more risk of bigger losses; European outbreaks of this strain of the virus (BTV-3) have resulted in up to 30% aninals being infected, and up to 70% of infected animals dying.
💉 The only current means of protecting cattle and sheep is by vaccination. Vaccines are currently available, but the supply will depend on how the situation evolves and what the demand is. Vaccines are approved for use, but require extra paperwork to be completed.

** Important Bluetongue (BTV) Update **Following the identification of BTV-3 cases in cattle as part of the winter surve...
15/02/2025

** Important Bluetongue (BTV) Update **

Following the identification of BTV-3 cases in cattle as part of the winter surveillance, the Restriction Zone (RZ) has now been extended to include Dorset, additional areas of Wiltshire, part of Somerset and part of East Devon - which means some of you are now in the restriction zone and will need licences and testing to move animals out of the zone.

To check if you are within the RZ use this map
https://defra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=514ec88edec74575958d860f0196d2ea

Premises that have any land within the restricted zone or straddle the boundary are classified as being within the zone.

Licenses are required to move animals within and out of the RZ - more information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bluetongue-movement-licences-and-designated-slaughterhouses
There are general license in place for movements between holding within the zone or direct to slaughterhouses or slaughter markets outside the zone

For movement from within the zone to a market or holding outside the zone you will need a specific license, this is the link to apply:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-move-animals-within-into-and-out-of-bluetongue-zones

Pre-movement testing is also required, to arrange this you must first apply for the license and will then be given information on arranging testing. You must arrange the testing with UKFarmcare not us, but we will then be able to come and do it.
Their phone number is 0800 612 5289

It is recommended to apply for a license at least 10 working days before a movement is needed, movement can occur up to 21 days after the date the animals are tested. Obviously some movements will already be planned for the next couple of weeks - contact the APHA at the earliest opportunity to try and sort this, they will be dealing with a large number of enquiries now with the change in the RZ.

The bluetongue situation is likely to continue to change quite quickly this Spring/Summer, the best way to protect your own stock and the national industry is through vaccination - contact us to discuss this further

🐑🐏Just sharing a meeting that may be of interest to our sheep clients 🐑🐏We know many of you are well through lambing/alr...
06/02/2025

🐑🐏
Just sharing a meeting that may be of interest to our sheep clients
🐑🐏
We know many of you are well through lambing/already finished, but for those who haven’t started and those who want some tips for next year, join this zoom session from if you can!
⏰ Tuesday 25th February 6pm
📝 What will be covered?
- How, when & why to use oral fluid therapy
- How to manage twin lamb disease & hypocalcaemia
- How to give your lambs the best start

🌟Re-ewe-venate🌟
We also have this new product in stock to reduce the risk of twin lamb disease in sheep, which also provides calcium at the same time. Speak to one of the vets if you would like more information.

We hope lambing has/will go well for you all 🐑🌱

Lambing season is definitely here! Both our vets have been out lambing today, and it's one of the best parts of the job ...
01/02/2025

Lambing season is definitely here! Both our vets have been out lambing today, and it's one of the best parts of the job to help a ewe get a gorgeous pair like these.
Keep an eye out for our newsletter next week for some tips to help ewes and lambs

🐮 We know that crypto is a frustrating disease to have on farm🗓 Tuesday 11th February, 7.30pm at Steamers Cafe in Willan...
30/01/2025

🐮 We know that crypto is a frustrating disease to have on farm
🗓 Tuesday 11th February, 7.30pm at Steamers Cafe in Willand
🗣We warmly invite all our dairy farmers to attend a discussion focused on how to best manage the disease and protect calves. We will be joined by MSD, who have spent 23 years developing a vaccine to help tackle Crypto
📞 Please call the office, or speak to Fi if you would like to attend (dinner is provided so we will need numbers for food!)

🐂 Beef farmers, we know crypto impacts you too! Please speak to a vet for more information on vaccine use in beef herds

It's been a busy week this week, and our final year vet student  has been getting stuck in assisting with as much as she...
18/01/2025

It's been a busy week this week, and our final year vet student has been getting stuck in assisting with as much as she can!
Here she is doing a great job suturing skin of an LDA op, supervised by one of our vets. Placements are an important time for students to put into practice the skills taught at vet school. It's good to see enthusiastic students and help them become the vets of the future!

We've seen a few cases of twin lamb disease recently 🐑🐑🔎 It's caused by low blood glucose, which can damage the brain an...
11/01/2025

We've seen a few cases of twin lamb disease recently 🐑🐑
🔎 It's caused by low blood glucose, which can damage the brain and nervous system if left untreated for too long. Affected ewes become unable to stand, and severe cases can result in ewe losses. Heavily pregnant ewes (especially those carrying multiples), and those with other conditions that might reduce available energy (poor teeth, thin, ill) are at higher risk.
🍽️ Pre-lambing nutrition is key: Scanning ewes is very helpful to allow you to ensure that those carrying more lambs get plenty of feed.
🌱 Forage quality is important (do you have an up to date analysis?), but don't forget about feed space for both forage and cake, so everyone is getting enough to eat!
👀 Keep a close eye on ewes who are looking dull or wobbly, and are separate from the flock: Early treatment is important to save the ewe and her unborn lambs. We can test sheep ketone levels (the same way we test cows) to confirm twin lamb.
🩸 If you are curious as to whether your ewes are getting enough energy, we can also use ketone tests to screen a few heavily pregnant ones to see if they are beginning to struggle.

🌟NEXT WEEK🌟 Spaces are available for our lambing course next week. Please phone the practice to book your place 🐑
09/01/2025

🌟NEXT WEEK🌟

Spaces are available for our lambing course next week. Please phone the practice to book your place 🐑

Say hello to our newest team member, Zara!Some of you may know Zara, who joins us after spending a year at Hartpury Univ...
03/01/2025

Say hello to our newest team member, Zara!
Some of you may know Zara, who joins us after spending a year at Hartpury University studying Bioveterinary Science.
She will be spending some time working in the office, so you will likely speak to her on the phone if you haven’t already (pictured here with Molly, who popped in from her maternity leave). She will also be training as an ATT (approved tuberculin tester) so you may see her out on farm TB testing and assisting with vet tech duties.
She is looking forward to working in the farm
veterinary industry, having grown up on a local
dairy farm. Outside of work, Zara is an active
member of Honiton young farmers, pulls tug of war for Honiton ladies, and plays hockey and cricket.
Welcome the Vale

Wishing you and your livestock a happy and prosperous new year!Pleased don't forget that although we are open Tuesday an...
30/12/2024

Wishing you and your livestock a happy and prosperous new year!
Pleased don't forget that although we are open Tuesday and Thursday, we are closed on New Year's Day (Wednesday).
There will be a vet on call for emergencies, though we hope you won't need us 🍾

🎄 This Christmas day, we were called to an unusual problem-a schistosomas reflexus calf.In the first picture, you can se...
26/12/2024

🎄 This Christmas day, we were called to an unusual problem-a schistosomas reflexus calf.
In the first picture, you can see two front legs and one back leg. This could have been twins, or one normal calf very tangled up, but further inspection revealed that this calf was extremely deformed.
🐮 Schistosome calves have their spine bent in a 'U' shape, all their legs and head fused in one direction, and all their internal organs on the outside. The second picture is an attempt to show what this looks like. As you can imagine, a calf born like this cannot survive outside the womb.
🐄 These calves usually have to be born by c section as they are so deformed they cannot fit through the birth canal. Amazingly, this one was extracted via a normal (ish!) delivery, and the cow coped extremely well.
💉 Plenty of pain relief and TLC should mean she makes a good recovery

🎄We hope you and your livestock all have a very Merry Christmas!Please note our opening hours this week (of course there...
23/12/2024

🎄We hope you and your livestock all have a very Merry Christmas!
Please note our opening hours this week (of course there is always a vet on call 24 hours a day for emergencies).

🐑 Once again Lily and Emily will be running their annual lambing course on Wednesday 15th January 🐑☎️ If you are interes...
07/12/2024

🐑 Once again Lily and Emily will be running their annual lambing course on Wednesday 15th January 🐑

☎️ If you are interested then please contact us to book your place.

The course consists of some theory and then a practical session using Lily’s homemade lambing simulator to put the theory into practice.

⭐️Members of the smallholder group are entitled to a discounted price⭐️

🐌  Do you need to fluke treat your cows this winter?We can now easily test animals to see whether they have been exposed...
27/11/2024

🐌 Do you need to fluke treat your cows this winter?
We can now easily test animals to see whether they have been exposed to fluke. The test will show up positive within 2 weeks of infection, so it is ideal to screen animals being brought in now and help you decide the fluke risk on your farm, or whether you need to do a post housing drench.
The test can be done on farm, with a simple nose prick. We use the yellow stick pictured here to collect a small amount of blood and can give you a result within 10 minutes.
Talk to one of the vets if you'd like more information about testing, or fluke and worm control on your farm.

Address


Telephone

+44188432228

Website

https://apply-for-an-annual-health-and-welfare-review.defra.gov.uk/apply/registe

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