North Bay Farm Veterinary Services

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Petaluma, CA
North Bay Farm Veterinary Services

Mobile veterinary services for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and camelids. Emergency services and regular appointments are welcome.
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02/02/2024

Happy doe, happy kids, happy vet, happy client. I love a successful C-section. Fortunately pulled the first and called in ample time to get a second live kid out.

02/01/2024

As the lambs begin to drop here in Sonoma County- Here’s a few helpful tips for a successful and healthy season;

1. For ewes with expected multiples or that are older, consider increasing energy in their feed up to 1 month prior to lambing. Start by adding concentrates at 1/4 lb- 1/2 lb per ewe per day for prevention of pregnancy toxemia. Make sure ewes are not overconditioned in this period.

2. Vaccinate for CDT up to 1 month prior to lambing. Those that haven’t been vaccinated before need to be boostered. Give BoSE injections 4-6 weeks prior to lambing.

3. Know when to call your vet when there are problems lambing. Generally expect 20 minutes from the start of stage 2 (active labor) to have a hoof or head break the water bag. Then expect after the bag is ruptured 20 minutes for the delivery of the first lamb, and 20 minutes for each subsequent lamb. Only those experienced should intervene with labor as uterine tissue is can easily tear in sheep.

4. Always make sure you have a clean and dry lambing area, free of build-up of f***s and mud.

If you have any questions or need assistance- as always call (707)-782-8863, I’m here to help!

12/23/2023

Sea breeze, sunshine, and sheep. Just another lovely afternoon in Sonoma County ☀️ 🐑 🌊 ✌️

12/08/2023

It’s about to be the most wonderful time of the year. No, not the Holidays…Black cows on green pastures.

02/09/2023

Some days it really doesn’t feel like work out here.

02/04/2023

Exciting late night emergency 🚨 This gilt had a narrow pelvis and wasn’t having regular uterine contractions. The only option was a c-section. I pulled 13 live piggies out of this big mama! They just didn’t stop coming out. The sow was up and nursing her piglets the following day.

01/19/2023

Thankful for the passing rains, these lovely ruminants are soaking up every bit of sunshine on this gorgeous January afternoon. Hope everyone out there is recovering from the storms.

11/18/2022

I took a moment to take in this scenery while doing some breeding soundness exams in Bodega.

11/12/2022

It wouldn’t be a Friday without a fun emergency. This sow went into labor around 3:30 am. By the early morning she had only delivered a 5 piglets with 2-3 remaining. She had ceased uterine contractions and had significant muscle fasciculations- an indication of hypocalcemia. I was unable to deliver the remaining piglets va**nally and had to perform a C-section. Unfortunately the remaining piglets were not alive, but the procedure effectively saved the sow. Today she is moving around in recovery with her piglets and being supplemented with calcium.

11/08/2022

As a cow vet, it never gets old seeing a cow get up after being treated for milk fever. This pretty Jersey calved several days ago and was down for roughly 24 hours. After some IV Calcium and other fluids she was up and standing as if nothing had happened.

Milk fever, also called parturient paresis, is essentially hypocalcemia (or low calcium). Calcium plays a major role in muscle metabolism, and when low can prevent the animal from standing as well as impair rumen function.

In most commercial settings milk fever is prevented with dietary management prior to calving. This Jersey came from a small farmstead and did not receive any pre-fresh ration to prevent hypocalcemia. Fortunately she’s now up and doing great.

10/14/2022

October’s off to a busy start! I may not be able to keep up with social everyday so here’s a snapshot of what the road delivered last week.

1) A beef cow standing after a difficult calving. Her pelvic diameter was too small to deliver the calf and needed some assistance.

2) A highlander cow with a neck abscess. Drained and cleaned- possibly caused by a foxtail.

3) A C-section on a ewe. The challenge here was the size of the lambs.

4) A beef calf with suspected hardware disease (traumatic reticuloperitonitis). This happens when a ruminant ingests a piece of metal or sharp object. It can cause pain in the chest, heart and stomach issues. The steer is showing the classic posture of hardware disease.

5) Administering IV fluids, steroids and thiamine to this blind post-partum ewe with apparent polio (PEM). She responded to treatment and is doing well. Thanks for the help ! The underlying cause of the polio is TBD.

6) A llama experiencing choke. Resolved with passage of orogastric tube and NSAIDs.

09/26/2022

Beef producers: have you ever considered A.I. with your cattle? A.I. is the easiest and most cost effect method for improving your herd’s genetics - all without having to purchase or manage a bull. Bottom line: Better genetics leads to greater profitability. A.I. allows us to use the best genetics available from all around the world. Also synchronizing the time of breeding helps reduce your calving window, lowering operational costs.

If you’re new to A.I. the process is simple. I am here to put the right tools in your hands to get your cattle A.I.’d. I offer full packages that include synchronization, breeding and pregnancy diagnosis.

Today I was at Green Hill Ranch in Napa setting up these excellent producers with a simple A.I. program. Gia, a 3rd generation rancher is seen here inserting CIDRs for estrous synchronization.

Call to get your herd on an A.I. program: (707)-782-8863

09/26/2022

I had a productive few days away from the ranch calls attending the 55th annual American Assoc. of Bovine Practitioners Conference. These meetings help keep me up to date with latest and greatest out there in the world of veterinary medicine- so that I can better serve you! Besides all the continuing ed, It’s also a fun way for me to catch up with old friends. Shoutout to all my colleagues developing their own businesses, becoming board certified, teaching the next generation of veterinarians, lecturing and taking leadership roles within AABP- I’m proud of where we’re all at! Hope to see you all again soon.

08/30/2022

It is amazing what some IV fluids, a heating blanket and some sodium bicarbonate will do to revitalize a dehydrated calf! Scroll through to see how this little guy progressed- From down and unresponsive to up and nursing in a little over an hour!

This calf had a moderate case of diarrhea. Calves with diarrhea become dehydrated very quickly. They lose bicarbonate (a base) in the f***s resulting in a severe drop of blood pH. This condition is known as acidosis. Calves with acidosis are listless, depressed and often become recumbent, leading to death. Fortunately we can correct this condition with IV fluid therapy and sodium bicarbonate.

07/29/2022

There are some things as a large animal vet that never get old. Many practitioners would agree that extracting calves via C-Section is truly a joy of the profession.

This beef cow presented with a va**nal prolapse 3 days prior. The prolapse was replaced, but there was significant inflammation and swelling within the va**na. This likely would have led to issues during calving. The cow was induced and 24 hrs later a C-Section was performed.

The calf was up and standing 30 minutes after surgery. Mama is doing well and bonding with her new bull calf!

07/28/2022

I always love getting to do some chute work, especially in such an amazing place surrounded by vines. We took care of castrating and vaccinating this group of calves and cows. Situated right in the center of Napa Valley is , a 6th generation cattle operation. They are raising beef with best practices to make a great consumer product 🥩 which pairs superbly with the surrounding grapes 🍷!

07/26/2022

A late afternoon emergency is truly a joy when working in surroundings like these.

With all these grapes it’s easy to forget Sonoma County’s rich ranching history. Many of these families have roots that can be traced back more than 150 years.

It’s great to see these family ranch operations continue to thrive and to be a small part of that history.

07/07/2022

Last week this doe named Isabelle wasn’t showing signs of labor and was around her expected due date. Labor was induced with a combination of dexamethasone and prostaglandin, but after 48 hrs. there was little progress. A C-Section was planned that evening and we successfully delivered 2 happy and healthy bucklings. Isabelle the doe recovered well from surgery and is happily nursing her kids. A big thanks to the good folks for all the help during surgery and attending to the newborns.

07/05/2022

I saw four goat kids with severe entropion (inward rolling of the eyelid) this morning . The irritation of the eyelid on the cornea can causes ulceration, and in severe cases - like this one- surgery is the only option to correct the issue. Thanks to Sawyer 🐕 and Morgan for the help! Any guesses as to why we’re seeing this condition?

06/28/2022

Today was a scrotal exploratory and castration on an approx. 2 year old ram. The ram was purchased as a castrated male from a breeder who had the ram “banded”. As the ram grew the owner detected a small mass between his legs! Scroll right to see what was found 😯!

(As always, we use reversible injectable anesthetics along with multiple modes of pain control. We always use sterilized instruments- even out in the field 😉 all field surgery meets AVMA guidelines.)

💉💊 🐴🐮🐑🐏🐷

06/08/2022

It was very cool to work with and learn about this group of Santa Cruz sheep! They are an extremely rare and critical heritage breed. They originate from Santa Cruz Island of California’s Channel Islands. A ranch was established on the island in the mid-1800s and a variety of sheep (including Merino and Rambouillet) were introduced. At one point there were about 50,000 sheep on the island. As the island changed ownership and as its use shifted, the sheep flock became feral. In the late 70s a large portion of the Island was purchased by the Nature Conservancy. They eradicated the wild sheep population from the island as they were decimating the native fauna. The breed was transferred to the mainland and is maintained today by a select group of ranchers. 🐏

06/03/2022

Here’s a good opportunity to talk about pink eye (Infectious Keratoconjuctivitis) 👁 🪰🐂

What is pink eye? In cattle- pink eye refers to a bacterial disease which causes redness, irritation and eventually ulceration of the eye.

What causes pink-eye? A number of different bacteria- primarily Moraxella bovis, Mycoplasma bovis and Mycoplasma bovoculi and a few others.

How do cattle get it? Flies are the main culprit for transferring the bacteria from cow to cow. The face fly poses the biggest threat for transmission.

Why is it a problem? Pink eye can be incredibly painful for the animal. This irritation can limit grazing which leads to lower weight gains. The stress of a pink eye infection can also predispose the animal to other diseases like pneumonia. Also in severe cases animals may lose vision in one or both eyes.

How do we treat pink eye? There are many different “cures” but your go-to should be antibiotics labeled for that purpose i.e Tulathromycin (Draxxin, Macrosyn) or Oxytetracycline. This should be combined with an NSAID like Flunixin (Banamine) to help reduce pain and inflammation in the eye. It is also helpful to cover the eye with a patch or cloth to reduce irritation from sunlight. It can take several weeks for an ulcerated (cloudy/ opaque) eye to heal.

How do we prevent it? Some vaccines have been shown to reduce the severity of a pink eye infection. Autogenous vaccines are preferred over conventional vaccines because they protect against regionally-specific strains of bacteria. Vaccines should be given 4-6 prior to the onset of fly season for best results (March-April in the North Bay). Fly control is also very important. On pastured animals back rubbers or dust bags with pyrethroids can help keep fly numbers down. Pour-ons are a also a nice way to reduce fly numbers but they generally only last for 2-3 weeks before reapplication is needed. If there are an abnormally high number of cattle infected, you may want to test the trace mineral status of the herd.

Updates to follow…

06/02/2022

ATTENTION DAIRY, BEEF, and OTHER (SHEEP/ GOAT) RANCHERS OF THE NORTH BAY!

JOIN US TOMORROW AS WE CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF NORTH BAY FARM VETS @ ROOSTER RUN IN PETALUMA @ 5pm.

Full dinner, drinks and appetisers are complimentary thanks to our great industry sponsors. Food tastes better when its free, especially when it's on the drug company's tab!

No lecture, no obligations, just a way for you to get to know me.

RSVP by text to (707)-782-8863

I look forward to meeting you all tomorrow for this awesome event.

-Dr. Scott

05/14/2022

Mastitis is an infection of the mammary gland. It often presents as inflammation (swelling + heat) of the udder with abnormal milk. This was a severe case of mastitis where the ewe was experiencing the effects of endotoxin released by bacteria. Endotoxin is a part of bacterial cell wall in Gram negative bacteria (like E. Coli) that when broken down or released cause many issues. Endotoxin can make it’s way through blood vessels and damage healthy tissue. This ewe had signs of endotoxin shock i.e. elevated body temperature and heart rate and very bright mucous membranes. She was treated with IV fluids to flush out endotoxin and given heavy doses of anti-inflammatories to mediate the effects of endotoxin. She had also previously received antibiotics. Following treatment her condition improved and she is on the road to recovery.

05/11/2022

🚨🐄🐂🚨Attention dairy and beef producers of the North Bay. I am excited to announce our event to mark the opening of North Bay Farm Veterinary Services! This will be on Thursday June 2nd at the Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma. This includes tournament and dinner. Registration is at 12 pm and Tee Time is 1 pm. Dinner is at 5 pm.

This will be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know me and the wonderful industry reps that work in the area.

Please RSVP by 05/30 to Dr. Scott at (707)-782-8863 or [email protected] Registration is limited so reserve your spot!

I look forward to seeing you all out there! Thanks to Animal Health Intl., , and Starbar for making this happen.

Address

Petaluma, CA
94954

Website

http://www.northbayfarmvets.com/

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