November 2024
Here is the latest from our farm team at Mount Vets. If you would like any further advice or would like us to cover something in the next newsletter, please call us on 01823 663384 or contact us here.
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DIY Ram MOT
Whilst many early lambers will have the rams already out, for those hitting the spring flush, this is a timely reminder to check on the boys before their busiest part of the year! Whilst we hope many of you have given them a good once over a few weeks ago, allowing time for issues to be resolved – but if not, this is the last chance to make any changes to your line up before breeding begins.
This is best done in pairs, giving you an assistant to restrain the ram upright on his
rump while you carry out the MOT. Any issues identified can be discussed with your vet,
or further worked up, if necessary, for example by examination of his semen viability.
AHWP Bull Breeding Soundness Examination.
Bull Breeding Soundness Examinations are now available for beef farmers as part of AHWP funding, so all costs of the testing will be covered by the AHWP.
Managing reproduction effectively to achieve optimum fertility is essential to the running of a profitable cattle enterprise. In the dairy herd effort is usually largely concentrated on the female with male fertility being managed at a distance by bull studs and through the use of AI. Ensuring the capability and fertility of ‘sweeper’ bulls remains of great importance however, as these are often used to:
- Serve cows which are slipping in the calving pattern
- Serve cows proving difficult to get in calf
- Run with groups of maiden heifers
Although few bulls are sterile (incapable of successfully impregnating cows) sub-fertility is relatively common. It is not unreasonable to expect a fully fertile stock bull running with fifty normally cycling, disease-free cows to achieve a 90% pregnancy rate after a nine-week serving period. Published work, however, shows almost one in three stock bulls currently in use fail to achieve this target, taking a longer time to get fewer cows pregnant, which has a profound effect on profitability. A bull breeding soundness examination carried out by us, aiming to identify individual infertile and subfertile bulls in advance of the breeding season, allows appropriate action to be taken and will frequently prove to be a very worthwhile investment.
Something to consider is that Bull Breeding Soundness Examinations are now part of AHWP funding.
To find out more about this service, please call us: 01823 663384
Elephant Foot Trimming
Many of you are aware that vet Charlie recently left the UK to travel; he is currently in Nepal. Out of coincidence he stumbled across some vets and an elephant foot trimming expert giving a demonstration on foot trimming and he shared this with us.
The elephants are not sedated, they are trained to lie down and command for the foot trimmer. Perhaps something to consider for our cattle foot trimmers?!
Elephant feet have 4-5 ‘toenails’ per foot, which look strikingly similar to the hooves as we know them, also featuring white lines and made up of horn, but effectively have the same function as our fingernails (just thickened)- not designed to be weight bearing and exist mostly to protect the bones of the foot.
Upcoming courses
DIY Articial Insemiation Course
Our next 4-day DIY AI course will run on 19th, 20th, 22nd & 23rd August 2024.
This DEFRA approved course is aimed at anyone who has no previous experience in the artificial insemination of cows.
The 4-day course is run by our experienced farm vet Rob Mangham and is full of theory and practical sessions to make sure you leave feeling confident and safe in all aspects of AI.
The cost of the course is £500 + VAT, with a £50+VAT deposit to secure your space.
(Deposit will be taken off final amount)
Please ring the practice to book your place on any of our courses on 01823 663384 or email farm@mountvets.com
Meet the Team!
We have an experienced & friendly team here at Mount Vets. You might already recognise a few faces but over the next few months we will reintroduce you to some of our excellent team. To read more and see more of the faces of Mount Vets visit our team page, and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
Piers Pepperell
Director
Many of you will already know our Mount Vets Director Piers; but did you know he has appeared on tv show Blind Date with Cilla Black?
Piers loves to spend a free day with his two daughters and three dogs, surfing on the North Devon Coast.
His favourite vet call out was when he was called into the waiting room and unknown to him at the time, but he then met his wife to be. She had brought in her eight baby bunny rabbits, which led on naturally to a 10-minute chat about pig wormers and her asking Piers out on a date.
Pip White
Vet
Pip is one of our large animal vets. If you’ve met her, you will probably know how much she loves her cows. So much so, that she loves to spend her free time at home with her cows! That, or in the showring showing them. 🐮
Pip graduated as top student in her year from the University of Surrey.
Her favourite song is Mr Brightside by the Killers.
Have a question about any of the topics covered in this newsletter?
If you need any assistance with the topics covered in this newsletter, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our experienced farm vets who will be able to help. Call 01823 663384, or contact us here.
