westpoint farm vets

South West Newsletter - October 2015

Changing with the Times Change – surely no one actually enjoys it; the extra work, cost and upheaval! But change can be refreshing. Accepting the changing face of agriculture and keeping up with it (which is the difficult part!) is becoming the only way to survive in this industry. Here in the South West we have seen a number of staff changes in the past 12 months. Lesley Bingham has returned from maternity leave and will now be working part time as a vet from Launceston. Unfortunately, we say a sad farewell to Fiona Barrett our Veterinary Technician who will not be returning to us following her maternity leave. Congratulations to Ben Watson, Ami Mehta and Becky Neale who have recently completed their internships. Ben and Ami will remain as full time vets and Becky has moved onto pastures new. With great sadness we will also be saying farewell to Rachel Risdon and Chris Just, two longstanding members of our senior veterinary team. We wish them both the very best for their future careers. The St. Columb practice has also been on the move (albeit not very far!). We are now located in Unit B of Trevornick Business Park (immediately on the right as you drive through the main gate). We will shortly be hosting an open evening (details below) and we look forward to welcoming lots of faces both old and new. There have also been some recent changes to our provision of farm animal post mortem examination (PME) services in the region. In association with the University of Surrey we are now able to perform both private and APHA subsidised surveillance PMs at F. D. Statton & Son – The Slaughterhouse, Davidstow, . A post mortem examination can yield really useful information which may help to limit future losses or indicate the most appropriate treatment for your herd or flock. Timings of PME is crucial so if you have a suitable animal please contact your local vet as soon as possible to discuss your options. Many thanks to all of our lovely clients for your continued support at the shows this year. We were lucky with the weather at Royal Cornwall but the luck didn’t last for the regional shows! Huge congratulations to all of our show competition winners. Mr Mann of Zennor was the proud winner of the iPad from Royal Cornwall and Lois Samuel won the Kindle from the regional shows; farmacy consultancy vouchers were also gratefully received by Mr Rowe, , Mr & Lois Samuel Mrs Kendall, Lanivet & Mr & Mrs Coombe, Launceston.

Dairy Team of the Year Upcoming Meetings St. Columb Open Evening - 21st October, 7pm We invite you to join us for an evening of short presentations on topical veterinary and farming subjects together with a tour of our new practice and a hog roast. Everyone is welcome so feel free to bring along your family and friends. Keeping Youngstock Healthy – 5th November, 11am – 2pm, St. Ingunger Farm,

Westpoint St Columb, together with client JJ Foot trimming course – 8th/9th October & 3rd/4th Willcocks and Cornwall Farmers were proudly December awarded the Dairy Team of the Year at the Cream Sheep smallholder courses Awards in Birmingham last month. This is great Lameness – 18th November recognition for the hard work put in by the team and Lambing – 24th Feb 2016 demonstrates how we proactively help contribute to our clients’ businesses. Call the practice to book or for more information

National Strengths Local Service Preparation for Winter by Phil Elkins BVM&S MRCVS James and Kiki Willcocks colostrum to the heifers having been routinely Johne’s milk 280 cross-bred testing for 5 years – calves will only be fed milk or calves just outside colostrum from cows which have repeated tested Bodmin, Cornwall negative. We will use a colostrometer to test colostrum in an autumn block quality. All heifers will get first colostrum for at least the first 2 feeds, then 2nd and 3rd milkings for at least calving system. James another 3 days. Calves then get 2.5 litres of whole milk here is questioned twice daily for at least the next 2 weeks before going onto by vet Phil Elkins on milk powder. their preparations for youngstock rearing. JJ and Kiki Willcocks

Phil Elkins: Why is it so important to give youngstock a good start? James Willcocks: They are the future of the herd. We’re not just looking at the milking performance of our first lactation animals; youngstock health will affect their growth rates, and their lifetime yields.

Being block calving allows us to focus on the job in hand. Since going block calving 4 years ago, we’ve had to concentrate on achieving growth rates – all heifers have to achieve target growth rates to be ready for insemination from 13 months of age. We are yet to have Phil: How do you make sure you are ready for the start one underweight. of calving in the autumn? Phil: What are the key factors to the success of your James: Because we are block calving, the shed has youngstock? had a 9 month rest. It will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at turnout, and then disinfected again prior James: My wife, Kiki, has excellent attention to detail to the first calf being born. We use a disinfectant which is which means that during the key first 8-10 weeks disease active against Cryptosporidium and Coccidiosis , as there is kept to a minimum. can be issues with the high throughput. We bed the pens with plenty of good quality straw. But it is really important for us to make sure everything is at hand – once calving starts, having to go and source something becomes really tricky. We will get a load of rearing cake with decoquinate added at the prevention rate, and ensure we have any expected treatments in stock. We use calf jackets on poorly calves so before calving starts we will make sure they are all cleaned, disinfected, dried and close by. We also have regular review meetings with our vet and suppliers to ensure we can adjust our plans based on performance. The Willcocks family, together with Westpoint vet Phil Elkins We have worked hard to find a feeding regime which and Cornwall Farmers recently won Dairy Team of the Year at works for both us and the calves. We feed pooled the Cream Awards. Diagnosing Liver Fluke by Kate Haig BVMS MRCVS

The liver fluke,Fasciola hepatica, is a parasite of cattle and other grazing animals. It can cause a disease termed fasciolosis recently estimated to cost the British cattle industry approximately £23 million annually. The immature larvae migrate through the liver causing damage, and the adult feeds in the bile ducts resulting in blood loss. In sheep acute fluke causes anaemia, rapid weight loss, abdominal pain or simply sudden death. In cattle fasciolosis may contribute to the development of metabolic problems and underlie other diseases such as salmonellosis and Black disease (Clostridial necrotic hepatitis); severe infestation can be fatal. In infected dairy cows, reduced milk yields and poor fertility may be linked to weight loss and chronic diarrhoea. In spring-calving beef cows infestation in pregnancy can lead to high perinatal losses. Part of the parasite’s lifecycle occurs in an intermediate host, a mud snail. In recent years the UK has experienced milder winters and greater annual rainfall, increasing suitable snail habitats. Fasciolosis has been common in the wetter, western half of the UK but is increasingly seen in other parts of the country. Movement of infected animals to non- infected premises has probably been an important factor in this spread. A number of different laboratory tests, detailed in the table below, can be used in the diagnosis of liver fluke and are available through Biobest. Each gives different information and the best test(s) for your own circumstances can be selected through consultation with your practice vet. Post-mortem examination in cases of sudden death can be very useful in confirming fluke infestation, as can abattoir information. Test Detects Comments Sample Cost per Sample Faecal Egg Examination Eggs shed by adults in Problems can be caused by Individual or pooled Individual the bile duct and so into mature and immature flukes; samples from cattle £12.00 excl. the gut. A positive result adult flukes may not shed heavily or sheep. Fresh faeces VAT confirms that there in cattle. Eggs may only appear minimum 5g per have been adult flukes sporadically. Eggs detected for animal. 40g sample size Pool of 10 present recently. up to 3 weeks after successful increases sensitivity, individual treatment Therefore, it is especially in cattle. samples possible to have no egg count submitted when there is an active fluke £28.00 excl. infestation, or fluke eggs present VAT after successful treatment. Faecal coproantigen A product of immature Can confirm diagnosis before Individual or pooled £8.00 excl. VAT testing flukes. adults are present. It can be used samples from cattle to monitor treatment efficacy, or sheep. Fresh faeces with negative results expected minimum 5g per animal. a week after treatment, rather than 3 weeks for egg counts. Eggs shed by another cattle parasite of cattle, rumen fluke, are similar in appearance to liver fluke eggs although they can be differentiated morphologically by an experienced examiner. Rumen fluke is not thought to be a significant clinical problem in adult cattle, but migrating fluke in the small intestine may be a problem in young animals. Where fluke faecal egg counts are positive but the coproantigen test is negative it would tend to suggest that rumen fluke, not liver fluke, is present. Antibody testing Antibodies produced in Demonstrates if animals have Individual blood £7.00 excl. VAT response to flukes. been exposed. Antibody samples from cattle or detected in is a marker of sheep. Individual or exposure, not necessarily current bulk milk samples from infestation. Antibodies appear dairy cows. An annual early in infestation, before bulk milk test, taken eggs appear in faeces.The level at the same time each detected indicates the severity year, can be a useful of exposure. A successful fluke monitoring tool. control programme will result in bulk milk antibody gradually falling over a calendar year. Biochemical tests Biochemical markers While not specific to fluke Individual blood Large animal typical of acute or infestation, these may be samples from cattle liver profile chronic liver disease. helpful in indicating a liver- or sheep. £23.00 excl. associated problem in sick VAT animals. Ram Fertility by David Anderson BVSc MRCVS Do you know if your boys are up to the job? Eyes Clear with no discharge. He’ll do a better job if he Ram performance trials can see the ewes! have shown that around 20% of breeding rams are culled prematurely and, of these, a third are culled Feet & Legs due to poor fertility. Rams Be of good confirmation provide half the input into and not lame. This not any breeding programme and only means he can serve the consequences of using ewes but also can move one with poor fertility can be from one to another catastrophic. True infertility easily. i.e. firing blanks, is rare but subfertility is very common Scrotum & Testicles affecting as many as 1 in 4. Should be free of Just because you can’t see subfertility doesn’t mean it’s defects. Testicles should not there! be even in size and Pre-Breeding Examination consistency and be freely Pre-breeding examinations should be carried out ten moveable in scrotum. weeks before mating. This gives adequate time for any Testicular circumference conditions to be treated and/or replacements to be is directly related to sourced. At the very least, all rams should be physically sperm production, examined before being used. This will allow for some bigger=better! problems to be detected. Particular attention should be paid to:-

External Genitalia Body Condition Score Should be checked for A fat ram will struggle abnormalities. to mate and the extra fat laid down around his testicles will lower his By extrapolating from bulls, if you carry out these basic fertility. Likewise too thin checks you should detect around 50% of sub-fertile and he won’t have the animals. The other 50% will have no detectable physical energy to do the job. abnormality and their sub-fertility will only be detectable Aim for a condition score by semen examination. of 3.5 pre-mating and around 2.5 post-mating. Semen examination must be carried out by a vet and a sample is obtained usually by electro-ejaculation. This is a simple, safe and relatively stress-free procedure. Once a Teeth sample is obtained, a detailed examination is carried out Need to be in good under the microscope looking at things such as the ability condition as he’ll soon of the sperm to move, the numbers of live and dead run out of energy to mate sperm and any defects that they have that would render if he can’t eat properly. them unable to produce viable lambs. Please contact your nearest Westpoint practice for further information.

Westpoint - Launceston Westpoint - Okehampton Westpoint - St Columb Westpoint - Trethorne Business Park, Medicine Collection Service Trevornick Business Park, Unit 3A Race Court, Kennards House, Launceston, Please address post to admin Winnard’s Perch, St Columb, Treswithian Downs, Camborne, Cornwall, PL15 8QE team at Launceston Cornwall, TR9 6DH Cornwall, TR14 0PU Tel: 01566 86985 Tel: 01566 86985 Tel: 01637 889231 Tel: 01209 710108 www.westpointfarmvets.co.uk