Vet tech services
Our VetTechs work alongside you and our farm vets in a team approach to improve farm health. We are aware that you are getting busier, with less time to plan, organise and implement effective health care strategies, and this is why we have introduced the VetTech service. The team can carry out the small things that take time or simply require an extra set of hands once or twice a month.
Please do not hesitate to contact your local practice for more information on the VetTech services we offer:
The main benefits farmers have seen from using our VetTech service include:
• Healthier calves from stress free vaccinations and protocols
• Effective and efficient youngstock management
• An extra set of hands which simply help get the job done
Want to try the service out?
For farms that want to ‘give it a go’, we offer the first ‘taste’ of the VetTech service completely free of charge. We understand that you need full confidence in the staff we employ to help you. So if you want to try it out then it’s only fair that you should do so with no extra cost on top of the price of any product.
To find out more about the service or to suggest other ways in which we might help, then please give us a call.
Freeze Branding services coming soon...
FAECAL WORM EGG COUNT
A great way to reduce unnecessary spend on wormers and to identify youngstock treatment early is to monitor a small group of cattle and sheep by testing their faeces. Our VetTech team will plan ahead to collect muck samples at the correct times of year so we can help you optimise your worming treatments.
On top faecal worm counts is coccidiosis sampling to enable your vet to produce a cocci control plan tailored to your unit.
SAMPLING
Our technicians are trained to take the range of samples normally required for diagnostic testing, whether that is during milking time or whilst handling cattle and sheep for other purposes.
For example: if you want to test your flock for sheep scab, our VetTech team can come and sample whilst you are handling the flock for other purposes.
YOUNGSTOCK PERFORMANCE MONITORING
We offer a full youngstock performance monitoring package which can be run in conjunction with your vet. It is very important to monitor the health and growth rates of an animal from birth to calving to help maintain performance.
A typical youngstock management plan that can be implemented by the VetTech team. Please see example below.
DISBUDDING
Our VetTechs disbud calves up to six weeks old which has numerous benefits:
• Stress free and hassle free for both the animal and farmer.
• We disbud the calf as soon as a bud is big enough to be removed. We use a very precise, small and relatively non-traumatic cauterisation tool which we believe to be the most welfare friendly technique available.
• We utilise local anaesthetic, pain relief and spray on all disbuds
VACCINATIONS
To maintain your herd’s health it is important to keep your herd up to date with any vaccinations needed. Our trained technicians can carry out calf and whole herd vaccinations, selecting the right animals and vaccines as prescribed by your vet.
They will ensure that suitable records are kept of the amount of vaccine used, the batch number, the expiry date and all individual animal ear tag numbers. A copy is sent out to you to include in your own records. Any second doses are booked in automatically so you don’t need to remember.
TRANSITION CHECKS
Another VetTech service is monitoring cows for signs of subclinical ketosis. Our team test your cows soon after calving to measure samples for signs of ketosis. You will have immediate results on the day, but we will also keep your results on a spreadsheet for you, your vet and nutritionist to use on a rolling basis. Ketosis is a drain on production and increases the risk of disease. By identifying it at an early stage we can work with the whole on-farm team to deal with any problems.
LAMENESS SUPPORT
Did you know that 90% of lameness in dairy cows arise from conditions of the feet? Recognising the negative impact that lameness can have on herd performance, our skilled team can help you tackle lameness in your herd:
Digital Dermatitis Blitz:
Digital Dermatitis is thought to affect many herds in the UK. This intense “blitz” approach has been proven to reduce the DD level in the herd down to a manageable level. If your vet suspects DD as a major cause of lameness in your herd, this is definitely an approach to consider.
Environmental Assessment:
Lameness is often caused by a number of environmental factors on farm and it can take another set of eyes to look at problems areas with a new perspective. Our VetTech team will look at every area of your herds journey and pinpoint those that could be problematic. In conjunction with your vet, they will produce short terms and long terms suggestions which may help reduce lameness in your herd.
MOBILITY SCORING
One of our most popular services is mobility scoring. Our VetTechs are trained according to AHDB standards to assess the levels of mobility of all cows in your herd. An automatic report is produced at the end of each session to detail the levels of sound/imperfect cows and it also shows progress since the last assessment, making it easy to identify problem cows for corrective foot trimming.
Foot trimming records can be collected from you at each mobility session and these are then uploaded along with the mobility scores to an online analysis tool where vets utilise the data alongside their knowledge of the farm to determine a lameness reduction plan tailored to your system.
This whole service is not only useful to fulfil milk contract requirements, but it also allows you to reduce mobility problems in your herd which will aid cow performance and productivity.
BODY CONDITION & TEAT SCORING
The VetTech team is trained to assess the body condition score of your herd in a consistent way. This can help to monitor changes that impact on health and fertility, flagging up individual cows of concern. We can make regular visits to farm at intervals of six weekly to quarterly.
TB TEST ASSISTANCE
TB tests are stressful at the best of times and we have a number of clients who find it useful to have another set of trained and accurate hands to help read ear tags, record cattle numbers and help move stock around.