Beef production is on the increase either as a part of a dairy enterprise or as a separate entity. We are experienced in all areas of beef cattle management from suckler herds to intensive finishing units and provide health planning, 'fire brigade' and troubleshooting services as required, for each individual unit.
Health Planning
Preventative medicine is the key to producing a good quality product and we strongly recommend herd health planning for all beef units. We are able to give detailed veterinary advice as well as discussing day to day management of beef cattle for new producers.
The prevention of respiratory disease is particularly important on intensive indoor units. As well as the initial costs of medicines and increased labour, a pneumonia outbreak will have a lasting effect on your unit due to reduced growth rates and affected animals will be more difficult to finish. An investigation into the problem will allow us to advise you on effective preventative measures to reduce disease risks, including environmental management and vaccination programmes.
Disease Surveillance
The Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) virus is a well-recognised cause of depressed fertility and immunosuppression in dairy herds, which also affects beef herds. We are able to carry out testing to check for the presence of diseases such as BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis and Johne's disease in your herd. Once the level of infection has been established we can advise on biosecurity to prevent introduction of disease or on steps to take to reduce the spread of infection.
Preventative Medicine and Troubleshooting
We are able to advise on many issues including:
-
Life stage nutrition
-
Housing and environment
-
Prevention of hypomagnesaemia ('staggers')
-
Summer mastitis
-
Bull Management
-
Synchronisation for AI
-
Suckler cow calving management
-
Footcare
-
Parasite control
-
Vaccination Programmes
-
Biosecurity
In an emergency please telephone (01793) 522483 (24hrs).
Drove Veterinary Hospital, 252 Croft Road, Swindon, Wiltshire SN1 4RW.
