Clinical

Figure 1. Chronic mastitis may be detected by palpating the udder. Lumps, abscesses, draining tracts, and scar tissue in the teat canal can all feature.

Mastitis in meat sheep

Mastitis is a problem encountered in all sheep flocks, although incidence can vary widely. Grant et al (2016), performed mammary examinations on 4721 ewes across 10 suckler flocks over a 2-year...

Figure 1. Granuloma. Proliferative tissue is visible on the sole and hoof horn has become overgrown as a result of the sheep not bearing weight on this leg.

Lameness in sheep: a practical guide to non-contagious foot diseases

Several other foot diseases may occasionally be encountered, for which further reading on diagnosis and treatment is available in Winter (2004a and 2004b). In summary these conditions include:.

Figure 7. Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHBD) estimates of rates of vaccination for ovine abortion. Courtesy of Kynetec, MSD and AHDB Vaccine Report.

Sheep abortion – a roundtable discussion

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) performs surveillance to monitor the health of the UK's breeding flock in order to detect undefined or unexpected trends and to enable timely mitigation of...

Figure 1. Change in total veterinary spend over 3 years, LLM Farm Vets Vet Invest Report.

Antimicrobial resistance: how changes have improved practices in the UK dairy industry

AMR rarely causes clinical problems on dairy farms, so although AMR is causing increased global concern, it can be hard for the farmer-veterinary surgeon team to relate to this practically when...

Figure 1. A summary of the benefits of energized calf milk replacer, in comparison to standard commercial milk replacer.

Energized calf milk: is it worth investing in early life nutrition?

Historically, formulations of CMR have differed significantly from WM in their levels of energy, protein and minerals. Energy source is one of the major differences, and arguably one of the most...

Figure 2. Any flock that can breed its own replacements should consider doing this.

Enzootic abortion in sheep: a review

EAE remains the most common cause of abortion in the UK, responsible for 42% of diagnosed infectious fetopathies in England in 2020 (Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), 2020), and has been for...

Figure 1. Petrifilm inoculation and reading. Inoculating the film with a defined amount of colostrum or milk allows an estimation of the hygiene status by counting the colonies after incubation

Metabolic programming and monitoring tools in pre-weaned dairy calves

Epigenetics describes influences on and effects of differences in gene expression. DNA contains a code made out of genes which encode proteins/enzymes. Proteins are produced in the processes of...

Figure 1. The AHDB Mobility Scoring System (https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/dairy-mobility-scoresheet).

Early detection and prompt effective treatment of lameness in dairy cattle

Despite the well documented economic and welfare impacts of lameness, one of the fundamental difficulties continues to be how the farm team define and recognise the behavioural changes associated with...

Figure 1. Heifers at grass during breeding season.

The use of fixed time artificial insemination programmes for the use of sexed semen in block calving dairy heifers

The minimum requirement for success of any synchronisation programme is (Carvalho et al, 2018):.

Figure 1. Pneumonic lung lesions caused by infection with M. hyopneumoniae (courtesy IZSLER, Italy).

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae as a causative agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia

M. hyopneumoniae is 200–500 nm in size and requires complex media and aerobic and microaerophilic conditions to be cultured. Infection with M. hyopneumoniae occurs via inhalation of infected aerosols...

Figure 3. High mortality associated with porcine circovirus systemic disease in Iowa after 2004.

Porcine circoviruses

PCV1 was recognised as a contaminant of porcine kidney cell lines (PK-15) in the 1970s. A range of common conditions was initially wrongly attributed to PCV1, e.g. stillbirths, mummified piglets,...

Figure 1. Feed spillage under a feed bin.

We cannot afford to waste feed on pig farms

At any time it is vital to minimise feed wastage. As feed is the number one cost in the production of livestock it is essential that the veterinarian is aware of potential areas where wasted feed can...