Seasonal Tips - Spring
DAIRY FARMERS
It’s time to start thinking about what needs to be done to get those girls in calf. Below are some points to think about:
- Tail paint your herd 35 days pre mating, so you can see who is cycling and who isn’t. This allows for early intervention for non-cycling cows.
- Start thinking about metrichecking your herd pre mating. Dirty cows can have a huge impact on calf rates and MT rates. We can start doing this now to get the greatest benefits.
- Are your cows on track to meet their body condition score target for mating? Our vets can help with body condition scoring prior to mating.
- Pre mating trace element testing needs to be on your radar to make sure the cows are in tip-top shape for mating.
- Make sure you come and see us to book in your herd for BTM BVD testing this season
SHEEP & BEEF FARMERS
- Remember that breeding bulls need an annual booster of their BVD vaccine.
- Ensure you book in a grass staggers assessment for your herd. Contact your local clinic to arrange this.
- Watch your young stock for any sign of worms.
- Have you checked that your drench works? Talk to your local vet about setting up a drench test for the summer.
- Get your docking/tailing order form to your local clinic.
- Remember to get FECs done 65days after capsule administration.
- Start considering what products you will use for fly prevention over the summer months.
- Give us a ring to get your Animal Health Plan done to comply with the Farm Assurance Programme
PET OWNERS
With the warmer weather approaching, it is time to think about flea control for your pets. As the weather warms up, so does the environment the fleas love to live in, and eggs that have been dormant during the winter months start to hatch; before you know it, you have a flea infestation. Our teams are trained in flea control to assist you with choosing the right product for your pet and we offer a great deal of knowledge around flea treatment. For pets who don’t appreciate topical preparations there are chew or collar preparations that offer excellent flea control as well.
As the days lengthen and start to warm up, non-desexed female cats will start coming into season. With female cats in season, this means the tom cats will start fighting over them. This will in turn cause issues with cats getting bitten, and the bites can turn into nasty abscesses. There is an increased risk of Feline Aids being transmitted through cat bites, and even your pet cat is at risk if he/she gets in the way of a cat fight. To stop the problem of unwanted litters of kittens, and the risk of Feline Aids, we strongly recommend that all male and female cats are desexed.
The change of season is an ideal time to remind you to worm your pets. Adult dogs and cats should be wormed routinely every month. Unfortunately, not all worming products are created equally. We urge you to use a veterinary endorsed product for maximum effectiveness against internal parasites- some of which can infect humans!.
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