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Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 5pm

St David's Game Bird Services

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St David's Game Bird Services

St David’s Game Bird Services
We are a group of dedicated game bird vets that strive to improve every aspect of game bird health and welfare.

+44(0)1392 872932
Bampton, Tiverton, EX16 9NG T:+44(0)1392872932
Fonthill, Berwick St. Leonard SP3 5UA T:+44(0)1747820094
Far Peak, Northleach, GL54 3JL T:+44(0)1285 720516
Condover, Shrewsbury SY5 7NH T:+44())1743 718325
Tirril, Penrith CA10 2JH T:+44(0)1609 749155
Maxwell House, North Yorkshire DL7 9LN T:+44(0)1609 749155
Grange, Newcastle West T;+353 (0)69 69540
Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT43 7DX T:+44 (0)2887722225
Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT71 67A T:+44(0) 28 87722225
Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire AB51 0AD T:+44 (0)1392 872932
Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Midlothian, EH25 9RG T:+44 (0)1392872932

The business operates by a "hands-on," evidenced based and customised approach as we believe that many disease processes in game are a reflection of management and practice and there are many aspects of an operation that can be controlled to reduce disease challenges. We offer on site post mortem examinations at competitive rates as well as offering the ability to bring birds to one of our centres. Diagnosis is made at the time of the visit or after laboratory testing and medication is offered with advice on how to administer the product effectively. If you want to talk to any of our game vets feel free to contact our main office on 01392 872932 or drop us an email: [email protected]

24/07/2025

With the recent changes in weather, we have been seeing some Capillaria worms on sites.

Capillaria worms are also known as ‘hairworms’, hide in the crop and can cause pheasants and partridges to go off their feed.

Unfortunately, there are no clinical signs, but if birds aren’t responding to other medications, it may be that there are Capillaria worms hiding, and can only be confirmed by a post-mortem.

Our vets advise worming birds 7 days after they arrive at the release site to help manage worm populations. Delaying treatment may see your birds struggle to achieve their full potential, even after treatment.

You may need a vet visit for any prescription medication. To arrange a visit, contact your local vet, or call us on 01392 872932

22/07/2025

Our vets have been seeing a slight increase in Hexamita on sites this week. As we’ve been experiencing more variable weather conditions, cases may increase.

Hexamita can cause high mortality in the rear and the post release period, especially when birds are stressed. A reminder that the signs to look out for are:
- Watery diarrhoea
- Severe, rapid weight loss
- Mortality due to emaciation
- Dehydration

Prevention plans should include good biosecurity practices and a reduction of stress where possible.

If you are worried about disease in your birds, call us on 01392 872932

20/07/2025

Marble Spleen Disease (MSD) is a viral infection seen in pheasants. Although it makes up a few cases of all primary diagnoses in pheasants, it is still worth keeping an eye out for it.

Believed to cause immune suppression, which can then cause susceptibility to bacterial and protozoal infections. When birds respond poorly to treatment for other diseases, MSD could be responsible for causing the delayed recovery or frequent disease breakdown.

Clinical signs often follow 2-3 weeks following transfer to release pens.

If you are concerned about the health or welfare of your birds, call your local vet or us on 01392 872932

For more information on MSD, click here >>> https://stdavids-gamebirds.co.uk/resources/diseases/pheasant-partridge/marble-spleen-disease/

18/07/2025

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠:

• 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: You can feed and build up the birds, protect them from stressors, check bird health and treat as necessary against disease challenge
• 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 with a controlled environment
• 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 with a closed flock (e.g. mycoplasma status)
• 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 & 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 rather than a random selection from catching up
• 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 in terms of fertility/bird weight

If you would like more information on overwintering your birds, call us on 01392 872932

16/07/2025

Water quality is vital to bird health. The birds’ guts are very delicate, and if you introduce a vital resource like water that contains high levels of pathogens, it can cause poor gut health, immunosuppression, and make the birds more susceptible to disease.

Many of the problems we see can be traced back to a contaminated water supply. This is because bacteria thrive in water, especially slow-flowing, warm or stagnant water.

A good water hygiene programme should include:
• Routine testing
• Flush drinker lines
• Record water consumption – this will highlight any variances that should be investigated, a potential warning of early disease
• General record keeping – this should include water quality tests, treatment measures and any incidents related to water supply or contamination

If you have any concerns about the water hygiene on your site, call your local vet or us on 01392 872932

13/07/2025

As breeding birds come to the end of their laying cycle for this year, attention turns to selecting birds to overwinter.

Selecting birds from your stock to overwinter offers the benefit of knowing the history of the birds' health and genetics. Ideally, you want to select birds with characteristics that you would want on your site.

Typically, we see birds with desirable characteristics earlier in the season; however, there is usually high demand for these, therefore, many breeders compromise and select birds’ mid-season.

To read more about selecting your overwintering birds, click here >>> https://stdavids-gamebirds.co.uk/news/selecting-your-overwintering-stock/

If you want to discuss overwintering your birds, call your local vet or us on 01392 872932 or email [email protected]

11/07/2025

We know that birds experience stress upon release, which can disrupt their gut health and increase the risk of disease. To help reduce this stress, our vets recommend the following measures:

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫: A release pen needs 1/3 ground cover, 1/3 medium cover, and 1/3 roosting cover
𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: 50% must be of similar design to those at the rearing site, and a minimum of 1 per 100 birds
𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬: 50% must be bell-shaped to match the ones from the rearing site
𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Do not release birds from different sources into the same enclosure
𝐏𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞: Birds should have, as a minimum, the same size pellet as they had on the rearing site
𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐲𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: Water acidifiers such as Ultimate Acid should be used to promote gut health and clean water lines with Aqua-clean

If you need veterinary advice or guidance at this stage, get in touch with our team on 01392 872932

09/07/2025

With the warmer weather set to continue throughout the rest of this week, it’s important you are taking steps to make sure your birds are staying cool and have access to clean, cool water.

Birds don’t handle the heat well. Once they get too hot, it can upset the gut, which can cause diarrhoea.

Rearing fields need to ensure that sheds are well ventilated and heaters are either off or on tickover. The birds will come into the shed to seek shade and crowd round each other, not moving, then a few days later, you may have birds that have diarrhoea and clinical signs of heat stress. Utilise night shelters, take off the monoflex and allow air to circulate through the shed.

For sites that are catching up birds, try and do this later in the evenings or early mornings when the weather is cooler. Try to shorten the amount of time birds are in crates without water.

If you are receiving poults, think about whether the water is easily accessible to the birds. The stress of catching up will delay the birds' first drink. Try and bring the drinkers closer to where you are releasing the birds to encourage them to drink as quickly as possible after transfer.

If you are concerned about your birds in the hot weather, call your local vet or us on 01392 872932 or email [email protected]

08/07/2025

When birds are released, they can suffer from dysbacteriosis, which is a disruption in the gut, which can be caused by stress and a change in diet.

Poults have been used to a diet of grass and pellets, and at release, they will have access to plant material that they're not used to, and access to pellets is more difficult as the feeders tend to be more spread out. This can lead to an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut, and this might be when you see diarrhoea in your poults.

Birds can be supported and recover through the use of nutraceuticals rather than immediately turning to antibiotics. Your vet can put together a plan with the most appropriate products for your birds and site.

If you are concerned about your birds or would like to discuss using nutraceuticals, call your local vet or us on 01392 872932

06/07/2025

During the release period, birds will have increased exposure to parasites such as worms, which can often lead to other illnesses due to the weakening of the immune system.

Our vets recommend worming birds 7 days after they arrive at the release site, as a way of controlling the worm populations. If you wait until you see clinical signs, your birds may struggle to achieve their full potential, even after treatment.

You may need a vet visit for any prescription medication. To arrange a visit, contact your local vet, or call us on 01392 872932

04/07/2025

It's been a positive start to the season, despite the challenge of hot weather that some have experienced. Overall, things are going well which is welcome following several years of various challenges for the industry.

There was dry weather for set up, egg numbers and chick quality have been good and disease challenge, specifically hexamita and mycoplasma, has been relatively low. Those birds that have been released are also doing well.

Keeping an eye on the detail will only build on this, such as keeping any worm burdens under control and regularly flushing water lines, especially when the weather's warm, to minimise biofilm build up.

01/07/2025

Providing perches for your birds is a great way of encouraging natural behaviours, such as roosting. Allowing birds to learn to roost at rearing sites can also help with transition, reduce stress and help minimise stress-related gut issues - especially as they content with predators.

It also allows the birds to have a degree of separation from more dominant/aggressive birds.

Our vets recommend providing perches from 2.5 weeks old, with a minimum perch space of 1.5cm perch space for each bird. Good examples they've seen include pallets positioned in an A-frame, as they will act as a perch and provide shelter for the birds.

For more information on supporting your birds, call your local vet or our head office on 01392 872932

Address

Lympstone

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+441392872932

Website

http://www.stdavids-gamebirds.co.uk/

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St David’s Game Bird Services is a service run by dedicated Game vets to offer the highest standard of care for game birds in rear and release as well as providing advice on bio security and welfare legislation. Our main office is based on the edge of Exeter in Devon though we have national coverage operating from 14 bases across the UK and Ireland. The business operates with a "hands-on," evidenced based and customised approach as we believe that many disease processes in game are a reflection of management and practice and there are many aspects of an operation that can be controlled to reduce disease challenges. We offer on site post mortem examinations at competitive rates as well as offering the ability to bring birds to one of our centres. Diagnosis is made at the time of the visit or after laboratory testing and medication is offered with advice on how to administer the product effectively. If you want to talk to any of our game vets feel free to contact our main office on 01392 872932 or drop us an email: [email protected]