Fosse Way Farm Vets

25/08/2025

🪱🐑🐄 Is your parasite control plan working as hard as your livestock?

At Fosse Way Farm Vets, we're helping farms across the region tackle worms, fluke, and external parasites with Integrated Parasite Management (IPM) plans that are tailored, sustainable, and effective.

💡 Why IPM?
Resistance to wormers is a growing challenge. Blanket treatments are no longer enough—and can even make things worse. An IPM plan helps you make informed, strategic decisions that protect your animals and your farm’s future.

🔍 What’s involved in an IPM plan?
✅ Faecal egg counts (FECs) and diagnostic testing
✅ Pasture rotation and grazing strategies
✅ Targeted treatments based on risk and burden
✅ Managing refugia to slow resistance
✅ Seasonal planning for lungworm, fluke, lice & mites

📈 The result? Healthier stock, better productivity, and reduced reliance on blanket worming.

📞 Ready to build a smarter parasite control plan for your herd or flock?
Give us a call at the practice on 01455 241080

14/08/2025

📢 Is Your Tup Up to the Job?

With breeding season just around the corner, make sure your rams are ready to perform. Subfertility is more common than you think—and a single underperforming tup can impact your whole lamb crop.

🔬 Our pre-breeding fertility checks include:
- Semen evaluation
- Full clinical exam
- Body condition & parasite review

✅ Early testing = fewer empty ewes, tighter lambing, better returns.

📆 Book now on 01455 241080 and make sure your tups aren’t the weak link this season

14/08/2025

Multiple AHWP applications on one Farm
You are now able to apply for funded vet visits on multiple herds or flocks.
For any queries on the application process there is a webinar run by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Tuesday next week!!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/get-funding-for-animal-health-and-welfare-webinar-multiple-herds-cattle-tickets-1559411875899?aff=oddtdtcreator

Many will be aware that funded vet visits for multiple herds or flocks of the same species are now available in England. This support is part of Defra’s Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.

To ensure farmers understand how this applies specifically to beef and dairy cattle, Defra is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday 19 August at 11am.
 
This 1-hour session will cover..

how vet visits can help spot and prevent health issues early – especially with BVD testing

what the funding covers and how to apply

how to book a vet visit and claim payment

how the optional follow-up visit works – including the PI (persistently infected) hunt

A recording will be available afterwards on DEFRA's Webinars in 2025 page.

This link is in stories or see your member email:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/get-funding-for-animal-health-and-welfare-webinar-multiple-herds-cattle-tickets-1559411875899?aff=oddtdtcreator

06/08/2025

💧🐄 Calf scour: A preventable threat to your future herd

Calf scour (diarrhoea) remains the leading cause of death in calves under one month old, responsible for over 50% of pre-weaning losses on some farms. But even those that survive often suffer long-term setbacks, including reduced growth rates and poorer lifetime milk yields.

Scour is caused by multiple pathogens — rotavirus, coronavirus, E. coli, Salmonella, and Cryptosporidium — as well as poor colostrum management and suboptimal hygiene.

🔬 Key facts:
• Up to 75% of scour cases are linked to poor colostrum management.
• Scouring calves can lose 6–12% of their body weight in just 24 hours.
• It is dehydration and electrolyte loss, not the diarrhoea itself, that is the main cause of death.

💡 Prevention starts with colostrum: the 6 Qs
Quality — High antibody levels (test if possible).
Quantity — At least 3–4 litres in the first feed.
Quickly — Within the first 2 hours after birth.
sQueaky clean — Keep colostrum free from bacteria.
Quantify — Passive transfer benchmarking
Quietly — teat feeding rather than tubing reduces stress and allows more effective uptake

💊 Treatment essentials
The cornerstone of scour treatment is rapid rehydration using oral electrolytes to replace fluid and correct acid-base and electrolyte imbalances and an anti-inflammatory. Most cases do not require antibiotics

Early intervention is critical: calves that remain bright and standing have a much better prognosis.

📈 Our approach:
We support farms in moving beyond reactive treatments to a proactive, data-driven approach: robust colostrum protocols, environmental management, targeted vaccination, and strategic treatment plans tailored to your specific risk factors.

👨‍⚕️ Ready to improve your calf health and future herd performance?
Contact us today to build a science-led scour prevention and treatment plan for your farm on 01455 241080

28/07/2025

Don’t forget the exciting meeting tomorrow! Come along and find out about this technology

We are hosting a meeting along side AHDB and Vet Vision AI, all welcome!
This will be a very informative farm walk around the Sutton Bonnington Dairy Centre on cow behaviour and what that tells us about housing.

To book please call the office on 01455 241080

25/07/2025

🚨🐄 Have you heard of Hardware Disease?

Also known as Traumatic Reticulopericarditis (TRP), this serious condition occurs when cattle swallow sharp metal objects like nails or wire. These can pierce the stomach wall and reach the heart sac – causing pain, infection and sudden death.

👀 Signs to watch for on-farm:

Sudden drop in milk yield

Stiff movement or hunched back

Reluctance to move or eat

Fever or rapid breathing

Down cows with no obvious injury

🩺 Prevention is key! Treatment outcomes once suffering for TRP are very poor

✅ Use rumen magnets—especially for housed cattle or those on TMR
✅ Check and maintain your silage pit and feed face—foreign objects like nails, wire from tyres, or metal fragments can easily end up in feed
✅ maintain machinery regularly to minimise contamination



📞 For any further information in how to prevent this or suspect one of your animals is suffering form this please don’t hesitate to contact the office to speak to one of our vets on 01455 241080

21/07/2025

🐏 Get Ready for a More Efficient Breeding Season with Teaser Rams! 🐏

What is a Teaser Ram?
A teaser ram is a vasectomised ram who maintains his testosterone levels and physical mating ability. He helps synchronize your ewes for the introduction of a fertile ram, advancing your breeding season by 2-3 weeks and tightening your lambing window.

Benefits of Teaser Rams:
✅ Tightens lambing period for better management
✅ Advances breeding season by 2-3 weeks
✅ Boosts ewe synchronization for more productive lambing
✅ Prevents disease risk in young lambs

How It Works:
The vasectomy procedure involves removing a portion of the ductus deferens under local anaesthetic, preventing s***m from reaching the p***s while keeping the ram’s libido and mating ability intact.

Key Timing Tips:
✔️ 28 days prior to introducing teaser rams, keep ewes away from all males (sight and sound).
✔️ Teasers should go in 6 weeks before fertile rams. Plan for an 8-week lead time to optimize results.

Special Offer!
Save on costs when you book multiple vasectomies at the same visit!

For more information, please contact the office on 01455 241080

18/07/2025

👋 Meet Jess – Approved Tuberculin Tester at Fosse Way Farm Vets

Jess joined the Fosse Way team in January and has become an important part of our TB testing service. With a background in sheep farming, she brings practical livestock experience and a calm, capable approach to her work on farm.

Since joining the team, Jess has supported a wide range of testing visits and contributes to the smooth, efficient running of TB testing days. Her steady handling and practical understanding of stock help to reduce stress for both animals and farmers, and she approaches each job with professionalism and care.

Jess is already a familiar face to many of our clients and continues to build strong working relationships across the farms she visits. Her reliability, work ethic, and commitment to supporting the team make her a valued part of our on-farm services.

📞 01455 241080
📧 [email protected]

17/07/2025

We are hosting a meeting along side AHDB and Vet Vision AI, all welcome!
This will be a very informative farm walk around the Sutton Bonnington Dairy Centre on cow behaviour and what that tells us about housing.

To book please call the office on 01455 241080

16/07/2025

With confirmed cases of circulating bluetongue early in the season and high likelihood of under reporting, it is vital that anyone still planning on vaccinating does it as soon as they can as there is now significant risk of infection to herds and flocks across our practice area.

For further advice and to discuss with any of our vets please call the office on 01455 241080

❗BLUETONGUE - On July 11, two cattle in Herefordshire tested positive following a non-negative pre-movement test.

On the same day, a sheep in Oxfordshire was also confirmed with BTV-3 after showing clinical signs including hot, painful feet, reluctance to move, and general unwellness.

READ MORE: https://www.farmersguardian.com/news/4361142/bluetongue-updates-cambridgeshire-bedfordshire-hertfordshire-london-surrey-west-sussex-restricted

14/07/2025

👋 Meet Katie – Our Veterinary Technician and ATT at Fosse Way Farm Vets

Katie brings practical, hands-on experience to the team, with a strong foundation in agriculture and livestock care. She’s a RoMS-accredited mobility scorer, qualified AI technician, and lay scanner, and supports a range of services including disbudding, cattle AI and scanning, and TB testing etc..

Her calm, efficient approach to TB testing helps ensure the process is as smooth and stress-free as possible for both animals and farmers.

Alongside her role at Fosse Way, Katie is continuing her training as a veterinary technician through Harper Adams University. She is also developing her skills in sheep AI and scanning, reflecting a growing interest in flock work alongside her established focus on cattle health, fertility, and farm efficiency..

Katie’s practical experience and proactive approach make her a valued part of the Fosse Way team – helping us deliver reliable, high-quality care on farm.

📞 01455 241080
📧 [email protected]

12/07/2025

We're all set up with plenty of refreshments ready for the warm weather. We can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

The countdown is over - show day is tomorrow!! We're literally bursting with excitement! Secure your tickets now at a discounted rate! Bring cash and slap on that sun cream - it's going to be a sizzler ☀️