Forth Valley Vets

07/05/2025

Watery mouth

This is a bacterial infection (commonly E. Coli) that affects new born lambs in the first few days of life which can be fatal. Typically, lambs will be lethargic, have a swollen belly and salivate under their chins.

Prevention is key:
🐑Colostrum: approx. 50ml/kg of good quality colostrum in the first 4 hours of life. Ideally as soon after birth as possible. Supplementation will usually be required for triplets.
🐏Hygiene: clean out individual lambing pens in between each ewe and keep well bedded.
🚿Keep ewes udder clean
🐑Dip navel at birth and again once dry with iodine

04/05/2025

Post foaling check

🐎Has the mare passed the whole placenta within 4 hours of foaling
🐴Has the navel been dipped in iodine
🏇Has the foal gotten to its feet and suckled within 2 hours
🐎Has the foal passed the meconium (first dung)
🐴Is the foal covered for tetanus
🏇Have you booked your foal antibody blood test (12-18 hours post foaling)

01/05/2025

Lungworm 🐛🐄🐃

If you heard your cattle coughing towards the end of the summer last year at grass this could be a sign of lung worm. Lung worm larvae can over winter on pasture and in carrier animals meaning cattle can be at risk from turn out.

Vaccination can be carried out prior to turnout to prevent lung worm. Please speak to one of our vets if you think you might have had an issue with lung worm last year and would like to know more about it.🐄🐂

23/04/2025

Sycamore toxicity and atypical myopathy:

As the weather warms up, sycamore seedlings are sprouting up everywhere! While they might look harmless, they can be deadly for horses. 🐎

Sycamore poisoning occurs when horses ingest the seedlings, which contain a toxin called hypoglycin. This can cause severe illness and even death.

Keep an eye out for these seedlings in your pastures and fields. Measures should be put in place to prevent ingestion ie fencing off areas where they are growing and hand picking. Feeding hay can ensure well fed horses will not resort to eating the seedlings.🌱🐎

If you suspect your horse has ingested sycamore seedlings, Give us a phone on 01786 430387 for advice! Our vets are here to help. We can advise on blood tests and even testing of seedlings to determine levels of toxicity. 🐎🌱

22/04/2025

🥳🎉🎂Everyone at Forth Valley Vets would like to wish Alana our lead farm vet a massive Happy Birthday 🥳 🎉🎂

18/04/2025

🐣🐣Congratulations to our Easter egg competition winner🐣🐣

Pop into the practice to collect your egg

🥚 🥚Happy Easter everyone 🥚🥚

17/04/2025

We are proud to be sponsoring this event again this year. A great opportunity to get involved and have some fun for a fantastic cause ❤️

👏 A huge thank you to our Thornhill 10K & 2.5K sponsors this year: H & R Gray Haulage Ltd., forthvalleymotorhomes, JCC Group Limited, NFU Mutual (Stirling), briarlandsfarm, Advanced Ruminant Nutrition, Forth Valley Vets, Gordons Agricultural Equipment and Alta Genetics.

11/04/2025

🐣🥚Easter give away 🐣🥚
Comment below with your best spring pictures to be in with a chance of winning a fabulous Lindor egg left early by the Easter Bunny 🐰

Winner announced Friday 18th April

04/04/2025

Please share this exciting opportunity...

28/03/2025

🧹 🐴 🐄 🐑 👷‍♂️Eek it’s all becoming very real 👷🧱🏰

21/03/2025

🚨FREE VACCINE🚨

Strangles Vaccination Amnesty

▪️Strangles is a highly contagious respiratory disease in horses which can have devastating consequences.
▪️The Strangles vaccine reduces clinical signs and severity of disease and can lower the risk of further spread

☎️Phone us on 01786 430387 to book your first vaccine dose between now and the end of April and your second dose 4 weeks later will be FREE!

Visit charges still apply but remember we offer reduced price visits on your zonal day or a free visit for a group of 4 or more horses!!

19/03/2025

1st official update of our new building project