News

Yearling heifers - breeding the best. Heifers are a fundamental component of any breeding plan; they represent both the genetic foundation of future breeding stock and a significant investment in terms of rearing costs. 

The recent dry weather has brought with it a large variation in day and night temperatures and many still days; both of which can be a challenge to calf health.  

Read about Jo Gillingham's recent volunteering here and on our Facebook page.

Awareness, resilience and how to find help in our latest edition of the George Farm Vets newsletter                                  

Information correct at time of posting (September 2021) - always check the regulations prior to competitions & events

Feeding cattle indoors is a fine art and it is often discussed that there 3 possible diets a cow might be eating.

Are you coming along? We are joined this year by 4 speakers and a host of companies from the industry.  

Sudden death in cattle is a distressing event and always a cause of concern on farm.  

Following a consultation in 2018, DEFRA announced that default 6 monthly TB surveillance testing of cattle herds with Official Tuberculosis Free status (OTF) would replace annual testing in the High Risk Area (HRA) of England.

With the commitment both you and we have put in, we don't want to ruin it all by simply removing all restrictions.

Summer is upon us and with it our latest edition of the newsletter from the Equine Clinic team.  

I imagine that most of you would have had a conversation about shed ventilation with us at some point.  

You have counted up your lambs, and down your ewes. Now you have the pleasure of seeing the lambs out at grass looking strong.  

You may be aware of the recent outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus within Europe.

This month we are looking at Health Plans and why it is could be short-sighted to view them as another cost

We all love getting outdoors and enjoying the warmth with our pets but there are a few advisories as we approach summer.

Always a popular opportunity and we a now inviting interest and applications

A fully loaded newsletter this month with all our training and Zoom events listed too.

Spring has sprung! Our latest newsletter is now available with some excellent news for the team. 

We continue to deliver regular farm meetings via Zoom as we navigate our way out of lockdown

Join us for our upcoming Zoom clinical club and quiz

Many of you will be aware that we often take blood samples of young adult cattle within your herds to get an idea of which diseases are circulating.

Vaccination and medication are an integral part of pig production, allowing pig owners to deliver high welfare and high health pigs, whether in large scale production systems or as smaller scale producers.

Suckler herds are calving and most of our sheep flocks are preparing for lambing (except for those keen ones that have finished already!) 

Abortion in sheep is a major cause of loss in flocks around the UK, with serious welfare and financial implications.  

Whilst travel anywhere currently is restricted, there are now new rules relating to any travel to the EU or NI with your pets. 

Chris recently pulled together the data from caesareans done over the last 3 years to analyse which cases went on to do the best post-surgery.

If you are a pig keeper within a restriction zone and, have poultry on your holding, movements are automatically restricted for all other mammalian species on the holding. 

Here we are again with Christmas around the corner! Like most, I think we are looking forward with hope after a challenging year.  

The George Farm Vets have the necessary qualified vets to provide expertise and advice for all types of export to the EU and worldwide.  

It is vitally important that during the long winter months your stock is provided with an optimum environment in which to live, thrive and perform. 

We are absolutely committed to continue working in a Covid-secure way and assure you of our continued commitment to the welfare of your pets.

Significant gains have been made in reducing the new infection rate of herds with regards to TB.

Tour de France cyclist vs high yielding dairy cow - this month we look at the comparative requirements and efforts of each to produce optimum performance.  

There is a plethora of options when it comes to grazing, from what you offer your stock to graze, to the way in which you rotate them around your land.  

Flies! We look at the most common and the ways to control their numbers and the impact on your cattle

From Saturday 8th August Veterinary Services will be added to the list of places where the public will be required to wear a face covering or mask.

As the horse world gets going again with the competition season starting and the countryside looking amazing, we are really pleased to welcome Jenny Hindmarsh to our equine vet team.  

There is a relatively new blood test for cattle called the Enferplex test. It also looks for the antibody immune response to TB and it picks up more cows  

We are delivering a full range of services again and returning to normal hours.

Unfortunately, with the lockdown there are some milk processors asking farms to reduce their milk production. 

If pigs experience heat stress productivity suffers in all ages. 

If buying in replacement ewes, or bringing store lambs onto your ground, you do not want to risk buying in problems

From 1st June we are taking some steps to increase hours across our clinics.

Viruses - how they do what they do

A revision of advice from our governing body, the RCVS, means we are able again to offer vaccinations and dentals for your horses and ponies.

We've held off a little in publishing this to get a feel of how Covid-19 will impact all of us in terms of our equine lifestyles. 

These are certainly difficult and uncertain times for us all.  

Our latest update on the developing situation, following the Prime Minister's announcement yesterday

We are changing how we work currently to focus on emergency care and to limit social contact and travel

We would like to reassure everyone that The George Farm Vets will continue to provide the best possible care for you and your livestock in the coming months. 

Whilst we are all trying to manage the current health challenges, here's what we need to be thinking about to protect our pets.  

We discuss the pre breeding checks we can offer in order to make sure you retain the most fertile heifers for your breeding herd 

Discussing the different types of roundworm that affect sheep, and advice for treatment of ewes and lambs. 

We currently have just 2 more spaces available for this AI course with Cathy Morris at Kemble Farm.

In recent months we have been noting the changes that are coming in, notably, the increase in requirement for manipulable materials in non-straw based systems; enrichment in farrowing houses and environmental monitoring. 

Calf pneumonia or Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is the most common reason for poor performance and death in growing calves.  

During the transition period, at the moment anticipated to last until the end of the year (December 31st 2020), the procedures of the Pet Travel Scheme remain the same.

Our Youngstock Convention is back for 2020 following the success of 2019. Find out more in our dedicated newsletter.

We're hosting a quiz on Thursday 30th January at The Royal Old Ship in Luckington to raise funds for Actions for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Key Performance indicators (KPIs) are the main figures used to assess the factors that are important for the success of a suckler enterprise.  

Wishing you all a peaceful festive season, here's a few tips to get you through the winter months.

Mindful of the shift in weather there are a few challenges ahead to discuss.

It is impossible to ignore the subject of mental health at the moment. The media in general and increasingly the farming media report the ever-heightening incidence of anxiety, depression and suicide.  

As many as 80% of cats and dogs will suffer from some form of dental disease by the age of three. 

Winter is coming! This month Kat Hart discusses 4 topics: Sustainability, Youngstock Convention 2020, Muddy Mouldy Maize and a new approach to Pneumonia.

Around 30- 32% of all adult cattle are lame at any one time, equating to over half a million cows at an estimated cost of £450 million per year.

Autumn brings its own set of challenges for our pets but there's a lot we can enjoy throughout the season too. 

The idea behind 'Sheep Signals' is to use everyday observations to your advantage in order to spot problems early. 

One significant disease which rears its ugly head at this time of year is Summer Mastitis. 

This year's speakers will be both domestic and international as we welcome speakers from Ireland, Spain, Germany and Gloucestershire. 

We remember with fondness and love our colleague and friend Tim Hirst BVM&S CertCHP MRCVS who passed away in July.   

15th September 2019 is our inaugural charity sportive and this year we are supporting a cause very close to us all at The George.

In order to take full advantage of the beautifully light, summer evenings, we're going to be offering evening appointments for the month of July.

It's been a busy competition season here at The George Equine Clinic with so many of you out and about with your horses. 

This month's newsletter is about non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Controlling pain in animals is paramount to safeguarding welfare.

Bovine TB is probably the biggest issue currently facing the cattle farming industry. Here's Ben's newsletter in answer to some of the most common questions faced by our vets.

External parasites are a year-round issue for all ages of stock. 

It's a hot topic with more cases being reported than ever before.

June is Rabbit Awareness Month and we're hoping you'll hop along to one of our free clinics

It keeps teasing us but we're nearly in summer mode. Glorious days and evenings lie ahead, surely!  

In this month's newsletter Will Sommerville discusses cattle worming, strategies and types of wormer available.

Our biggest dairy farm won a CEVA Welfare award in April. This is a national award and James Griffiths won the "Farm Educator" category.  

We are holding a beef and sheep specific medicine handing course on the 16th April 2019 starting at 10.30am.

Thank you to all who made it along to our first Nailsworth Clinic open evening.  

There is a lot of talk in the farming press about genomic testing and as vets we have certainly been asked a lot of questions about it recently. 

With over 160 delegates we held our youngstock convention at Eastwood Park in March. Were you there?

As lambing gets underway, measures to ensure lambs have a good start in life are essential.   

Two important topics in this month's newsletter: After vet visits and lame cow follow-ups

We are delighted to be involved with a community initiative, working with the local community to tackle hygiene poverty.  

We are now offering non-invasive laser treatments.

Following this morning's news in the press, please find our practical advice sheet on Equine Influenza

Book your place for Thursday 21st February for this 3 hour course run by Sarah.

A new initiative for 2019 and already over 100 confirmed as coming, open to vets, farmers, producers and industry suppliers.

Join us at a meeting to discuss prevention strategies for watery mouth disease and options for control. 

This practical event, run by AHDB & THE GEORGE FARM VETS, allows you to handle live animals and make your assessment of fat cover and conformation using the EUROP grid.    

The introduction of "Risk Based Inspections" by Red Tractor for all producer members and what it means.

We're excited to invite you to join us on 6th March at our inaugural Youngstock Convention, bringing together farmers, producers, vets and industry suppliers.

The New Year is a great time to try and do some of those little jobs which might get forgotten.

Winter, really? The good news is the evenings are slowly staying lighter by a little more each day. Here's our seasonal newsletter.