As part of this latest issue, to focus on Crediton, we asked veterinary practice owner Tony Kemmish a few questions, to get to know him a little better and learn more about St Boniface Vets.

How old were you, when you realised you wanted to work with animals? There was a big age gap between me and my big sister and she married a farmer when I was only 10. For as long as I can remember I’ve grown up around all types of animals working on the farm. We’ve always had dogs and I couldn’t be without one.

With lambing time already upon many of you and fast approaching the rest, this quarter we look at the care of the new born lamb.  Statistically, the majority of lambs are lost within the first 3 days of life.  This percentage could be as high as 15% in some flocks.  In the current market, with tight profit margins; improving lamb survival can make a real difference to profitability of the flock. A realistic target to aim for is 5% lamb mortality preweaning.

Ewe nutrition

Recent research into calf rearing has shown that optimising heifer growth rates pre-weaning is vital for efficient heifer rearing and producing a healthy, high yielding dairy cow.

Keeping a record of colostrum management, growth rates, calf illness and calf mortality is therefore essential.  The XLVets Calf Tracker initiative has been designed as a monitoring system, which allows recording and bench marking of calf performance from birth to weaning within our practice, but also nationwide.

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is a disease of cattle that is still widespread in this country causing massive economic losses. It is estimated that 90% of herds have been exposed to BVD, with an estimated cost of £13-£31 per cow on farm.

The most likely diseases to cause scour are the viruses; Rota Virus and Corona Virus along with protozoa; Cryptosporidium and Coccidia and the bacteria; E. coli and Salmonella.  As only two of these causative agents are bacterial, antibiotics are often not required.

The age at which the calf is affected will give an idea of the likely pathogen and therefore appropriate treatment;