Our focus is on flock health planning, with the emphasis on maximising production and profitability, while controlling diseases.
We have extensive experience in diagnosing, managing and preventing complicated disease problems in small ruminants. Whether it is a nutritional problem in a dairy goat herd, an intractable sheep lameness problem, worming treatment failures due to anthelmintic resistance or high lamb mortality rates, we have the personnel and facilities to help.
Our labs and post-mortem room provide us with rapid on-site diagnostics. If you would like to find out what we could offer your flock or herd please do not hesitate to contact us!
Small Ruminant Medicine and Surgery
AIOHRD farm animal practice and its vets have a keen interest in sheep and goats.
Besides assisting with lambing’s, kidding’s and sick animals we take a proactive approach helping you to set up a tailored preventative flock or herd health plan. We provide a 24-hour emergency service.
Flock and herd health planning
To maximise herd or flock production, disease control and prevention is key. A useful tool can be a preventative flock or herd health plan. These plans are tailor made to your farm, taking in to account lambing periods, housing, grazing and genetics and the specific health risks to your farm. Areas covered include:
- A farm specific parasite control plan based on pasture usage, worm egg counts, known resistance problems and lamb finishing data.
- Reproductive management and breeding calendars.
- Lameness action plan.
- Herd / Flock level disease (e.g. Abortions).
Contract Service package
To make the most use of the knowledge and expertise of our vets we offer contract service packages that consist of regular visits with the same vet who gets to know the farm and issues. These are available for both the commercial clients and smallholders. These packages include:
2 or 4 visits a year at strategic times of the year:
Pre tupping
Pre-lambing
Lambing/weaning
Post lambing
A tailor-made flock or herd health plan (see above).
Smallholders
We cater specifically for smallholders and keepers of backyard herds and flocks, providing advice matching to your level of experience.
We advise on keeping your animals healthy, so on-going discussions on vaccination, worming, foot trimming and other preventative measures are essential.
Young stock
Young stock management is a vital area of production in both the beef and dairy industries.
They provide income not only from sales but also as replacements in the herd. A poor start in life will decrease growth rates in the calves delaying their finishing or age at first breeding, but will in the dairy industry decrease the lifetime milk yield a dairy cow will produce.
AIOHRD Farm Animal Practice provides specific advice regarding young stock management from colostrum management, nutrition, growth rate checks, worming advice, and disease prevention.
