Emergency care 365 days/year
Wright and Morten provide emergency cover, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Please contact us using either 01477 571000 or 01663 732564. A vet will phone you straight back with an estimated time of arrival. We endeavour to get a vet out to you ASAP.
Sick Cow and Disease Monitoring Investigations
We are equipped to investigate individual sick cows and calves, and diseases at both individual and herd level. At Wright and Morten we have access to in-practice lab diagnostics, an external lab service with fast turnaround times, an x-ray machine, and we can perform on-farm post mortems. We aim for rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment. We strive to offer a range of diagnostic options that can fit your budget requirements.
Bull Breeding Soundness Exams
- A bull is in effect responsible for 50% of the success of your suckler herd (unless of course you use some AI). As such, ensuring he is in full working order can be the difference between a nice tight calving block and a long drawn out affair. At W&M we offer bull fertility testing by experienced BCVA-trained vets giving you peace of mind before the mating season starts. We also test a significant number of bulls prior to sale as this offers buyers the security that the bull has been assessed by a vet.
- A BBSE involves a clinical examination of the bull for any hereditary conditions, injuries which may impact breeding and general suitability for mating a bunch of cows. We then perform semen analysis using the latest equipment allowing us to examine the sperm down to the individual level.
- You might think that if a bull worked well the previous year, he will work again. However our experience would warn against making this assumption. We see a number of bulls each year who for various reasons will fail despite passing well the previous year.
- We advise testing bulls at least 8-10 weeks prior to mating starting, as this allows enough time for some issues to resolve should a bull fail for one of these reasons. It also gives you plenty of time to make an educated purchase should the worst happen and the bull terminally fail.
- All bulls tested will be issued with a BCVA BBSE Certificate for your records or for future purchasers if testing pre-sale.
Pregnancy diagnosis, Pre-breeding checks, Pelvic measuring
Fertility is crucial to the profitability of any beef farm. At Wright and Morten we are keen to work with your herd to maximise fertility success and meet key targets. We strive to get cows in calf quickly, in order to create a tight calving period and minimise disease risk in calves. We provide pregnancy diagnosis, pre-breeding checks on non-seen bullers and can provide synchronisation protocols tailored to your farm. We also offer pelvic measuring in replacement heifers to guide breeding decisions. We also provide a bull fertility service to ensure that your bull is fit to work prior to the breeding season (or prior to purchase).
Herd Health Planning
Working with your vet we will review at your performance over the last 12 months to understand what went well and where there is potential for improvement to increase productivity and improve welfare. Together we will create objectives going forward and address any concerns you may have.
Worm egg counts and Fluke egg counts with tailored parasite control advice and plans
- With anthelmintic and flukicide resistance on the rise, it is more important than ever to know when it is the right time to treat and with what product. We are focussed on the future of your herd and the environment that you farm in – our approach to parasite control seeks to ensure maximum productivity, health and welfare for your herd, whilst keeping the threat of anthelmintic resistance at bay
- Your results along with tailored parasite control advice will be ready within 24 hours of us receiving your sample.
- At Wright and Morten we use a FECPAK machine, which involves a digital microscope. Using this system has allowed us to increase the accuracy, standardise the procedure and, as it is cloud based and records information, we can review your testing from earlier in the year or the previous year, allowing us to monitor worm burdens over a longer timeframe.
- In beef cattle, internal parasites can reduce daily weight gain by up to 300g per animal, and delay finishing by 30-40 days. Therefore by treating the right animal at the right time, this leads to improved animal wellbeing and improved efficiency with finishing cattle.
Farm Assurance and Medicine Reviews
Work with your vet towards attaining or maintaining farm assured status. Reviewing your farm’s performance and use of medicines are really important in highlighting what works well and where there could be room for improvement and productivity in your herd. Working with your vet, achievable goals are set and the outcomes are reviewed the following year.
TB testing and TBAS visits
- Find out more about our TB services HERE
Foot trimming
Bryan is Wright and Morten’s fully trained Dutch Diploma category one trimmer. He has been a member of the NACFT since 2010, with many years experience as a herdsman behind him. Bryan trims cattle using a fully hydraulic WOPA hoof trimming crush. Bryan is available for all trimming needs, be it emergency trims, routine trims, footcare advice, footbathing protocols. A comprehensive report for your records if provided for you after each visit. Bryan is available for individual cow trimming as well as group trimming.
Body condition scoring
Taking note of individual scores now allows you to identify any cows that are over or under conditioned and is a great way to monitor your herd. By following changes throughout the year adjustments can be made based on upcoming production stage or lifestyle. During the run up to calving we want to keep condition as stable as possible as this will prevent a variety of transition issues at calving and prevent oversized calves. Ideally it is a good idea to perform individual body condition scoring quarterly to assess change throughout the year and at critical time periods – i.e. service, calving, mid-lactation and weaning. Critically we do not want any animals that are outliers nor do we want large swings in scores. We use a scale of 1-5 to assess body condition score and are more than happy to assist you in performing this if you would like to get it implemented on your holding. It is important to always have the same person scoring to allow for direct comparisons to be made between scores.
Vaccination service and Bolusing service
Our vet techs are able to provide a vaccination service and a bolusing service based on your herd’s requirements in order to take the pressure off yourselves.
Disbudding (including knock down disbuds) and de-horning
In addition to regular disbudding, we offer a ‘knock down disbudding service, which involves sedating the calves for a short period of time, so they fall asleep and therefore not aware of the disbudding procedure.
Blood testing for Health Accreditation Schemes
We have vets with many years of experience working with CHeCS accredited herds who can guide you through accreditation schemes for Johnes disease, BVD, leptospirosis, IBR, Neospora and TB. Working as a team we can achieve the best results for your herd.
Trace Element testing and Nutritional Advice
Deficiencies in certain trace elements could be impacting health and fertility in your herd. We can perform a trace element screen and give nutritional advice based on these findings. Going forwards, we can continue to monitor trace element levels to check these remain within target.
Housing Advice
We can assist on advising on feed space availability, water provision, floor space, and ventilation, all of which can have real beneficial effects on the health and productivity of stock.
Red Tractor compliant medicines courses
Our beef and sheep medicines courses are Red Tractor compliant but also a great training resource if you are not Red Tractor approved. We cover medicine use, antibiotic resistance and reduction, worming protocols and husbandry to improve the health and welfare of your animals. The course is constantly being updated to ensure we are giving you the newest advice. You will leave the course with a certificate and medicines charts tailored to your farm. The courses are run at various points throughout the year and we always have a waiting list if we do not yet have a date specified for the next course.
Pneumonia investigations and tailored made treatment and vaccination protocols
- Investigating the cause(s) of pneumonia is paramount in tailoring a treatment and vaccination protocol for your herd. We are able to identify the cause(s) of pneumonia using a variety of sampling techniques including BALs (Broncheoalveolar lavage), Nasal Swabs, Paired Serology and Post Mortem Investigation. Other factors such as colostrum management and housing are also taken into account when creating your treatment and management plan. We are able to measure temperature, humidity and wind speed in addition to using smoke bombs to aid measurement of ventilation.
- We are now able to offer a calf lung scanning service. Scanning a few calves’ lungs whilst vets are on farm for other reasons can help to identify whether you are suffering from subclinical pneumonia already. The procedure only takes a couple of minutes per calf and can help greatly in stopping widespread outbreaks and allowing treatment at the earliest possible stage. If you have a surplus of heifer calves and are thinking about breeding decisions, using lung scanning can add to your decision making process. Calves with damaged lungs will not grow as quickly and will be more prone to pneumonia as older animals, so may not make the best breeding stock. Give us a call at the practice if you want to discuss monitoring your calves in this way.
Post Mortem Investigations
Post Mortem investigations can be really useful in determining the cause of death and help identify disease status in your herd. By confirming the cause of death, this can help implement changes to your management system to avoid future losses.