Farm Practice

Figure 3. Direct external access to the postmortem room to reduce cross-contamination of other practice facilities.

How to set up a postmortem facility in a farm animal practice

Clients should be able to deliver carcasses along with an appropriate history/submission form, directly to the postmortem facility without bringing them through the practice building/s. Carcasses (and...

Figure 1. Group housing of pigs, which allows for social interactions (courtesy of Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Pork).

Livestock cognition: stimulating the minds of farm animals to improve welfare and productivity

The cognitive ability of farm animals has been studied with increasing prevalence and it has become evident that many species have more complex abilities than previously thought (Nawroth et al, 2019).

Figure 6. Adjacent paddocks: the right one grazed by cattle with negligible parasite burdens, the one on the left grazed by animals with subclinical parasitic gastroenteritis.

Ruminant behaviour in subclinical parasitic gastroenteritis

In temperate regions, cattle and sheep graze diurnally; from late spring to early autumn between 65 and 100% of grazing typically takes place during daylight hours (Hughes and Reid, 1951; Hancock,...

Models for charging in practice: how should farm veterinary surgeons earn their living?

During my 25-year professional career, there has always been a certain tension around how farm veterinary surgeons earn their keep. Traditionally, one would say, medicine sales have supported income...

Evaluating evidence in practice

The word value is very difficult to define, as whatever an individual gets from an object or process, is extremely variable and dependent on that individual's wants or needs at the time of asking....

Figure 2. Example of a ranking exercise using ping pong balls.

Getting more out of farmer meetings: a practical guide for advisors

Holding a meeting or workshop is a resource-heavy exercise; they take time to plan and organise, require materials, a venue, sometimes food, and usually persistent advertising and marketing. Engaging...

Figure 1. Levels of evidence in ascending order of reliability.

Evidence-based veterinary medicine: searching the evidence in practice

Evidence-based veterinary medicine techniques can be of enormous value to the general practitioner. There are some key processes to apply in order to search and find the science behind questions that...

Figure 1. Pie charts demonstrating number of selections under profession sector categories for (i) experienced (n = 147 examples from 110 individuals) and (ii) witnessed (n = 110 examples from 72 individuals) incidents.

Courageous Conversations: discrimination faced by students undertaking production animal clinical EMS

The problem of discrimination in the veterinary profession can seem like an insurmountable issue. At the recent Courageous Conversations conference Charlotte McCarroll discussed some of the research...

Figure 1. Pigs showing different expressive demeanours (images © Marianne Farish, SRUC).

Qualitative behaviour assessment as an indicator of animal emotional welfare in farm assurance

To date, attempts to monitor animals' emotional state have focused on physiological measures considered to be associated with emotion (e.g. heart rate variability, cortisol in blood/hair/dung, body...

Figure 1. Bluebells (Hyacinthoides spp.) are a common spring plant.

Spring poisoning hazards

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum herbicide and is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. It is commonly used before sowing and also just before harvesting crops. It is an organophosphate herbicide...

Figure 2. Mirroring is a form of non-verbal communication. It is often used in social situations and offers a way of creating rapport with the person you are talking to; one person imitates the gestures of the other.

Can communication in farm animal veterinary practice be improved through a focus on the non-verbal element? A clinical forum

In my opinion eye contact is one of the most important forms of non-verbal communication. It enables me to gauge the meaning of a conversation and it also demonstrates that I am engaged with the topic...