Cattle

Rearing wagyu cross dairy calves (meeting)

There has been a recent increase in the number of traditional beef suckler units that have started rearing Wagyu cross dairy calves as an addition to their current business. With this, a largely unfamiliar set of challenges regarding the management of these animals arise.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
21/12/2023

Hypomagnesemia in housed cattle

Over the past few weeks since housing we have diagnosed and discussed several cases of hypomagnesemia in housed beef suckler cows. While usually associated with grazing, a diagnosis of low magnesium causing death or clinical signs should not be discounted in housed animals.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
20/12/2023

October case highlights

Case highlights from the PM room in October include: - Enterotoxaemia associated with Clostridium perfringens type D infection - Mesenteric torsion in a dog - Acute Streptococcus suis Type 1 septicaemia in piglets…

SRUC Veterinary Services
01/12/2023

Making the most of testing for calf respiratory disease

Investigation of respiratory disease should not solely be a ‘pathogen hunt’ but encompass a wider review of predisposing factors in the group of animals.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
14/11/2023

Louping ill: Vaccine support sought

Louping ill virus is a flavivirus, transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks, and is commonly found in the Highlands, Perthshire and Argyll & Bute in Scotland. SRUC makes ten to 25 diagnoses of louping ill in flocks of sheep every year, and around five diagnoses in cattle annually.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
08/11/2023

Look out for Lungworm

We have seen confirmed cases of lungworm last month across all of Scotland, including Aberdeenshire. This may be as a result of the hot dry weather earlier this year followed by warm and wet weather.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
02/11/2023

September case highlights

Parasitic disease dominated the diagnoses made in Aberdeen in September with lungworm and Ostertagiasis diagnosed in cattle and gastrointestinal parasites in sheep causing ill thrift and death.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
31/10/2023

Acorn toxicity

Acorns and oak leaves contain phenols and tannins, such as gallic acid and pyrogallol, which when ingested in excess will bind and precipitate proteins leading to renal failure in cattle and sheep.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
26/10/2023

Bluetongue and Epizootic haemorrhagic disease update

Bluetongue and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease are viral diseases circulating in Europe that are a risk to UK cattle and sheep, with both being notifiable in the UK. Both of these viruses are species of the Orbivirus genus and are transmitted between animals by midges.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
20/10/2023

Making the most of testing in calf respiratory disease

One of the interventions included in the Scottish Government's ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming’ initiative is to carry out a calf respiratory investigation, and provide a written prevention and control plan, including biosecurity measures.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/10/2023

August case highlights

August was another steady month in the Aberdeen PM room, with the predominant submission being thin or dying lambs with parasitic gastroenteritis.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
04/10/2023

Haemonchus contortus - is the picture changing in your area?

Over the past ten years, SRUCVS have made a total of 46 diagnoses of haemonchosis on Scottish holdings with all DSCs seeing at least one case. Although the number of cases remain small, 46% of these diagnoses have been made in the past three years and there is a general upward trend on a yearly basis.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
04/08/2023