sheep

Making the most of testing for sheep scab

As part of Scottish Governments ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming’ initiative, farmers can claim £250 per intervention for undertaking up to two animal health interventions per year in 2023 and 2024. One of the interventions included in the scheme is to investigate sheep status in a flock by screening 12 animals per management group using the sheep scab ELISA test.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
22/09/2023

Iceberg disease screening in sheep

Preparing for Sustainable Farming – making the most of testing for sheep iceberg disease…

SRUC Veterinary Services
07/09/2023

High lamb worm burdens this month

High worm burdens have been found in many of the lamb carcases received for post-mortem examination since the start of August through our Dumfries disease surveillance centre.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
16/08/2023

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

Sheep abortions with no diagnosis

Where there has been significant reproductive loss in a flock and no diagnosed cause, now is a good time to take stock when it comes to future health planning and when considering pre-tupping abortion vaccine programmes.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/07/2023

Dumfries ovine abortion diagnoses 2023

EAE, Toxoplasmosis and Campylobacter were almost inevitably the most common diagnoses with Toxoplasmosis taking the top spot this year.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/07/2023

Sustainable farming initiative: Sheep and cattle roundworms

As part of Scottish Governments ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming’ initiative, farmers can claim £250 for undertaking up to two animal health interventions per year in 2023 and 2024. Two important interventions which will receive funding are the control of roundworms in sheep and cattle.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/06/2023

Nematodirus reminder

SRUC Veterinary Services recently diagnosed nematodirosis as the cause of death in a six-week-old lamb. This was somewhat unexpected as spring has been quite cold so far. It does highlight however how this disease can be farm, and indeed field, specific.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
09/05/2023

Lamb dysentery risk

We are now entering the period where lamb dysentery risk is highest in the main April lambing flock. Risk may be higher this year for some flocks depending on Clostridial vaccine availability.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
21/04/2023

Suspicious that you have a hairy shaker lamb?

We are offering free border disease PCR testing on lambs born this spring where there is a genuine suspicion of persistent border disease infection.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
17/03/2023

Metabolic sampling ewes pre-lambing plus a quick fluke update

Spring is approaching and so is the ideal time for checking the nutritional status of ewes pre-lambing.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
10/02/2023

Ocular disease investigation in sheep

SRUC Veterinary Services usually receives more ocular swabs for the investigation of ovine eye disease around this time of year. When investigating outbreaks, it is important to consider the main pathogens likely to be involved and which tests would be the most useful.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
13/01/2023