Fertility services
We understand that the success of a suckler enterprise relies on good fertility results, and we provide a range of services to help you. We are experienced in looking at KPIs and can provide bespoke advice based on results for your farm. We encourage our clients to record as much data as possible to track fertility, mortality rates and calf health. We can provide breeding advice whether that be on heifer replacements, culling decisions or checking EBVs for purchased bulls.
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AI
We provide support for your on-farm AI team in the form of training courses for beginners and refresher courses for trained staff. We also have trained staff to analyse semen straws viability.
Bulls
Natural service can be used alone or alongside AI to improve the fertility of your herd. At the George Farm Vets we have the expertise to check your bulls are up to the task. Bulls can be electro ejaculated on farm and a semen sample obtained. This is then looked at under a microscope and, alongside a clinical exam is used to issue a full report on the bull’s soundness for breeding.
We can also use our knowledge on genetics and EBVs to help you select the correct bull for your herd, whether it be for heifers or cows.
Pre Calving Assessment
Ensuring the cows are in the best condition possible pre calving is essential for their fertility. We can carry out condition scoring to help group cows to be fed appropriately. Carrying out pre calving bloods in the weeks prior to calving can assess energy and protein levels of the feed at this critical time, we can do this in our in-house lab with same day results.
We can also help you formulate rations for cows and youngstock using the AHDB beef rationing calculator.
Bull and Semen Fertility Testing
The fertility of the bull or ram is often forgotten about and yet it can have a huge impact on the success of a farm. New technology now allows us to accurately assess the quality of both fresh semen, collected on farm using our electro-ejaculator, and frozen semen from your liquid nitrogen tank.
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The Dyneval, Dynescan machine stress tests the semen over a 2-hour period, giving results that are much more objective and reliable than we were historically able to achieve. We use this service in many situations, from making sure a new bull is fully functional to checking AI straw quality after a potential storage issue or when an individual bull’s conception rate is lower than expected.
Pregnancy Diagnosis
All our vets carry scanners in their vehicles and can PD at all stages of gestation. We would encourage suckler farmers to PD cows as early as possible post service in order to receive accurate ageing data and make strategic culling decisions.
Heifer Management
Heifer management is key in a suckler system. We are experienced at carrying out heifer pre breeding checks and can check for free martins, assess uterine and ovarian development and conduct pelvic measuring. This is also an ideal time to carry out infectious disease screening for BVD, Lepto and IBR.
Embryo and AI work
We offer a full range of services to facilitate breeding advancement whether you are a commercial or pedigree enterprise. Will and Sarah are proficient in Artificial Insemination and as a team we can advise on and carry out synchronisation programmes to set up for AI or embryo work.
We have two fully trained ET vets who can deliver a full package of embryo services to advance the genetic progression of a herd, including flushing of high genetic merit animals through to implantation of pedigree embryos.
Herd Health Planning
We believe herd health planning should be a dynamic process between the farm team and the vet, focussing on short and long term business goals. It should be tailored to you and your farm, working to reduce incidence of infectious disease and reliance on antibiotics and anthelmintics.
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We can ensure you are compliant with Red Tractor requirements; we have an automatic reminder system to ensure you will always be prepared for your inspection. We hold Medicines Handling courses at the practice, or can conduct them on farm, if needed.
We are experienced in complying with health scheme requirements such as CHECs. All our vets are BCVA accredited Johnes advisors so we can help you create bespoke infectious disease control plans and formulate vaccination protocols.
Beef Youngstock
We can help your youngstock to thrive by reducing disease incidence and driving growth rates, helping you to produce a consistent, well grown calf crop year on year.
Kat and Zoe are particularly passionate about youngstock health. Our services include: vaccination protocols and housing assessment to reduce pneumonia, risk assessments for scour problems and parasite control plans.
Training and Discussion groups
We run a very popular annual benchmarking meeting, getting together and discuss last year’s production data. The aim of the evening is to share knowledge in a relaxed and convivial environment, learning from each other without any judgement.
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Additionally, we aim to run 2-3 farm walks throughout the year to view different farms and systems.
We also run a range of farmer training courses and can organise on farm tailored training for your team, if necessary.
