With a vet and a vet nurse in the family business, animal welfare was always going to be front and centre. Sheep can get a rough deal, they are stoic, and their chronic lameness or medical conditions can be overlooked.
We try to do things differently. Lameness isn’t tolerated and we vaccinate and foot-bath regularly to prevent it. The flock is screened regularly for infectious diseases and endoparasites. Unexplained illness or abortion is investigated. The flock is Maedi Visna accredited. We vaccinate for clostridial diseases, Pasteurella, foot-rot and Bluetongue. We regularly consult sheep medicine specialists to benchmark the health and performance of our flock and to discuss potential improvements that can be made.