If It's Not An Emergency, Why Should I Call My Veterinarian?
Because prevention is the best medicine
The competitive edge
Total herd health management
Management practices that offer higher returns
Your veterinarian is your best resource
Because prevention is the best medicine
Preventative medicine and herd health management can yield the
greatest return for your investment in veterinary services.
Mixed and large animal veterinary clinics offer a full range
of services to large animal producers. These services go far
beyond emergency care. In fact, taking advantage of your veterinarian’s
preventative and management expertise will reduce the need for
more costly emergency services. To make the most of your business
relationship with your veterinarian, consider the full compliment
of services your veterinarian has to offer to give your operation
a competitive advantage.
Laboratory Services
Laboratory
services are especially important in helping diagnose or determine
a medical problem. In cases that are not routine, taking blood
or fecal samples helps to zero in on the problem quickly and
effectively. The laboratory services your veterinarian offers
takes the guess work out of determining the course of treatment.
A simple and inexpensive lab test can also help avoid costly
drug trials and needless promotion of bacterial resistance.
Record
Keeping and Data Collection
Individual
animal and herd medical records include drug usage, laboratory
results and case information. These records promote production
efficiency and allow your veterinarian to offer specialized
prevention programs for your animals.
| "Veterinary services, drugs and supplies
account for only 4-7% of a producer’s total production
costs. As a dollar figure, the cost is approximately $30
- $35 per cow." Sources
- Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development
University of Nebraska
Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center |
The competitive edge
Necropsies
The
death of any animal in your herd is not a pleasant experience.
That’s why post mortems are so important. They are performed
to find out which organ systems may be affected by a disease
process. In performing the procedure, your veterinarian is gathering
information to help you determine if the death of the animal
could have been prevented. The information gathered can also
tell you if the cause of death of one animal is a threat to
the rest of your herd. Armed with this information, you are
in a good position to select the most effective prevention and
management strategies for peak herd performance.
Drug
Sales & Information
Appropriate
and informed use of animal health products ensures safety, optimum
results and full value for the investment. The Canadian Animal
Health Institute reports that livestock producers save $3 for
every dollar they spend on animal health products, due to reduction
in death and disease losses. Your local veterinary clinic not
only offers competitive drug prices, they offer the most comprehensive
advice to accompany all pharmaceuticals sold at their clinics.
To maximize your investment in animal pharmaceuticals, see your
veterinarian.
Get
the competitive edge by investing in the complete inventory
of herd health services your veterinarian offers.
Surgery
Surgical
training accounts for a significant portion of a veterinarian’s
education. Surgical procedures can be extremely stressful on
an animal when performed without appropriate anesthesia or surgical
training. Veterinarians offer the highest probability of success
as well as a commitment to the humane treatment of all animals
undergoing surgical procedures.
Emergency
Services
Having
a good working relationship with a veterinarian or clinic not
only provides service for routine herd health calls and elective
procedures it also provides the clinic with the ability to offer
24 hour emergency services emergencies can occur and when they
do, your veterinarian will be able to respond more quickly and
diagnose the problem more accurately if a solid veterinary client
relationship is already in place. Day or night, you have access
to quality veterinary care for your animals.
Total herd health management
Decisions made in overall herd management can often be the difference
between a marginal operation and a highly successful one. As
a resource to assist you in your decision making, veterinarians
offer the most comprehensive management services and advice.
Your investment in your veterinarian will pay dividends if you
take full advantage of his or her knowledge and expertise.
Early Pregnancy Diagnosis: Allows you to identify
and cull non-productive cows in your herd and save feed costs
associated with non-productive animals.
Bull
Evaluations: Annual breeding soundness evaluations
of bulls ensures optimum fertility, increased pregnancy rates
and shortened calving intervals.
Calf
Scours Prevention: Loss from calf scours can be devastating.
Proper herd management in winter and spring will help reduce
the incidence of this serious disease.
Nutrition:
Proper nutrition is vital for optimum animal health. Variable
climatic conditions and feed quality require adjustments in
your feed programs.
Disease
Prevention: Many serious diseases can be prevented
with an optimum disease prevention program. Each herd’s
requirements are unique, and require a customized program that
your veterinarian can help you develop.
Selection
Assistance: Veterinarians offer assistance to producers
in the area of stock culling and purchasing by identifying potential
problem animals, sub-clinical disease and potential conformation
defects.
Implant
Programs: When applied properly, implants can be extremely
useful in improving the performance and weight gain of calves.
Parasite
and Pest Control: Internal and external parasites including
the irritation of face and horn flies pose significant economic
issues in cattle herds. The parasites vary from area to area
and control programs should be customized for your individual
situation.
Management practices that offer higher
returns*
| Practice |
Cost per cow |
| Pregnancy Testing & Culling |
$30 |
| Health Vaccinations |
$5 - 20 |
| Bull Soundness Evaluations |
$3 - 50 |
| Controlled Breeding Season |
$50 |
| Early Breeding Heifers |
$10 |
| Easy-Calving Sire on Heifers |
$10 - 60 |
| Growth Implants in Calves |
$7 - 25 |
| Year-Round Mineral Supplementation
|
$5 - 12 |
| Estrus Synchronization |
$3 - 12 |
| Artificial Insemination |
$7 - 30 |
| Crossbreeding |
$15 - 30 |
*Modified
with permission by Dr. R Toombs from Finley D: Texas Agricultural
Extension Service New Article, Wichita Falls, TX, 1995
Your veterinarian is your best resource
What
education do veterinarians and their clinic staff have?
In
order to earn a veterinary medical degree, a minimum of six
years of university education is required. This includes a minimum
of two years pre-veterinary study and four years in a program
of veterinary medicine. A typical veterinary medical student
spends about 4,000 hours in classroom, laboratory and clinical
study. In many ways, a veterinarian’s education only begins
with degree. New scientific knowledge and techniques are constantly
being developed and a veterinarian is required to keep his/her
knowledge current by reading scientific journals, and attending
professional meetings, short courses and seminars.
In
addition, veterinarians employ Animal Health Technologists (AHT’s)
who are part of a clinic’s professional team. AHT’s
have completed at least two years of study in basic science
and applied technical courses in animal health procedures.
Are
veterinary clinics ever inspected?
Yes.
Alberta has among the highest standards for veterinary clinics
in North America. All clinics in Alberta are required to pass
rigorous practice inspections every three years. Inspections
cover areas like the practice facility, surgical instruments,
x-ray equipment, client and patient record keeping, laboratory,
pharmacy, library requirements and even practice vehicles. Inspections
are conducted by the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association
which is funded by veterinarians meaning no tax dollars are
used for licensing or inspecting veterinary clinics.
With
over 4,000 hours of veterinary college training and countless
hours of continued learning, veterinarians are your best resource.
