Animal health

Animal health policy

The objective is to maintain animals in good health by the adoption of effective management practices including high standards of animal welfare, appropriate diets and good stockmanship.

The prevention of disease is central to achieving this objective.

Another key factor is our ‘Animal Health Plan’ which was drawn up taking into account:

The particular circumstances of the Unit
Needs of the stock
Development of a farming system which is progressively less dependent on conventional medicines

Breeding policy

Now that the herd and flock are established, a closed breeding policy is normally practised, with the exception of breeding bulls and rams which will be sourced from other College Units or purchased. The breeds and crosses used ensure that this is possible.

The breeding policy also recognises:

The advantages of cross-breeding
The selection of breeds, strains and individual home-bred replacement animals with natural disease resistance to suit local conditions and the organic system of production.

Sire selection takes into account ease of calving and lambing.

Medicines

Veterinary medicines are used as infrequently as optimal animal health and welfare permit.

Homoeopathic remedies and nosodes are used in the first instance where appropriate.

However, chemically synthesised allopathic conventional medicines and antibiotics are used to treat particularly acute conditions where animal welfare is a concern.

Organic standards require that withdrawal periods are at least double the legal withdrawal period.

Nutrition and mineral status

Optimising nutrition is a key factor in maintaining healthy livestock.

It is important that stock get fed to their nutritional requirements at all stages of development.

Ensuring ewes get sufficient protein in the diet at lambing time is important in the control of worms.

Ensuring calves and lambs get adequate quality colostrum soon after birth is important to get them off to a healthy start and boost their immunity to disease.

Blood sampling and herbage analysis are carried out to monitor animal mineral status and determine requirements. As a result, deficiencies in iodine, copper and selenium have been identified, providing the necessary evidence to justify supplementation as approved by the Soil Association.

Internal parasites

A clean grazing policy and mixed grazing are fundamental to minimising the problem of internal parasites. Faecal egg counting is used to determine if anthelmintic treatment for worms and fluke is necessary.