A day on the lifestyle run

The lifestyle vet technician run happens in July or August to ensure your lifestyle animals are in tip-top shape coming into the birthing season.

The day starts with a strong coffee, a pre-packed lunch and a prayer to the weather gods before we set off to see all your lifestyle animals.

On the run, we see all kinds of species from goats and sheep to alpacas and cows. Still, the interventions we make with these different species remain relatively consistent and can be explained using the common acronym BIDFOR.

Body condition scoring

We assess body condition to ensure mothers have enough condition to feed their babies, but not so much fat that birthing becomes difficult and increases the risk of metabolic disease.

Injecting a vaccine

We vaccinate the mothers so they produce antibodies to common environmental pathogens that they pass to the babies through the first milk.

Drenching

We give the mothers a drench and check their worm burdens to ensure they can absorb as much energy as they can to feed their babies.

Foot trimming

We give the mothers a foot trim to ensure they are walking as comfortably as possible.

Overall health check

We provide a brief overall check to make sure there are no obvious clinical issues before birthing.

Reporting

After this is done, we provide a report addressing what we did on the visit, what we found and if we have any recommendations.

The lifestyle program caters to both breeding and non-breeding animals, so no matter what animals you have, we have the perfect plan for you.

If you would like to be a part of the lifestyle program or learn the skills to do these procedures yourself, please ring your local vet clinic or email [email protected]

Kallum Green Vet Tech