Donaldson's Farm and Equine

01/09/2026

💉BLUETONGUE VACCINE BOTTLE SHARING 💉 🐑 🐐 🦙

We have kept back some Bultavo-3 bluetongue vaccine to split between clients with only a few animals to vaccinate.

We are splitting a bottle for clients to come down and collect doses for their animals on the following days….

🔹 Thursday 3rd September
🔹 Thursday 24th September
🔹 Thursday 15th October

We have spaced the dates out at 3 week intervals to allow clients with goats and alpacas to get their two lots doses.

You must be a registered client with us and your animals be under our care for us to prescribe the vaccine to you.

Please call the office to put your name down to collect doses of vaccine on one of the above days.
01484 421512 (option 2) ☎️

Please note the vaccine MUST be collected and used on these specific dates.

28/08/2026

💉Bluetongue Vaccine Update 💉

We have taken delivery today of our Bluetongue vaccine and have contacted everyone on the waiting list requiring full bottles at the point at which we received the delivery. We will be contacting people who requested to share bottles next week to arrange collection dates.

Cases of Bluetongue have been confirmed in this area and we expect more to be confirmed over the next few weeks. Vaccination of Cattle and Sheep is strongly recommended. Goats and Alpacas can also be vaccinated, please discuss this with a Vet. The cost benefit of vaccination is very high especially in commercial herds/flocks, if you would like to calculate this for your holding consider using this online calculator:

https://ruminanthw.org.uk/vaccination-finance-calculator-launched-to-help-battle-bluetongue/

If you would like to vaccinate against Bluetongue and have not yet ordered please phone the office to be added to our waiting list awaiting our next delivery.

Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) bluetongue hub - keep up to date with the latest developments and updates on this disease

21/08/2026

If you keep goats please check out this Goat Veterinary Society update on the bluetongue virus by our very own vet Jess Hagain. 🐐 🦠 💉

The Society was formed in 1979 to promote interest in and improve knowledge of goats within the veterinary profession. It is a professional society and specialist species division of the British Veterinary Association (BVA), to which veterinary surgeons or associates may turn to for advice.

21/08/2026

20/08/2026

⚠️ WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO CLIP⚠️

HAEMONCHUS RISK! 🪱

We have diagnosed a severe Haemonchus infestation at post mortem this week.

A number of the flock were found dead, living animals presented as lethargic and some had fluidy swellings under the jaw. Ewes were mainly affected rather than their lambs at foot. Our Vet found the ewes were generally in good body condition but had very pale mucous membranes.

Remember Haemonchus can affect sheep of any age and at any time of year, although it is more common July-October.

Regular monitoring of WEC for both lambs and ewes during this season, alongside body condition scoring and monitoring mucous membrane colour, can help identify building infestation levels and allow appropriate treatment before losses occur.

19/08/2026

Bluetongue Virus (BTV-3) UPDATE

VACCINE SUPPLY - we believe we will receive our next delivery early next week and will contact those already on the waiting list when available to collect. If you would like to order please call our office.

CASES IN OUR AREA - We have sampled a small number of possible cases in cattle and sheep in our area over the last three weeks but to date are yet receive any results back, there is at least a two week wait for blood test results.

Webinar for Farmers and Vets with the latest update TONIGHT 5PM please follow the link.

Find out how bluetongue virus (BTV) is affecting dairy cattle as we share the latest situation in the UK.

14/08/2026

A bit of Bluetongue myth busting here from the APHA. It is important that everyone is correctly informed about the impact of BTV and vaccination. 🦠 💉

14/08/2026

⚠️ POWER OFF AT WOODNOOK ⚠️

Today we have a planned power outage at Woodnook between 9am and 2pm.
During this period some staff are working from home and phone lines are being diverted to their phones.
Please bare with us and if you struggle to get through on the phone, send us an email [email protected] and we can call you back 👍🏻

11/08/2026

🔹 OUR NEXT GASTROSCOPE CLINIC - TUESDAY 18TH AUGUST 2026🔹

Our next gastroscope clinic at Woodnook, will be on Tuesday 18th August. 🐎

2026 CLINIC DATES
Tuesday 18th Aug 2026
Tuesday 15th Sep 2026
Tuesday 13th Oct 2026
Tuesday 10th Nov 2026
Tuesday 8th Dec 2026

Could your horse be suffering as a result of gastric ulcers?
If you have noticed any of the symptoms below, then the answer is quite possibly:
🐴 Poor condition/ weight loss
🐴 Poor performance/ reluctance to train
🐴 Reduced appetite
🐴 Attitude changes
🐴 Changes in coat quality
🐴 Repeated, low grade colic episodes

The cost of the session is the discounted price £150 which includes sedation.

Spaces will be limited and are on a first come first serve basis.

All horses must be starved for a minimum of 16 hours before their appointment. We do offer overnight livery before the scoping day for an extra fee if you will struggle to starve your horse at home.

To book your horse in for gastroscopy, please phone 01484 421512 Mon-Fri between 8am and 4.30pm and speak to our Farm and Equine team. 😊

03/08/2026

🦠 Bluetongue Virus (BTV-3) update 🧪

There’s been a sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of Bluetongue virus in England and Wales since 1 July 2026. Reports from the Southwest of England are concerning with vets and farmers seeing milder symptoms in some animals and multiple dead sheep, in some cases. The main symptoms include

• Fever
• Swollen faces and lips (mainly in sheep)
• Nose/mouth ulcers
• Drooling, nasal discharge
• Udder and teat lesions (mainly in cattle)
• Lameness
• Lethargy
• Death

We are in the ‘high risk’ season for Bluetongue infections due to prevalence of biting midges

Vaccination is one of the only effective ways to reduce the impact of Bluetongue on your farm. There has been a surge in demand with many farms in the Southwest vaccinating as fast as possible so the vaccine supply may be intermittent, if you wish to discuss vaccinating or get onto the waiting list for vaccine deliveries please call our office. Sheep vaccinated last year can have a booster vaccination at any point. Cattle vaccinated within the last 12 months can have a single booster jab now. 💉

Please call the office on 01484 421512 (option 2) to arrange a phone call with one of our vets or to order your vaccines ☎️

Please follow the link below for more information about the recent cases and the virus in general.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/4867f4e1f680415898482df7aabb703d/page/Page