How to Prepare for a Farm Vet Visit (Save Time & Money)

The Real Cost of an Unprepared Farm Visit

Large animal vets are typically compensated for a farm call with a flat visit fee plus time. Some bill strictly by time; others include a block of time in the farm call fee and then charge hourly beyond that. In either case, every minute of inefficiency on your end translates directly into dollars. A vet who spends 45 minutes catching cattle that should have been in a headgate an hour ago is not going to reduce their bill because the lost time was your fault.

Beyond cost, preparation matters for animal welfare. Poorly restrained, stressed animals are harder to examine, more dangerous for both vet and handler, and have elevated stress hormones that can affect diagnostic readings. A calm, well-handled animal yields better examination results and safer procedures.

Think about what farm call fees actually look like in practice. A basic farm call often starts at $75 to $150 just to get the vet to your gate, before a single animal is touched. After that, procedures, medications, and time accumulate quickly. A reproductive examination on 30 cows might run $3 to $6 per head plus the farm call. If your cattle are not sorted and waiting, and the vet spends an extra 30 minutes chasing animals that should have been penned, that is real money out of your pocket for nothing. Preparation is not a courtesy — it is a financial decision.

The farms that get the most value from their veterinary relationship are the ones that treat the farm call like a business meeting. They show up prepared, their animals are ready, their records are in order, and they have a list of questions. Those producers spend less per head, get better outcomes, and build the kind of relationship with their vet where they get a call back quickly when something goes wrong at 2 a.m.

Before You Call: Gather the Right Information

The conversation you have with the vet clinic when you call to schedule a visit — or when you call during an emergency — is the foundation of everything that follows. A vet who understands exactly what they are walking into can bring the right drugs, the right equipment, and the right mental preparation. A vet who arrives expecting a routine preg check and finds a down cow with a prolapsed uterus is not going to be set up for success.

Before you pick up the phone, gather the following:

Animal Identification and History

• Animal ID — ear tag number, brand, tattoo, or other unique identifier. Never describe by color alone in a large herd.
• Age and sex — a 2-year-old heifer and a 10-year-old cow present very differently.
• Vaccination history — what vaccines have been given and when. Is this animal current on clostridial vaccines? Respiratory vaccines? For horses, is tetanus current?
• Last treatment administered — date, drug name, dose, route, and who administered it. This is critical to avoid drug interactions and withdrawal violations.
• Diet and recent diet changes — new pasture access, new hay or grain lot, creep feed, recent mineral changes. Many metabolic and digestive disorders trace directly to feed changes.
• Recent purchases or arrivals — new animals introduced in the past 30 to 60 days are a common source of infectious disease introductions.

Onset and Progression of Symptoms

Vets think in timelines. A calf that was normal at the 7 a.m. feeding and is down and unresponsive by noon is a different case from a cow that has been slightly off-feed for three days. Be as precise as you can:

• When did you last see this animal eating, drinking, and moving normally?
• What was the first thing you noticed, and when?
• Has the condition improved, stayed the same, or gotten worse since you first noticed it?
• How many other animals are affected, and did they get sick at the same time or one at a time?

Vital Signs You Can Take Before the Vet Arrives

Taking and recording baseline vital signs before the vet arrives gives them a baseline that may already have changed by the time they examine the animal. Normal ranges for common livestock species:

• Temperature — normal cattle: 101.0 to 102.5°F (38.3 to 39.2°C); horses: 99.5 to 101.5°F; goats and sheep: 101.5 to 104°F. A digital rectal thermometer is a $15 investment that pays for itself the first time you use it.
• Pulse rate — normal cattle: 40 to 80 beats per minute; horses: 28 to 44 bpm; goats and sheep: 60 to 90 bpm. Feel for the pulse along the jaw, behind the elbow, or inside the rear leg.
• Respiration rate — normal cattle: 12 to 30 breaths per minute; horses: 8 to 16 bpm; goats and sheep: 12 to 20 bpm. Count flank movements for 30 seconds and double it.
• Rumen motility (cattle) — stand at the left flank and listen with your ear (or a stethoscope) to the paralumbar fossa. Normal is 1 to 2 distinct contractions per minute. Absence of rumen sounds is always a concern.
• Mucous membrane color and capillary refill time — gums should be pink and moist; press a finger on the gum and count how long it takes color to return (normal: less than 2 seconds).
• Body weight estimate — use a weight tape if you have one, or know the approximate weight from last processing. Drug dosages are calculated per pound or kilogram; an accurate weight improves dosing accuracy.

The SAARD Method for Describing Your Situation

When you call the clinic, structure your description using this simple framework:

• S — Species: What kind of animal is it?
• A — Age: How old is the animal?
• A — Animal count: How many animals are affected?
• R — Reason for call: What is the primary problem or purpose of the visit?
• D — Duration: How long has the problem been going on?

Example: "I have a 3-year-old Angus cow, just the one animal, been off-feed and has a temperature of 104.2°F since yesterday morning." That single sentence gives the vet more useful information than most producers provide in a 3-minute call.

Facility Preparation by Species

Adequate restraint is the single most controllable variable in how a farm call goes. A vet working in a well-designed, well-maintained facility can accomplish in 90 minutes what might take 3 hours on a farm with inadequate handling equipment. They are also less likely to be injured, which matters a great deal for everyone.

Cattle

Cattle handling requires a clear flow: working pen to alley to chute to headgate. Each section needs to function correctly for the system to work.

• Chute and headgate — test it before the vet arrives. Work the latch several times. Confirm the headgate closes fully and holds reliably. A headgate that randomly releases is a serious safety hazard. Lubricate any stiff mechanisms. Replace broken boards or panels.
• Working alley — width should prevent cattle from turning around, typically 26 to 30 inches. Solid sides keep cattle moving forward because they cannot see distractions. Remove any debris, tools, or equipment from the alley floor.
• Space behind the animal — the vet needs approximately 3 feet of clear space directly behind the animal in the chute for rectal palpation, tail manipulation, and rear-quarter examination. Do not pack the alley so full the vet has no room to work.
• Clean the chute area — manure buildup under and around the chute creates a slip hazard and a biohazard. The vet is working on their knees, elbows, or with ungloved hands at times. Give them a reasonable work environment.
• Power and extension cord — have a heavy-duty extension cord (at least 50 feet, 12 gauge) available if the vet is bringing an ultrasound machine, portable lighting, or any powered equipment. Know where your nearest outlet is.

Horses

• Clean, well-lit stall or stocks — if stocks are available, have them set up and oiled. If working in a stall, it should be freshly bedded and as large as practical. A 10x12 stall for a horse that needs examination is workable; a cramped stall with an animal in pain is dangerous.
• Halter and lead rope on the horse — have the horse caught, haltered, and tied or held before the vet arrives. Do not make the vet help you catch your horse.
• Twitch available — a nose twitch is a legitimate and humane restraint tool for procedures on the head, minor injections, or wound treatment. Have one available. Know how to use it correctly.
• Good lighting — wound evaluation, eye examination, and dental work all require adequate light. If your barn is dim, have a portable work light or a headlamp available.

Goats and Sheep

• Small pen with solid walls — small ruminants are herd animals and difficult to catch once scattered in a large open space. A catching pen with solid walls prevents them from seeing the open space and bolting.
• Sorting alley — even a simple sorting alley made with cattle panels and hog panels works. The ability to move individual animals through a small chute or sort them into a smaller space dramatically speeds up the work.
• A cornered group is fine for small herds — for 10 to 20 animals, a solid-walled corner of a pen where you can catch animals one at a time is often adequate. The key is solid walls on at least two sides.
• Individual restraint — most small ruminant examination can be done by straddling the animal from behind and tipping them onto their rump. Practice this before the vet arrives so you can demonstrate confident handling.

Swine

• Sorting boards — solid plastic or plywood panels, typically 24 by 36 inches, used to guide and block hogs. Have at least two available. Hogs respond to pressure on their visual field, and a sorting board fills that function.
• Snare for large sows or boars — a hog snare allows one person to restrain a large pig for injection or examination. For pigs over 150 pounds, a snare is generally safer and more humane than other restraint methods. Have one available.
• Small pens — separate pigs by size or management group in advance so the vet is not sorting 50 pigs to find the 3 that need treatment.

Facility Checklist by Species

Facility Item	Cattle	Horses	Small Ruminants
Functional restraint equipment	Chute + headgate	Stocks or stall	Small pen or catch corner
Working alley	Required (26–30" wide)	Not required	Helpful if more than 15 animals
3 ft working space behind animal	Required	Required in stall	Not required
Clean, non-slip footing	Required	Required	Helpful
Running water nearby	Required	Required	Helpful
Power outlet or extension cord	Recommended	Recommended	Optional
Adequate lighting	Required	Required	Required
Halter and lead on animal	Not required	Required	Helpful
Twitch or snare available	Not required	Recommended	Not required

Animals Ready to Work Before the Vet Arrives

Nothing slows a farm call down more than a producer who is still in the pasture gathering cattle when the vet pulls in. The vet is billing from the moment they arrive at your property in most cases. Sorting, chasing, and penning animals while the vet stands at the fence is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.

The goal is for the vet to walk up, put on a glove, and start working. That means:

• Bring in only the animals that need to be worked — not the whole herd unless necessary. If you have 3 sick calves in a 200-head cow herd, you do not need all 200 cows in the working pen. Pen the 3 calves and keep the rest out. Working a small group is faster, calmer, and safer for everyone.
• Identify the sick animal clearly — if you are working a specific sick animal alongside routine herd work, identify them with a paint stick, flagging tape on the ear tag, or separate penning. Do not describe them by location in the alley.
• Sort by group before the vet arrives — if you have cows, heifers, and calves all needing different procedures, sort them into separate pens in advance. The vet should not be sorting your animals for you.
• Fasting for procedures — for cattle undergoing rectal palpation, withholding feed for 12 to 24 hours reduces rumen fill and makes examination easier and more accurate. For any surgery or sedation procedure in any species, discuss fasting requirements with the vet when you schedule the visit.
• For pregnancy checks, have them sorted and waiting — if pulling a group for preg checking, have them sorted from the main herd and in the working pen before the vet arrives. If you are sorting 60 cows from 300 the morning of the visit, start early.
• Do not run animals hard to get them penned — overheated, stressed cattle are more dangerous and have elevated cortisol that can affect readings. Pen animals calmly the night before if possible, or early on the morning of the visit.

Records to Have Ready

Your herd health records are the medical chart for your animals. The more complete they are, the better decisions your vet can make. A vet making treatment decisions without knowing what drugs have already been given, or whether an animal has a history of reaction to a particular antibiotic, is flying blind.

You do not need a sophisticated digital system. A handwritten notebook is better than nothing and dramatically better than relying on memory. What matters is that the information exists and can be found quickly.

What to Have Ready

• Vaccination history — vaccines administered, dates, products used, and which animals or groups received them. This matters most for respiratory vaccines, clostridial vaccines, reproductive vaccines, and rabies in applicable states.
• Treatment log — for any animal that has been treated recently: drug name, dose, route, date, and who administered it. Drug withdrawal times start from the last treatment date; if you cannot document that date, you have a food safety problem.
• Purchase records — where did the animal come from, when did it arrive, was there a health certificate or test records, was it quarantined? New arrivals are a common source of respiratory, reproductive, and parasitic disease introductions.
• Breeding records — for any reproductive visit, know the breeding dates (natural or AI), bull or sire information, expected calving or foaling window, and any animals that have cycled back or shown abnormal reproductive behavior.
• Production records — for dairy animals, recent milk production records. For beef operations, recent weaning weights or backgrounding gain data. For sheep and goats, any FAMACHA scores or fecal egg counts.
• Feeding program — what are the animals eating, how much, and how recently did the ration change? Write it down — hay type, grain amount, mineral program. Feed changes are implicated in a wide range of digestive, metabolic, and toxicity issues.

The vet will ask about most of this information. Having it written down means accurate answers instead of estimates. It also means less time spent reconstructing history and more time spent on diagnosis and treatment.

Medications and Supplies On-Hand

Your vet will bring most of what they need. But there are supplies that are your responsibility to have available, and there are items where you can support the vet's work by being stocked and organized.

Basic Supplies You Should Have Stocked

• Needles and syringes — a range of sizes appropriate to your livestock species. For cattle, 16 to 18 gauge needles are most commonly used for intramuscular and subcutaneous injections. For small ruminants, 18 to 20 gauge. Stock a box of each size.
• Rectal thermometer — a digital thermometer with a lanyard or string attached. They disappear into rectums. Buy two.
• Examination gloves — shoulder-length obstetrical gloves for cattle reproductive work, latex exam gloves for general examination. Have both on hand.
• Clean towels — large, clean cloth towels or shop rags for cleaning, drying, and obstetrical work.
• Warm water bucket — a large, clean bucket filled with warm (not hot) water. Standard for OB work, wound cleaning, and equipment rinsing.
• Obstetrical lubricant — J-Lube or equivalent. Have it mixed or ready to mix before the vet arrives if any reproductive work is anticipated.
• Soap — liquid dish soap or surgical scrub for hand and equipment washing.

What the Vet Brings vs. What You Provide

Your vet will bring their own drugs, controlled substances, diagnostic equipment, and specialized instruments. They bring the stethoscope, the OB chains, the ultrasound, the suture material, and the medications they dispense. What you are responsible for is the infrastructure: the facilities, the restraint, the clean water, the power, and the basic consumables listed above.

Never use medications left over from a previous prescription without explicit guidance from your vet for the current situation. Drug residues in food animals, drug interactions, and inappropriate use of antibiotics carry legal liability and food safety implications. Old medications may also be expired, degraded, or stored incorrectly. Call the vet and describe the situation; they will tell you what, if anything, is appropriate to administer before they arrive.

Questions to Prepare in Advance

One of the most consistent complaints large animal vets have about farm calls is the question that gets sprung on them as they are loading the truck to leave. They have finished the work, they are behind schedule for the next farm, and the producer says, "Oh, while you're here — what do you think about my winter feeding program?" That conversation should have been planned, not improvised.

Write your questions down before the visit. Categorize them into three types:

Urgent Questions (This Visit)

These are questions directly related to the reason for the visit or the specific animals being examined. They should be answered during the course of the examination:

• Why is this animal not responding to the treatment I gave?
• Is this wound healing correctly or do we need to change the approach?
• What is the prognosis for this animal, and what decision-making criteria should I use going forward?

Preventive Questions (This Herd or Flock)

These relate to herd health patterns, vaccination programs, parasite management, or nutrition concerns. They require a few minutes of dedicated discussion. Let the vet know at the start of the visit that you have questions to cover after the working portion is done:

• I have had three cases of respiratory disease in calves this year — is there a pattern worth addressing?
• Should we be making any changes to our vaccination program this year?
• My FAMACHA scores are trending worse — what steps do you recommend?

Planning Questions (Future Seasons)

These relate to upcoming breeding seasons, herd expansion, changes in enterprise, or protocols you want to put in place. They can often be discussed briefly at the end of the visit or scheduled for a dedicated herd health planning call:

• I am planning to add 50 head next spring — what should my pre-arrival quarantine and health protocol look like?
• Can we schedule a herd health planning visit before breeding season starts?
• I want to move to synchronization protocols for AI — can you walk me through the options for my size operation?

Communicate your questions at the start of the visit, not as the vet is leaving. A brief heads-up — "After we finish with the cattle, I have about ten minutes of questions on our vaccination program" — gives the vet a chance to budget their time. Most vets are happy to accommodate a producer who plans ahead. Nobody is happy when a 30-minute farm call stretches to 90 minutes because the producer keeps remembering one more thing at the end.

During the Visit: How to Be a Good Client

Producers who are easy to work with get better veterinary care. Not because vets play favorites, but because an organized, cooperative client creates the conditions for good medicine. A vet working with a distracted, arguing, or disorganized client is fighting the environment while trying to do diagnostics. That is not a formula for good outcomes.

Be Present and Attentive

You or a designated knowledgeable employee should be present for the entire visit. Not on the phone. Not in the equipment shop. Present at the chute, watching what the vet is doing, listening to their findings, and asking clarifying questions at appropriate moments. The vet will have findings to communicate in real time, and those findings are most useful when discussed while the animal is in front of you — not relayed through a message later.

Have a Helper Ready for Restraint Work

If any of the work requires restraint beyond the headgate — holding a horse, catching goats, assisting with obstetrical work — you need a helper. One person cannot run the headgate, hold the tail, assist the vet, and take notes simultaneously. A trained, calm helper is worth more than the most expensive chute on the market. Untrained helpers who panic, release the animal, or position themselves unsafely create danger for everyone.

Take Notes or Record the Visit

Ask the vet's permission if you want to record audio — most will agree. At minimum, have a notebook and pen in your pocket. Write down the diagnosis, the treatment plan, the drug names, doses, routes, and schedules, and any follow-up instructions. You will not remember everything accurately two days later. Drug dosage errors from relying on memory cause real harm to animals and can create food safety violations.

Discuss Concerns Calmly and Respectfully

If you disagree with a diagnosis or treatment recommendation, the right time to discuss it is during the visit, calmly and respectfully. Ask questions rather than making assertions: "Help me understand why you chose that approach over X." Vets are not infallible, and a good vet welcomes a client who engages thoughtfully. What does not help is arguing aggressively in the moment, or dismissing the recommendation and then calling a week later when the animal is worse because you did not follow through.

If you have significant concerns about a diagnosis for a high-value animal, it is always appropriate to request a referral to a veterinary college or specialist. Simply ask: "At what point would a referral to a specialist make sense for this case?"

Ask About Follow-Up Signs Before the Vet Leaves

Before the vet drives away, ask two questions: "What improvement should I expect to see, and in what timeframe?" and "What signs should prompt me to call you back?" These two questions give you a clear monitoring protocol. Without them, you are left guessing whether an animal that is still off-feed on day 3 is failing treatment or just slow to respond.

After the Visit: Follow-Through Is the Job

A good farm call diagnosis and treatment plan is worth nothing if you do not execute correctly on your end. The most common reason treatment fails on the farm is not wrong diagnosis — it is incorrect follow-through.

Fill Prescriptions Correctly

• Know the drug name, dose, route, frequency, and duration. Write it on the bottle if necessary.
• Track withdrawal times in your treatment log. Every food animal treated with a prescription drug has a meat withdrawal time, and dairy animals have a milk withdrawal time. Missing withdrawal times creates food safety and legal liability issues.
• Store drugs correctly — many antibiotics and vaccines are temperature-sensitive. Do not leave medications in a hot truck for a week between treatments.
• Complete the full treatment course even if the animal appears to improve. Stopping antibiotics early because the animal looks better is how you create treatment failures and contribute to antimicrobial resistance.

Observe and Document Daily

Check treated animals at least twice daily and note what you see in your treatment log: is the animal eating, drinking, and moving normally? Is the temperature coming down? Is the wound healing? How is manure consistency and output? These observations matter when you need to decide whether to call back.

Know When to Call Back

Call your vet back if:

• The animal is not showing the improvement the vet described, within the expected timeframe
• The animal deteriorates rapidly at any point after the visit
• New symptoms appear that were not present during the examination
• Other animals in the group begin showing similar signs
• You are uncertain whether you are administering treatment correctly

Do not wait until an animal is critically ill before calling back. A follow-up call on day 2 to say "she is a little better but still not eating well" is appropriate and useful. Waiting until day 5 when the animal is down and failing is not.

Leave a Meaningful Online Review

If your vet provided good service, leaving an honest, specific online review helps other farmers in your area find quality large animal care. Generic five-star ratings with no comments are nearly useless to a neighboring producer making a decision. The reviews that help are specific: "Dr. Jones arrived within 45 minutes at 11 p.m. for a difficult dystocia and saved both the cow and calf. Highly competent, calm under pressure, and fair with billing." That kind of detail is what helps other livestock owners make an informed choice — and it builds the local vet's practice, which keeps them available to your community.

Special Preparation for Specific Visit Types

Pregnancy Checking

Pregnancy checking is one of the most common and time-sensitive farm calls on any cow-calf, equine, or small ruminant operation. Preparation is especially important because the efficiency difference between a well-organized preg check and a disorganized one is enormous.

• Cattle: Sort cows from calves the day before if calves need to be weaned post-preg check. Have cows penned and ready. Fast 12 to 24 hours prior — your vet may prefer more or less; ask when you schedule. Have your breeding records available so the vet can note which cows should be open versus bred and can flag unexpected findings. Provide recording assistance so the vet can dictate findings (open, bred 45 days, bred 90 days, twin suspected) while moving through the chute continuously.
• Mares: Have the mare in stocks or a clean stall. She should be haltered and held by a competent handler. Tail should be wrapped or held aside. Provide a bucket of warm water and soap. If this is an early pregnancy check by ultrasound, confirm whether the vet wants the mare to have been last covered a specific number of days ago before the check — typically 14 to 16 days post-ovulation for early transrectal ultrasound.
• Does and ewes: Ultrasound pregnancy checking in small ruminants is done transabdominally, typically around day 45 or later. Animals can be restrained on their rump or standing in a stanchion. Clip or wet the fiber on the belly if needed for good probe contact. Have them sorted into manageable groups with does and ewes separated if working mixed species.

Pre-Purchase Examination

A pre-purchase examination has unique considerations that many buyers and sellers misunderstand, particularly around who is the vet's client.

• The buyer hires the vet, not the seller: if you are buying an animal, hire your own vet — not the seller's vet. The seller's vet has an existing client relationship that creates a conflict of interest. You want an objective evaluation from a vet who works for you alone.
• Documents to have ready (if you are the seller): vaccination records, treatment history, breeding records for reproductive animals, registration papers, and any prior diagnostics including radiographs or blood panels. Withholding medical history during a pre-purchase exam creates ethical and in some states legal liability.
• Understand what the exam covers: a standard equine pre-purchase exam includes physical examination at rest, flexion tests, evaluation at walk and trot, and may include radiographs, endoscopy, and drug testing depending on the level of exam purchased. Clarify the scope and cost before the vet arrives so there are no disputes about what was ordered.

Herd Health Planning Visit

A herd health planning visit is one of the highest-value farm calls you can schedule and one of the most underutilized by producers. This is a visit where the vet comes not to treat a sick animal but to walk your facility, review your records, and develop or revise your annual health program with you.

• Pull records two weeks prior: compile your treatment logs, vaccination history, reproductive performance data, death and cull records, and production data if applicable. Organize them so the vet can review them efficiently during the visit.
• Prepare your planning questions in advance: this is the visit where planning questions get answered. What should change in the vaccination program? Is your parasite management working based on data? What biosecurity improvements are warranted? Write them down and prioritize them.
• Walk the facility together: budget time for the vet to walk through your pens, pastures, feeding areas, and water sources. Observations about housing, ventilation, bunk space, water access, and facility design are often where the biggest health improvements come from. Budget at least two hours for a meaningful herd health planning visit.

Vaccination and Processing Day

Processing day — where a large number of animals move through the chute for vaccines, deworming, implants, branding, castration, or ear tagging — is the most logistically demanding type of farm call.

• Have your working crew ready before the vet arrives: a processing day with inadequate crew is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make. You need a chute operator, a recorder, at least one person managing animals in the alley, and someone handling the working pen. Running shorthanded means slower throughput and more animal stress.
• Vaccine handling: have a vaccine cooler with ice packs ready. Many modified-live vaccines must be kept between 35 and 45°F until administration and lose efficacy when exposed to heat, light, or freeze-thaw cycles. Never mix more modified-live vaccine than you can use in one hour.
• Processing sheet: prepare a form with ear tag numbers and columns for each procedure. Fill in tag numbers before the vet arrives if possible. This allows real-time documentation and dramatically reduces tagging and treatment errors.
• Sharps disposal: have a dedicated sharps container available for needle disposal. Do not drop used needles on the ground in working areas where handlers can step on them.

Reducing Farm Call Fees Without Cutting Corners

Large animal veterinary care is expensive by the nature of the work — farm calls, large-animal-specific equipment, controlled drug costs, and rural practice overhead all factor in. But there are legitimate ways to reduce your per-animal cost of veterinary care without compromising animal health.

• Batch multiple animals and procedures in one visit: the farm call fee is fixed whether you work 5 animals or 50. Batch your pregnancy checks, vaccinations, bull exams, and individual treatments into a single visit whenever possible. The marginal cost per additional animal is almost always far less than the cost of a second farm call.
• Schedule non-emergency visits in advance: emergency farm calls often carry a surcharge — sometimes $50 to $150 or more — on top of the standard farm call fee. Routine pregnancy checking, processing, and preventive care should be scheduled weeks in advance, not called in as same-day or after-hours visits.
• Be a loyal and organized client: vets prioritize clients who are prepared, reliable, and respectful of their time. A producer who is always ready, pays promptly, and treats the vet's schedule with consideration tends to get call-backs faster and receives more flexibility during genuine emergencies. This is not formal policy — it is human nature.
• Maintain your facilities: a well-maintained, efficient chute and alley system can save 30 to 60 minutes on a large processing day. At $100 to $200 per hour for vet time, the payoff on a facility upgrade is measurable in a single season.
• Learn to do routine treatments yourself: your vet can train you to give injections, do basic wound care, and administer certain treatments under their supervision and with their prescription authorization. Many routine treatments do not require a vet on-site every time — they require a good relationship with a vet who trusts your competence and has examined the animal.
• Prevent rather than treat: a meaningful herd health program — good nutrition, appropriate vaccination, parasite management, and biosecurity for new arrivals — reduces the frequency and severity of health events. The cost of prevention is almost always less than the cost of treatment, and animal welfare is better with fewer disease events per year.

Frequently Asked Questions