Exciting Laboratory News
Newbridge Scientific is the new in-house poultry laboratory for Poultry Health Services in Edinburgh. In the next few weeks, you will receive confirmation of the moving of services from Biobest Milton to Newbridge Scientific, along with new submission forms and pre-paid labels, where required. Newbridge Scientific has two laboratories – one currently based at Sheriff Hutton near York (also formerly Biobest) and a brand new state-of-the-art laboratory in Newbridge just outside Edinburgh. The new lab will be UKAS accredited and will see many of the existing personnel transferring across from Milton. Please look out for further information in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local PHS branch.
Important changes to Red Tractor Minimum Standards
New Red Tractor minimum standards take effect on 1st November 2021. Some of the standards that have changed are:
- Turnaround no less than 5 calendar days.
- Total antibiotic used per crop must be measured as mg/PCU and recorded.
- New personnel without a Poultry Passport must be enrolled within 6 months of employment.
Here at PHS we have produced a handy guide of what you must do and how we can help. Please take a look at: https://poultryhealthservices.com/news-update/changes-to-red-tractor-standards/.
Alternatively, the latest information, handy guides, and support to make sure your farm business is ready can be found at: https://redtractor.org.uk/. If you have any questions please contact your local PHS branch to speak to one of our vets.
Reminder for all Egg Producers
From 1st January 2021, all egg producers need to have completed the Lion Training Passport Module for Egg Producers. This is already in place within the broiler and turkey sectors. If you haven’t completed this yet, please read on for how we can help.
Through PHS, you can complete three modules online, which are valid for 5 years from the date of completion. Each course lasts around 3 hours and there are some (easy!) questions at the end. On completion, you can print your own Lion Code approved certificate. You can stop the course at any time and restart it at the point where you left it. You can do all three modules, or individual modules, as required. As a PHS client the price is £20 +VAT per module or £50 +VAT for all three modules.
(These courses are open to non-PHS clients and will be charged at £30 +VAT per module or £80 +VAT for all three modules.)
The three modules available through PHS are:
- Poultry Health & Welfare: Stockman.
- Poultry Health & Welfare: Management.
- Biosecurity and Egg Quality.
You can sign up by logging on to http://farmiq.co.uk/courses/poultry/ or call your local PHS branch so we can process your request and get you up and running! If you would like more information on the required courses, please visit www.britisheggindustrycouncil.co.uk.
ORT- a difficult Bacterium to treat
Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale (ORT) is not easily diagnosed and its sensitivity to a number of antibiotics has decreased over recent years. This bacteria affects broilers, layers, and turkeys, and is more prevalent in the autumn/winter months, when the birds become more susceptible to other respiratory diseases. The financial losses associated with ORT include increased mortality, reduced growth rate, lower feed conversion, increased rejects in the factory, and egg drops in layers. This disease can be diagnosed by taking blood samples (in unvaccinated birds), culture or PCR testing. The response to treatment is variable and prevention relies on good hygiene and biosecurity together with vaccination. There are commercial vaccines available, which require double injection of the pullets in rear, turkeys or broiler breeders. For more information, please contact any of our poultry vets who will be happy to help.
Welcome to Marie Menniti
Marie Francesca Menniti qualified from the University of Edinburgh, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 2018. She is originally from Canada where she completed a Masters in Animal Nutrition at the University of Guelph. Marie also enjoys travelling and hiking the trails of Scotland. She volunteers at a local herb garden in her spare time.
Sustainable Development at PHS- Battery Recycling Scheme
At Poultry Health Services, we have been working on developing our practices’ sustainability. The aim of sustainable development is to balance our economic, environmental and social needs, allowing prosperity for now and future generations. We are pleased to announce that over the next few weeks, PHS will be introducing collection boxes for batteries, which will be situated in the Receptions of our PHS branches. We would like to invite our clients to bring along any used household batteries for recycling when visiting the PHS branches.
Paying your account
Please amend your records to make sure all payments are credited to our new account please find the details below.
| Bank: Natwest Account Number: 55244696 Sort Code: 60-60-05 |
Social Media
Social media is a great way for us to keep you up to date with what’s going on at PHS. We also like to share the occasional funny post, so if you’re a scroller then look us up! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter (@Poultryvets) and LinkedIN.