SMALL RUMINANTS
WMVS
Small Ruminants Services
Welcome to the Small Ruminant section of WMVS. Our small ruminant section is dedicated to the health care needs of your alpacas, llamas, sheep, and goats. We offer high quality, compassionate care and are committed to continuous improvement as the practice of small ruminant care evolves. We accomplish this with a highly caring and well-qualified health team that advocates individual attention and a commitment to excellence.
We offer both ambulatory and in-clinic services to meet the needs of our clients and patients. Our clinic facility is fully staffed including licensed technicians to provide excellent care to our patients. The clinic is fully computerized with medical records kept on each patient. We offer in-house laboratory, reproductive ultrasound, microchipping and radiography.
We have an individually stalled barn adjacent to the facility, with heated and padded stalls inside the clinic for patients requiring more intensive care and monitoring.
Prepurchase examinations are tailored to your individual needs and concerns as either a buyer or a seller. This service is provided by appointment.
Farm Animals: 616.837.8151
Laboratory
We have the in-house capability to do complete blood counts, basic serum chemistry profiles, BioPryn pregnancy testinfand centrifugation of fecals. When necessary, we can use outside laboratories for a more comprehensive diagnostic work-up. We also screen for CAE, CL, Johnes, BVD, OPP, as well as many other tests that we send to the appropriate laboratories looking for the most accurate test at the best price.
Surgery
Our clinic is capable of performing an array of surgical procedures for our small ruminants including; cesarean section, dehorning, castration, and tumor removal. We offer gas and injectable anesthesia as well as pain management to promote faster and more complete healing.
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What is BioPRYN?: BioPRYN is a blood pregnancy test for ruminants. West Michigan Veterinary Service completes BioPRYN tests for cows, sheep and goats. More specifically BioPRYN is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test to evaluate a specific protein found in a pregnant ruminant's blood.
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When to test? BioPRYN can detect the presence of PSPB in as early as 28 days after insemination in heifers. Similarly, pregnancy can be diagnosed in lactating cows 28 days after breeding but cows also must be at least 73 days in milk to ensure that the PSPB from the previous calf is eliminated from the bloodstream. Sheep and goats need to be 30 days bred for the PSPB to be detected in their bloodstream.