When to call the vet, step by step

1. Three colours of urgency

A simple system: red, call at once; amber, call the same day; green, watch and write it down.

1. Red: call at once — At night and at weekends too: can't get up, laboured breathing, swollen flank, rolling in pain, heavy bleeding, fits, birth not progressing, poisoning.
2. Amber: the same day — Hasn't eaten all day, temperature more than 1 °C (about 2 °F) above or below normal, lame and won't put a foot down, hot hard udder, a gaping wound.
3. Green: watch — Mild lameness, a small scratch, slightly lower appetite without a temperature. Write it down, and if there's no improvement within 24 hours, call.
4. Film it on your phone — A short video of how the animal walks, breathes, lies or behaves, sent to the vet, is often worth more than a description.

Why: With bloat, colic, a difficult birth or poisoning, morning is too late. When you're not sure, call: the vet will tell you whether it can wait.

• Amber turns red when things get worse, when several animals are ill, or when the animal is young, pregnant or old.
• Ask the vet in advance whether they accept photos and videos, and to which number.

2. Emergency signs by species

Each species shows an emergency in its own way.

1. Goats, sheep, cattle — A swollen left flank (bloat) is red. So is an animal that won't get up, nervous signs and abortion.
2. Horses and donkeys — Colic: looks round at its belly, rolls, paws, sweats. A pulse over 60 at rest and hot feet are red too.
3. Poultry — Sudden deaths of several birds, a sudden drop in eggs with less feed and water taken, a swollen head and blue comb: call at once.
4. Rabbits — Not eating and no droppings for half a day: gut stasis. A swollen belly and a tilted head are red too.

Why: Some signs look mild but kill within hours. Donkeys show pain very quietly, and in a rabbit half a day without food is already an emergency.

• Goats and sheep: a birth not progressing for 30 minutes and FAMACHA 5 are red.
• A male or tom cat straining but not passing urine: call at once.

3. Before you call · Locked

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4. While you wait for the vet · Locked

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5. Reporting and dead animals · Locked

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6. Euthanasia only with the vet · Locked

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