The Holistic Farm
Cattle, Sheep, Pigs and Poultry
When setting about treating a farm animal or a farm as a whole holistically, we have to apply different skills and techniques, to those used in dogs, cats or horses, although exactly the same holistic principles apply.
A farm may be intensive and commercial or it may be a hobby farm. It may be organic or it may not. These factors will affect the life and existence of the incumbent animals, whether they be cattle, sheep, pigs, buffalo, deer, poultry or other animals. We therefore need to look at the whole establishment and its philosophy, to see how these might impinge upon health and welfare.
We are not afraid to don our wellies and get out around the farm. Farm management, housing, stocking density, production stress, feeding, bedding and grassland management will all have a bearing and, without a deeper understanding of these topics, much can be overlooked that may unwittingly prevent a cure. All this is designed to create a level at which healing is encouraged, before we consider medicine!
We can then select a therapy or design an integrated therapeutic strategy for the patient or for the farm as a whole, depending upon particular needs. [It must be said that homeopathy is perhaps the most practical and cost effective. Herbal medicines can be pricey in a herd context. Acupuncture can be a little impractical, depending upon the set up.] We then establish a monitoring program, so that progress can be assessed and any changes can elicit a response from the prescriber, in a timely fashion.
It is precisely because of this attention to detail, and because most of our medicines stimulate endogenous healing capability, that many serious and seemingly intractable conditions can respond to holistic treatment.
The holistic vet must study and understand all the special factors that impinge on each of our species and types of animals, in order to follow the true causes of disease and to be able to minimise or eliminate them