BSc (Hons) BVetMed PGCertVPS CertAVP MRCVS
Tel: + 44 (0)1392 872932
Ben is part of our southern region veterinary team.
Ben says:
“Having always had an interest in biology, my first degree was in conservation. Although it didn’t involve being ‘hands on’ with animals, there was a focus on their health and welfare – in particular the interactions between wild/domestic animals and humans, the environment and how and why they conflict or complement each other. It also gave me the chance to work alongside organisations such as The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. Both of these played a large part in me wanting to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, which lead to me doing a post graduate degree in veterinary medicine at the Royal Veterinary College, London.
I started veterinary working life in a mixed practice based in Dorset, concentrating on large animals, and game birds, that sparked my interest in the broader commercial poultry sector, subsequently joining St David’s to further that. I now work with a broad range of commercial producers including layers and broilers, breeders and rearers, across the south. I am also the lead vet for our associated business, The Chicken Vet, an online service for domestic poultry owners that also offers veterinary advice to associated practices and Vetlexicon, a training platform for veterinary surgeons, worldwide.
As commercial poultry is a well-integrated, forward-thinking, and progressive sector, I value the fact that I am able to continually evolve my veterinary approach to bird health, welfare and productivity. Key to this are the producers I work with and their openness to an experimental approach, coupled with their desire for preventative versus reactive management. Being on site regularly means long-term relationships develop, making for healthy discussion on every aspect, and the teams being receptive to the suggestions and decision I make.
As the challenges and opportunities continue for the industry, this joint approach is particularly important. Flock management is far more proactive than it was previously, that means I invest a significant amount of time working with clients to develop the health plans for subsequent flocks, versus having to reactively manage the current ones. Sites have an enormous amount of data to support this, from daily records for example, and therefore my role also involves analysing and making sense of this information, and in particular identifying any anomalies, that could influence future veterinary health plans.
Another focus for me is working with clients to make sure that there is good general husbandry in place, for example biosecurity and environmental hygiene – including food and water – as this is fundamental to continuing to improve the health, welfare and productivity of the birds under my care.”