Farm Calls

We come to the barn.

A typical farm-call afternoon: a pregnancy check at the Hellwig dairy out on County Highway A, a calf with scours at the Knudsen place, a horse Coggins at a hobby farm in Saukville, then back to the clinic for evening small-animal hours.

The truck has been an F-250 since 1997 — we've worn out three of them. It carries calcium boluses, OB chains, a portable ultrasound, a power float for horse teeth, a Nolvasan jug, a stack of disposable rectal sleeves, and a coffee thermos. Mack rides shotgun.

Most of our farm-call clients we've worked with for years — some for three generations of farmer and four generations of cow. New farms are welcome. Call the clinic and we'll set up a first visit.

Dairy

Dairy herd health.

Scheduled herd checks are the backbone of the dairy practice. Most of our herds we see every two to three weeks. We arrive with a clipboard, the portable ultrasound, and a list of cows the farmer wants looked at — opens, fresh cows, suspected DAs, anything not eating right.

Pregnancy diagnosis: rectal palp on cows past 35 days post-breeding, and portable ultrasound for earlier confirms and twin/sex determination when the farmer wants it. We give a real number, not a maybe.

Sick-cow work: DA correction (right side rolls, left side roll-and-tack), mastitis cases, retained placentas, calf-scour outbreaks, downer-cow workups. We're set up to handle most of it on the farm.

Vaccination programs we customize to the herd — pre-fresh, calf, replacement heifer, J-5 and ScourGuard schedules. We've worked with some of these herds for three generations of farmer and four generations of cow.

Equine

Horses, at the barn.

Coggins — we draw and submit. Spring and fall vaccinations on the standard AAEP risk-based schedule. Dental floats with a power float. Lameness evaluation: flex tests, hoof testers, the slow-trot down the driveway your trainer didn't want to do because the gravel was sharp.

Basic field colic workup — rectal exam, NG tube if needed, fluids, banamine, the call about whether this one is going to ship to Madison or stay on the farm. We've been doing the call for thirty-odd years; we're usually right.

We don't do equine surgery. We refer to UW–Madison's large-animal hospital. For after-hours equine emergencies more than an hour from town, the closest 24-hour equine ER is Wisconsin Equine Clinic in Oconomowoc.

Sheep, goats, and the others

Small ruminants and the off-the-wall calls.

Small-ruminant medicine, FAMACHA scoring for parasite load, copper bolus programs, hoof trimming and rot management, breeding soundness, lambing and kidding consults. We see more of this than you'd think — Cedar Creek has a real backyard-flock community.

We'll see your llama. We won't see your alpaca-show animal — Dr. Ehlers up in Cedar Burg does that work and does it well. We'll point you to him.

Farm-call basics

  • Farm-call charge: $95 (covers the trip, first 10 miles, and the first 15 minutes on-site)
  • Mileage: $0.85/mile after 10, round-trip
  • Herd check: $145, prorated by time on the farm
  • Procedures: billed at clinic rates (palp, ultrasound, surgery, medication)
  • On-farm euthanasia: $245 plus mileage
  • Billing: we bill monthly for farms with a standing schedule. Otherwise at the time of service.
Service area

Within thirty miles by default.

Towns we cover regularly:

Cedar Creek · Grafton · Saukville · Port Washington · Belgium · Random Lake · Mequon · Sheboygan Falls · Newburg · West Bend (east half)

Thirty-mile radius from the clinic on Highland Road. We'll go farther for an existing client — we've made calls into Washington and Sheboygan counties for farms that have been on our books for twenty years.

Common questions

What farmers ask before they call.

What does a herd check cost?

$145 plus $0.85/mile after the first 10 miles, round-trip. Procedures during the visit are billed at clinic rates. Farms on a standing schedule are billed monthly.

How far do you go for a farm call?

Thirty miles by default, covering most of Ozaukee County, the southern edge of Sheboygan County, and the eastern edge of Washington County. Farther for established clients.

Do you do equine surgery?

No. We refer to UW–Madison's large-animal hospital. For overnight equine emergencies the closest 24-hour ER is Wisconsin Equine Clinic in Oconomowoc.

Will you come for a dairy emergency on a Sunday?

Yes. Call the clinic line — after 5:30 PM and on weekends it forwards to Dr. Hal's cell. For a down calf, a stuck delivery, a DA, or a colicking horse, he comes.

New farm? Call (262) 377-4180