It is nice to be back to reality on the farm post wedding, the honeymoon is well and truly over and my first task on my return was taking faecal samples from our calves, I think that was as far from the Italian Riviera as you could be.

Farm vet Hazell Mullins explains the 'knee test', checking ventilation and the other tools in her box to assess your calf house.

Ketones are associated with numerous disease processes in livestock - the ketone diet is one to give a miss for your cows and sheep, writes vet Hazell Mullin.

I remember vividly in my days in vet school in Nottingham, in which milk fever/Hypocalcaemia based lectures always contained an image of an iceberg floating ominously in the ocean.

Calf scour is one issue we can work on during this pre-calving period, writes vet Hazell Mullins as she gives her top tips for prevention.

Extensive research has shown that infections originating in the dry period can cause clinical mastitis or high SCC up to 90 days post-calving - here's farm vet Hazel Mullins' tips on how to ensure dry period bliss.