Practical Guide to Adding Livestock to Your Veterinary Practice

Expand your veterinary practice to livestock species with trusted advice on all aspects

Addressing the growing demand for veterinary care among small-scale livestock owners, Practical Guide to Adding Livestock to Your Veterinary Practice equips veterinarians with the foundational knowledge needed to confidently expand their services to include food-producing species. Designed for small animal and equine practitioners who are less familiar with livestock medicine, the book contains essential information on physiology, management, handling, and regulatory compliance across cattle, pigs, small ruminants, and camelids.

By addressing common challenges—such as drug-use regulations, client communication, and species-specific care—the authors demystify livestock medicine and provide practical strategies to help practitioners adapt their existing business models. Helping veterinarians deliver care to small-scale livestock operations, Practical Guide to Adding Livestock to Your Veterinary Practice:

Covers essential principles of livestock medicine, nutrition, handling, restraint, and welfare across key species
Summarizes current FDA drug-use regulations and offers clear guidance for compliance in food-producing animals
Provides practical insight into business operations, inventory, and client management when adding livestock care services
Features focused chapters on cattle, pigs, small ruminants, camelids, and dairy production to support everyday clinical needs
Serves as an accessible starting point that connects practitioners to advanced texts and continuing education resources
Ideal for small animal and equine veterinarians, Practical Guide to Adding Livestock to Your Veterinary Practice supports any veterinary practitioner seeking to expand into livestock medicine.
About the Author
Michelle Plotzker Buckley, DVM, MS, PhD, is an assistant professor of practice at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA.
Allison Vander Plaats, DVM, is an assistant professor of Food Animal Ambulatory Medicine in the Veterinary Diagnostic & Production Animal Medicine Department at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa, USA.