“Happy, an approach with the veterinarians “Positive communication, a crutial challenge”
In our structure, we are about 10 veterinarians, and we will probably be at 11 next winter. We are four vets in rural. I moved to Montrevel-en-Bresse in 2000. Initially, I practiced as a mixed practitioner, but I had a strong preference for breeding practice. This preference led me quite naturally to acquire additional skills from those taught us at the veterinary school, and gradually my business became 100% livestock. Anyway, our customers have also specialized and need experts to make their breeding work well. This concentration of my farming activity led me, about eight years ago, to “specialize” even more and I now work mainly in prevention and monotoring. Traditional rural care visits to sick animals have become minority. Rather than being called to care for sick animals, now I work to prevent them from being sick. It changes a lot in my personal and professional balance, I really do the job I dreamed of when I was a child!
Happy cows = efficient breeding
Understandably, I work with partners who share my vision and values. I have been participating in the Happy project since its creation, even before it was developed. I have been working with Obione since the company was founded and I have participated in the first rounds tables for the development of Cow Notes application that I use now every day. This tool allowed us to look at the cows differently and to demonstrate that happy cows make breeding successful and breeders happy. I have “converted” all my associates to this approach and together, now we have these objectives:
- Contribute to well-being by preventing animals diseases, which necessarily involves taking into account their comfort, their welfare, in a word, their happiness;
- To reconcile the breeder with his core business, to have receptive animals and in healthy, it greatly reduces the stress of the breeders who recall the pleasure of times shared with their animals. This multiplies the positive interactions between humans and animals. Interventions are not only curative, therefore often painful: stings, Caesarean sections and restraints; are transformed into observations, steering of the food supply, and fitting out the buildings.
- Have a great pleasure to work and even more, be proud to help animals and breeders to be “HAPPY”.
In these times of great difficulties in breeding, it is important to highlight the excellent job of many breeders, because if the financial crisis is added to the crisis of vocations and men, then our sector will face high risk.
Despite the economic challenges, it is still possible to work in breeding and claim both an acceptable salary and a great pleasure. It is also a strong social demand to show that the animals and their products are the result of respectful breeding of their happiness. We already have as customers Happy breeders and we work every day to get even more. And we make it known because the positive communication in the breeding field is a crutial issue for all of us!
