We decided to split the weekend, so I had a nice 1.5 days off.
I totally needed the break because I was starting to get super exhausted form the 12+ hours of work a day.
I took a trip into the twin cities. Stopped and picked up some stuff for the wedding and bought a little something for Arthur and my dad. They both have birthdays coming up. I found a lake and took a walk around it. It has an area with food and beer so I bought a fish taco and had a beer. It totally hit the spot.
I have 5 days to go on this rotation and I'll admit I am getting more and more comfortable working with cows. I'm not sure where I'll end up in the future, but I will say that by the end of this upcoming week, I will probably have seen it all...
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Calves on a dairy
I'm not too sure where I stand when it comes to calf processing on a dairy.
I've only seen a few places (so far), but I can't say I agree with it 100%.
The future of a dairy is the calves, in my opinion. If you want more milking cows, then you have to replace your old ones with new ones - who are your calves. It seems, however, that the calves are last priority at many dairies. This may have something to do with survival of the fittest (like if they are weak, let 'em die). I don't know what percentage of calves should live, but I feel like if you give them a little tlc and analyze your calf processing protocol, then you should be able to achieve a pretty high survival rate.
Also my deep thought for the day is if I were to die and come back a living thing, I would put male dairy cow at the absolute bottom of my list. You cannot GIVE them away which is a little troubling to me. I will leave it at that.
The dairy uses sexed semen which is giving this dairy a 65% heifer rate. So I supposed when you look at the shear volume of this dairy, it is WAY better to get 65% than 50 (or whatever it is naturally).
The birth of a dairy cow is so awesome to watch. After any semi-crappy day, you can always go watch a couple of births to lift your spirits. The ONE main thing, though is you CANNOT look at their junk. Just walk away and tell yourself , "It's a girl! It's a girl!! And BAM your day just got a little better!
I've only seen a few places (so far), but I can't say I agree with it 100%.
The future of a dairy is the calves, in my opinion. If you want more milking cows, then you have to replace your old ones with new ones - who are your calves. It seems, however, that the calves are last priority at many dairies. This may have something to do with survival of the fittest (like if they are weak, let 'em die). I don't know what percentage of calves should live, but I feel like if you give them a little tlc and analyze your calf processing protocol, then you should be able to achieve a pretty high survival rate.
Also my deep thought for the day is if I were to die and come back a living thing, I would put male dairy cow at the absolute bottom of my list. You cannot GIVE them away which is a little troubling to me. I will leave it at that.
The dairy uses sexed semen which is giving this dairy a 65% heifer rate. So I supposed when you look at the shear volume of this dairy, it is WAY better to get 65% than 50 (or whatever it is naturally).
The birth of a dairy cow is so awesome to watch. After any semi-crappy day, you can always go watch a couple of births to lift your spirits. The ONE main thing, though is you CANNOT look at their junk. Just walk away and tell yourself , "It's a girl! It's a girl!! And BAM your day just got a little better!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Dairy Rotation: Day 1
This dairy is flipping HUGE!
Every time I looked out into the maternity pen, there was another cow birthing. It is incredible. A huge pen of new born calves. They get to dry off inside before going out to their calf hutches. It is the cutest thing when they get their bottles. Their little tails wag and they all stand up and come to the fence. So precious!
Today we got to do a bunch of physical exams on the fresh cows. I think this will be the daily routine. In that pen, we had a lot of udder edema, retained placentas. There were 2 cows with eye issues. I helped to do a subconjunctival injection on a cow with a melting ulcer. I also learned (and got to practice) using my nose to detect infection. ew!
Then we head to the sick cow pen and attend to those ladies. They are so sad, but in the grand scheme of things, there are way less cows in the sick pen than at smaller dairies. The whole scale thing skews your perspective.
In the sick pen, we had a prolapsed vagina and rectum on ONE cow that we got to put back in place. We also had several down cows. It is amazing how flipping a cow and giving her a hit of calcium can make a lady perk back up. There was one cow who I thought was going to be a euthanasia today. She must have must been down and out; after we flipped her and gave her Ca, she had her head up and was eating and drinking.
We also drenched a few gals (gave them cow gatorade). A cow who had her eye removed last week was back in the sick pen to have her socket cleaned out. That was very satisfying! And gross!!
I got to hear some lungs on pneumonia cows, and we worked on a foot abscess. We also cut a right DA and I personally got to remove a 6+lb highly vascular mass on a cow's shoulder. I hated EVERY moment of it, but the only way I'm going to get better is to do it over and over. Even thought I wanted to cry the ENTIRE time, I'm all about doing another one.
Overall today was pretty cool. the dairy has a rotary milker that milks like 76 cows. At one point today we got to stand in the middle of the rotary and look up at all their faces. I probably could have stood there for hours staring at their ridiculous faces.
After our day we headed into town and got dinner and had a beer.
On the list of to-dos tomorrow: fix an umbilical hernia on a calf, and go through the same routine we did today. Hopefully I will be presented with another opportunity to cut and suture. I have to force myself to get better at that crap!
Every time I looked out into the maternity pen, there was another cow birthing. It is incredible. A huge pen of new born calves. They get to dry off inside before going out to their calf hutches. It is the cutest thing when they get their bottles. Their little tails wag and they all stand up and come to the fence. So precious!
Today we got to do a bunch of physical exams on the fresh cows. I think this will be the daily routine. In that pen, we had a lot of udder edema, retained placentas. There were 2 cows with eye issues. I helped to do a subconjunctival injection on a cow with a melting ulcer. I also learned (and got to practice) using my nose to detect infection. ew!
Then we head to the sick cow pen and attend to those ladies. They are so sad, but in the grand scheme of things, there are way less cows in the sick pen than at smaller dairies. The whole scale thing skews your perspective.
In the sick pen, we had a prolapsed vagina and rectum on ONE cow that we got to put back in place. We also had several down cows. It is amazing how flipping a cow and giving her a hit of calcium can make a lady perk back up. There was one cow who I thought was going to be a euthanasia today. She must have must been down and out; after we flipped her and gave her Ca, she had her head up and was eating and drinking.
We also drenched a few gals (gave them cow gatorade). A cow who had her eye removed last week was back in the sick pen to have her socket cleaned out. That was very satisfying! And gross!!
I got to hear some lungs on pneumonia cows, and we worked on a foot abscess. We also cut a right DA and I personally got to remove a 6+lb highly vascular mass on a cow's shoulder. I hated EVERY moment of it, but the only way I'm going to get better is to do it over and over. Even thought I wanted to cry the ENTIRE time, I'm all about doing another one.
Overall today was pretty cool. the dairy has a rotary milker that milks like 76 cows. At one point today we got to stand in the middle of the rotary and look up at all their faces. I probably could have stood there for hours staring at their ridiculous faces.
After our day we headed into town and got dinner and had a beer.
On the list of to-dos tomorrow: fix an umbilical hernia on a calf, and go through the same routine we did today. Hopefully I will be presented with another opportunity to cut and suture. I have to force myself to get better at that crap!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Dairy rotation
Since U of I does not offer a dairy specific rotation, I decided to take one in Minnesota. It is affiliated with the University of MN College of Vet Med. I just rolled into town. This dairy is HUGE!
The weather has been so hot here that the maintenance guy who greeted me said that they lost 80 calves last week due to the heat. That's right EIGHTY! Holy Crap!!
I imagine I will get to see everything dairy here. My personal checklist: palpate lots of cows. I need to get better at finding the repro tract and diagnosing pregnancies. I'd like to assist with some dystocias, and get to help fix a DA or 2. And I plan to avoid all vats of shit (unlike the other day).
We stay in a pretty nice set up. There is an upstairs above the offices that is only a couple of years old. Every room has 2 beds. Every 2 rooms shares a bathroom. There are a ton of kitchen appliances. This place is in the middle of nowhere, though. I imagine I am going to get pretty bored. No alcohol is allowed either, so we can't even have a beer in the evenings. Guess I'll get some reading in and catch up on a few tv shows online. Maybe there is a town close by where we can go hang out for at least a night.
I'm also hoping for 1 day off to squeeze in a visit with Stefanie in Minneapolis.
The weather has been so hot here that the maintenance guy who greeted me said that they lost 80 calves last week due to the heat. That's right EIGHTY! Holy Crap!!
I imagine I will get to see everything dairy here. My personal checklist: palpate lots of cows. I need to get better at finding the repro tract and diagnosing pregnancies. I'd like to assist with some dystocias, and get to help fix a DA or 2. And I plan to avoid all vats of shit (unlike the other day).
We stay in a pretty nice set up. There is an upstairs above the offices that is only a couple of years old. Every room has 2 beds. Every 2 rooms shares a bathroom. There are a ton of kitchen appliances. This place is in the middle of nowhere, though. I imagine I am going to get pretty bored. No alcohol is allowed either, so we can't even have a beer in the evenings. Guess I'll get some reading in and catch up on a few tv shows online. Maybe there is a town close by where we can go hang out for at least a night.
I'm also hoping for 1 day off to squeeze in a visit with Stefanie in Minneapolis.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Ambulaory
I'm on day 2 of ambulatory.
Yesterday:
We pregnancy checked some mares. We used ultrasound to see the heartbeats.
We filled out health papers for some beautiful dairy show cows.
We made a farm call to check on a down beef cow. Mystery as to why she was down. The most gigantic bull was standing over her. They get big. REAL big! We took her (via sling lifted by tractor) to the barn so she could be in the shade.
Today:
We drew blood from a bunch of dairy cows on a 3000 head dairy. The U of I wants to buy some cows for the students to palpate, etc. So these are cull cows we were testing to see that they were disease free so we could buy them. I got to draw blood form 14 different cows. And then I managed to step in a drain and lose both my boots. Shit poured into them and I was stuck mid-calf deep in shit. Thank goodness Dr. Hermann sent me home to shower. I was probably offending everyone!
Then we ultrasounded a mare that had 2 embryos. They were still both there but are too close to terminate one safely. So we are just going to give it time
And finally a trip to Kickapoo to check out a lame fawn that we could not catch.
Yesterday:
We pregnancy checked some mares. We used ultrasound to see the heartbeats.
We filled out health papers for some beautiful dairy show cows.
We made a farm call to check on a down beef cow. Mystery as to why she was down. The most gigantic bull was standing over her. They get big. REAL big! We took her (via sling lifted by tractor) to the barn so she could be in the shade.
Today:
We drew blood from a bunch of dairy cows on a 3000 head dairy. The U of I wants to buy some cows for the students to palpate, etc. So these are cull cows we were testing to see that they were disease free so we could buy them. I got to draw blood form 14 different cows. And then I managed to step in a drain and lose both my boots. Shit poured into them and I was stuck mid-calf deep in shit. Thank goodness Dr. Hermann sent me home to shower. I was probably offending everyone!
Then we ultrasounded a mare that had 2 embryos. They were still both there but are too close to terminate one safely. So we are just going to give it time
And finally a trip to Kickapoo to check out a lame fawn that we could not catch.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Small Animal Emergency
So I'm just wrapping up my 2 weeks of Small Animal ER tonight.
I've gotten to put in several catheters over the last couple of weeks. The one thing I never was able to do id hit the jugular of a small animal. I could get the jug of a big dog, but that is on my list of to-do's over the next several months.
Memorable cases:
An english coonhound with hind limb paralysis. It started as 1 leg, then moved to both. She was 11 years old. Blood work was all ok. Radiographs showed complete lysis of the spine of T10 (or so). So she had neoplasia.
A 7 month old bishon presented for convulsions that the reg DVM could not control. On presentation, she had severe meisois with no pupillary reflexes. We administered drugs to control the seizures including diazepam and propofol, gave manitol to reduce the swelling of the brain. All blood work checked out ok. The clients were out of town and the dog sitter said they kept a close eye on the puppy the entire time they were watching it. We assumed it was necrotizing meningitis. This is something that bishons and pugs get. It can happen anywhere from 6 months old to 7years old, has a grave prognosis and it some sort of auto immune thing that cannot really be managed. We were ready to euthanize. We all agreed that this puppy was in GRIM shape. From vacation, the owner insisted we give it just a little more time. So we gave her supportive care through the night. The next morning, the day shift came in to see the dog sitting up and perky. At some point through the night she snapped into being a normal dog again. She got to go outside to pee, was eating, etc. So it turned out to be (most likely) a toxin of some sort. Put away your pills people!
A puncture would in the groin kept me at school until 6am this morning. Dog playing in the lake. We had 4 other cases last night (including a [most likely] osteosarc in a 7 year old golden [clients were in denial], a cat with FIP that we drained 1200 ml out of the abdomen, a [conscious] hit by car puppy with mild head trauma, a pug with a UTI, and a little dog that was licking the couch and eating grass [nausea]). Once we got to the puncture would we realized how bad it was- went through 2 layers of muscle. We had to do rads to be sure it did not puncture the body wall, then call the radiologist to read them, then call the ER doc to come assist with suturing the dog since it was a procedure that none of us ha done. So by 6am, the drain was placed and the pup was ready to go home on a crapload of antibiotics. Puncture wounds are things we will see ALL the time, so I was SO glad I stuck around to watch this procedure being done.
Overall this rotations has been great. I've learned a ton.
Deep thoughts from this rotation:
Cats like to turn blue because they can't breathe for many kinds of reasons (congestive heart failure and asthma are the 2 main reasons). Furosimide, albuterol and O2 are key.
A lot of stuff cannot be diagnosed.
It is sad, but relieving, when an owner chooses euthanasia for their extremely ill animal.
It is sad when an owner cannot afford treatment for a fairly easy fix.
There are stray dogs and cats everywhere but many have chips. SCAN THEM!
People love to "rescue" any kind of wildlife.
Always muzzle a dog - just do it.
Pain meds, pain meds, pain meds!
NOVA (stat blood machine) vs ultrasound? Hopefully I'll get both at MY clinic someday! I woudl never be able to choose.
Emergency is like feast or famine: sometimes all animals are ok in the world and sometimes all animals like to get acutely ill or injured. And it usually happens all at once!
I still love dogs and cats and people are crazy.
One more night shift on ER then off to 4 weeks of (hopefully) large animal bliss!!
I've gotten to put in several catheters over the last couple of weeks. The one thing I never was able to do id hit the jugular of a small animal. I could get the jug of a big dog, but that is on my list of to-do's over the next several months.
Memorable cases:
An english coonhound with hind limb paralysis. It started as 1 leg, then moved to both. She was 11 years old. Blood work was all ok. Radiographs showed complete lysis of the spine of T10 (or so). So she had neoplasia.
A 7 month old bishon presented for convulsions that the reg DVM could not control. On presentation, she had severe meisois with no pupillary reflexes. We administered drugs to control the seizures including diazepam and propofol, gave manitol to reduce the swelling of the brain. All blood work checked out ok. The clients were out of town and the dog sitter said they kept a close eye on the puppy the entire time they were watching it. We assumed it was necrotizing meningitis. This is something that bishons and pugs get. It can happen anywhere from 6 months old to 7years old, has a grave prognosis and it some sort of auto immune thing that cannot really be managed. We were ready to euthanize. We all agreed that this puppy was in GRIM shape. From vacation, the owner insisted we give it just a little more time. So we gave her supportive care through the night. The next morning, the day shift came in to see the dog sitting up and perky. At some point through the night she snapped into being a normal dog again. She got to go outside to pee, was eating, etc. So it turned out to be (most likely) a toxin of some sort. Put away your pills people!
A puncture would in the groin kept me at school until 6am this morning. Dog playing in the lake. We had 4 other cases last night (including a [most likely] osteosarc in a 7 year old golden [clients were in denial], a cat with FIP that we drained 1200 ml out of the abdomen, a [conscious] hit by car puppy with mild head trauma, a pug with a UTI, and a little dog that was licking the couch and eating grass [nausea]). Once we got to the puncture would we realized how bad it was- went through 2 layers of muscle. We had to do rads to be sure it did not puncture the body wall, then call the radiologist to read them, then call the ER doc to come assist with suturing the dog since it was a procedure that none of us ha done. So by 6am, the drain was placed and the pup was ready to go home on a crapload of antibiotics. Puncture wounds are things we will see ALL the time, so I was SO glad I stuck around to watch this procedure being done.
Overall this rotations has been great. I've learned a ton.
Deep thoughts from this rotation:
Cats like to turn blue because they can't breathe for many kinds of reasons (congestive heart failure and asthma are the 2 main reasons). Furosimide, albuterol and O2 are key.
A lot of stuff cannot be diagnosed.
It is sad, but relieving, when an owner chooses euthanasia for their extremely ill animal.
It is sad when an owner cannot afford treatment for a fairly easy fix.
There are stray dogs and cats everywhere but many have chips. SCAN THEM!
People love to "rescue" any kind of wildlife.
Always muzzle a dog - just do it.
Pain meds, pain meds, pain meds!
NOVA (stat blood machine) vs ultrasound? Hopefully I'll get both at MY clinic someday! I woudl never be able to choose.
Emergency is like feast or famine: sometimes all animals are ok in the world and sometimes all animals like to get acutely ill or injured. And it usually happens all at once!
I still love dogs and cats and people are crazy.
One more night shift on ER then off to 4 weeks of (hopefully) large animal bliss!!
Friday, June 17, 2011
I am exhausted!
So equine has officially kicked my ass. I am SO tired. I have one weekend of hell left and then OFF BLOCK!!! I'm second on call tomorrow then first on call Sunday. Then Sunday night I work 6pm to 6am Monday.
This past week, I was told I was wasting people's time during rounds. That sucked. There is also SO much to juggle. My ADD has been a big challenge. I have to work on that. Another highlight (or lowlight) was looking like a total idiot while suturing my patient's shoulder. Springy suture, having to do it quickly, everyone watching, me sucking and then saying "sonofabitch". OOPS!
Positives:
I performed a lameness exam this past week. It took 6 hours. It was a great case though. The owner just wanted to know if "Tucker" was still able to work. If he was not, then she would still keep him because he was such a nice boy. Turned out he COULD still work. So it was great news all around. Just a little osteoarthritis. I got to inject his joints too.
My current case is an osteomyelitis in the shoulder of a 2.5 month old foal. We have been battling a fever the last week. Yesterday we opened the area up to let it drain and the fever was down today!! So I'm hoping it worked and that we have the correct antibiotics. We shall see. It was a good case that made me think about bacteria and antibiotic choices.
And that's all I got. Going to relax a bit tonight and try to get some decent sleep.
This past week, I was told I was wasting people's time during rounds. That sucked. There is also SO much to juggle. My ADD has been a big challenge. I have to work on that. Another highlight (or lowlight) was looking like a total idiot while suturing my patient's shoulder. Springy suture, having to do it quickly, everyone watching, me sucking and then saying "sonofabitch". OOPS!
Positives:
I performed a lameness exam this past week. It took 6 hours. It was a great case though. The owner just wanted to know if "Tucker" was still able to work. If he was not, then she would still keep him because he was such a nice boy. Turned out he COULD still work. So it was great news all around. Just a little osteoarthritis. I got to inject his joints too.
My current case is an osteomyelitis in the shoulder of a 2.5 month old foal. We have been battling a fever the last week. Yesterday we opened the area up to let it drain and the fever was down today!! So I'm hoping it worked and that we have the correct antibiotics. We shall see. It was a good case that made me think about bacteria and antibiotic choices.
And that's all I got. Going to relax a bit tonight and try to get some decent sleep.
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