What is this furry lionheaded creature?

The new chickens met Watson the rabbit earlier and seemed really interested in him!

He wasn't bothered and just scootled off

One year ago today

Exactly one year ago today I graduated from Aberystwyth University with a BSc in Animal Science.

2 months today I move to Slovakia to become a Vet Student...

Vet Selfie!

Plenty of puppies at Willows

Had another great day at Willows Referrals today - lots of puppies!

We had a Shih Tzu type dog come in earlier who had a pregnancy scan 2 weeks ago and the vet could see what had started as a foetus but had stopped developing - the owners were really upset as they'd been to a champion stud so were hoping for a puppy for themselves.
Emma the vet said to bring her back in 2 weeks (today) to see how she was getting on and it sounded like the bitch had been carrying on with a phantom pregnancy.

They decided to do a quick ultrasound to check she'd reabsorbed the foetus and to Paul's surprise there was a live and healthy developing puppy!
It seems like she had 2, one of which was being absorbed, and they could only see the one last week. We saw the heart beating and the owners went away delighted; even though they've just got a puppy as they didn't think they'd be having their own.

We saw the cutest little Sheltie puppy come in for his first vaccines today who was only just over 1kg.
He was really shy but was brave and didn't react to his injections.

Then bounding in came a Dogue de Bordeaux jumping up all over me. His owner said straight away that he was harmless and not to worry even though he's massive and he was really nice, just covered me in slobber!


It's been a really good week and I'm amazed at the facilities and work they can do.
At first it was a bit overwhelming at how specialist some of the work is but then they are a referral centre so they will see all the specialist cases.

Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service

I've been on placement at Willows Referral vets this week in Solihull and it's been a great placement so far.

The centre was built in 2009 so everything is purpose built and brand new, designed with the animals and staff in mind. They have 15 consult rooms, 100 kennels and cat wards and the facilities are unreal.

(We're not allowed to take pictures of clients so I stole these off their website) 

Yesterday I sat and watched several MRI and CT scans on dogs which gave amazing diagnostic results and Paul the vet operating them had such an amazing knowledge he could see exactly what the problem was and diagnose in real time as the scans were taking place.

I've been mainly with the Primary team doing consults - things like puppy vaccinations, first opinion consults, operations follow ups etc which has been really good so I can learn the basics again.
4 years ago before I went to Uni I knew exactly what vaccines kittens and puppies have, what age they have them and what they cover but at the start of this week I'd forgotten it all.

Today I was in surgery for most of the day; there are 5 operating theatres and 4 theatre prep tables so always lots going on down there!

First thing I saw a dog come in for a primary consult who cut his front paw pad on something in the park yesterday and it was still bleeding. We admitted him and I followed him down to theatre to see the pad get sutured back together.

Next we had a dog with migratory foreign bodies, presenting as swellings under the skin.

They did ultrasound to find the object (as it was migratory) and marked it with a needle and he was then taken to theatre to have the object taken out, which turned out to be a 2-3cm grass seed! They did the same with the other lump which when opened up and investigated was another 2 grass seeds!

I then watched an Osteo operation on a cat with a completely fractured femur which they reset into the correct position and fixed with metal plates.
Another Neuro/Osteo operation I saw was on a dog with a slipped disk which was impinging on the spinal cord and so obviously massively specialised surgery. It was a really long operation and so not very exciting to watch but James the vet was really nice and explained what he was doing as he went through the operation and would pause at each step so I could see what he was doing, he explained the anatomical features as he went thorough so it was amazing to be able to see!

The staff were all really nice and treat the animals as if they were their own pets which was really nice considering how big the centre is.
I've never had a cat or a dog and not got much Small Animal experience so when they were asking me to hold dogs and cats to place a cannula for injections and things I was a bit out of my comfort zone so it was good to see how to deal with them really.
I'd love to go back in 4 years time once I've (hopefully!) qualified and experience it all again.

Acceptance Letter

It's all becoming very real now...

BBC Gardeners' World Live 2014

I've attended BBC Gardeners' World Live this week at the NEC with PoultryTalk and had a great show.

We were there to educate the public about pure breeds of poultry, the massive variation in size, shape and colour, as well as promoting chicken keeping in the back garden enviroment.

There are many advantages to having chickens in the garden such as free manure for vegetables and the compost heap, fresh eggs every morning, a free weeding and slug control service and most of all, they make great pets with massive personalities.

The main feature of our stand was ChickenWall, a giant display showing photographs of 60 Pure Breed Chickens in the UK.

We also took along some day old chicks and a selection of adult birds to show the variation of breeds and to allow people to interact with them.

So many people came over to the stand throughout the week to say they didn't realise chickens were so big or that they thought chickens only came in the bog standard red hybrid variety people associate with battery hens.

It was also lovely to hear the older generations come over to the stand to tell us about how they used to keep a flock of Rhode Island Reds or Light Sussex when they were growing up.

The PoultryTalk.com team have spent the last few months working hard to publish a new book, The Poultry Handbook and after launching at the start of the week we had copies of the book at the show for people to see in the flesh; and it had an amazing response.

I gave a few talks throughout the week in the VIP Lounge followed by a Q&A session.

I took along a few Belgian Bantams with me who stole the show and were definitely centre of attention!

He even got to meet Monty Don and Carol Klein...

Looking forward to next year already!

Welsh Poultry Dispatch Course

I've been back to Aber this weekend to run another poultry dispatch course.

The weather was a bit miserable on the drive up but as soon as I hit Wales the sun came out and I wished I'd never left...

We had 5 people on the course which was a good number - enough so people were able to chat amongst themselves while I helped others and they could all ask questions as we went along.

We dispatched and plucked in Angela's next goat shed which was really bright and airy. Ideal for the goats and ideal for the course!

Then after cake and a break we moved into The Tavern for the gutting.

I'll spare you all the gorey dissection pictures but I did take loads to help people gut at home.

Looks pretty good considering he was running around a field this morning, even if I so say so myself!

I went into Aber on the way home and drove down seafront.

It's all changed following the storms earlier in the year but they've done really well to get it back to how it was. Obviously the band stand is gone and a few walls have yet to be rebuilt but I felt at home being back in Aber and can't wait for my next visit!

Notary and Apostille of A Levels

Studying abroad means that I'll have to get my A Level certificates certified and translated for the Slovak government.

The first step is to get them notarised by a Solicitor or Notary Public - they copy the document then stamp, sign and seal it to show they certify it as a true copy of the original.

The notarised document is then sent to the FCO (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) to apostillise it as legal and certified.

THEN I will take that document to Slovakia to be translated and sent to the Slovak government.

It's taken me a while to get my head around it but that's how I understand the process works at the moment.

Prices to get this done vary massively so I emailed a few solicitors asking for quotes before I got it done.

The solicitor I went to charged me £40 for the notary and I'm sorting the apostille myself; the FCO charge £30 plus postage but if I'd have asked the solicitor to post it off their handling fee was £57!

Other people I got quotes from charged £55 for the notary, £60 to verify the copy and £70 for the apostille so it is definitely worth searching online first.

University of Veterinary Medicine in Kosice, Slovakia

I guess that now I've been accepted I should probably post a bit more about the vet school I could be spending the next 4 years of my life at!

The University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy is in in Kosice, the second biggest city in Slovakia - behind Bratislava, the capital.
I was born and raised in Birmingham, England's second city but Kosice is ever so slightly different!

They offer a 6 year course for A-level leavers who have to do an entrance exam as well as a graduate entry 4 year post-BSc course for animal or science related degree schemes. The courses are ran in either Slovak or English so I'll be with lots of other English speaking international students from all over the world.

At the end of it we end up with a DVM qualification; Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
The course is fully accredited and allows you to register with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the same as all the UK universities, which means I can practice in the UK and the EU.
It's also accredited by EAEVE, European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education, which Martin from the Uni explained when we visited, the same as the UK vet schools.

Tuition fees are €7,500 a year (around £6,100 with current exchange rate) compared with £9,000-£26,500 per year studying in the UK.
Taking the cheaper UK universities at £9,000 for 5 years would mean £45,000 compared with ~£24,400 for 4 years in Kosice; if I was to compare with £26,500 its a difference of £108,100...

Accommodation in dorms is €120 a month during term time and half price during summer months which averages out at €100 a month over the year and equates to £80 a month. I paid £80 a week to live in Aberystwyth and have friends who pay £140 a week in Manchester and London!
The cost of living is comparable with food being a lot cheaper but other items like toiletries being slightly more expensive than the UK.

I was worried about potential employment after studying abroad but having spoken to a few vets, they don't see it as an issue. One of the vets where I saw practice in Aberystwyth studied in Budapest and the more senior vets I spoke to said they were impressed with how practical the course seemed to be. As long as the course is accredited I will be fine and as more and more students are looking abroad for their studies, the prospects can only get better.

The way I see it is living and studying abroad can only be a good thing and rounds you as a person. When else may I get the opportunity to move away and live in another country without ties of a mortgage or family?

Been accepted into Vet School

I didn't mention it before but I applied to UMV Kosice vet school in Slovakia a few weeks ago and have been accepted onto the 4 year post-BSc course!

I'm obviously really excited but also quite daunted at the prospect; since graduating I've settled at home, have a full-time job and the money that comes with it, a new car, friends and family all around me and hadn't got my head around moving away again, especially not to Eastern Europe!
But its been a few weeks now since I applied and got accepted and visiting both uni's definitely answered a lot of questions I had and I'm looking forward to it.

Since we visited I've put myself off studying in Budapest mainly due to the extra 3 years it will take me and the extra €30,000 fees (not including living costs) that goes with that.

I really really loved the city of Budapest and could really see myself living there and would love to study there but Kosice is winning at the moment.

It also costs a lot more to apply to Budapest, €200 application plus €250 entrance exam, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things but a lot of money to waste applying if I can't see myself there.

Before I go I want to get some more placements seeing practice in vets and have sent emails to all the local practices - so far I've had 1 rejection and 1 email saying its been forwarded to the practice manager.

I've asked my office job if I can go down to 4 days a week (either part time or do 4 longer days) which they were reluctant to do but they know its for my career and if I can't do 4 days I'll hand my notice in to get work experience...
I've worked 8am-8pm four days a week and 8-4 on a Friday for a good few months now, so one day a week off seeing practice would be ideal.

Visiting Budapest and Kosice Vet Schools

We've been saying for literally years that we need to visit the vet schools in Budapest and Slovakia but have never got round to arranging it 'cos people always had something in the way or couldn't do a certain date, so a couple months ago I looked at when the cheapest flights were and just booked it.

I put on Facebook that I was going with an open invite to come with and 3 other friends booked, so at least I wasn't going on my own.

We arrived in Budapest on Sunday evening and spent most of the week there - I love the city! It has a cool, trendy vibe was really clean and reminded me a lot of Berlin.

It's really easy to get around and nearly everything is in English which I didn't expect.

We went to have a look at the Uni and for a quick self-guided tour as there was noone from the uni to show us around. I didn't realise they didn't offer a shorter post-BSc course so minimum is 5.5 years and speaking to students, on average it takes 7.5 years!! The campus was great with pretty modern facilities but it was tiny (much smaller than my secondary school) and there were no animals on campus.
Apparently they have a really high fail rate so people end up doing retakes, taking inactive semesters to revise or retaking semesters if they failed it previously.
It was really good to speak to some 5th year Norwegian girls who were (a bit too) critical but told it how it is so we're prepared for what the course is like.

On Thursday we hired a car and drove 250km to Košice in Slovakia - I drove and we survived!

Kosice was completely different to Budapest; very little English in the town and much less touristy.

We met up with Louise, a friend from my undergrad BSc, who is now a 1st year in Kosice and went for dinner. We went to Piano bar and ordered pizzas in English and the waitress understoon us fine, even if we had to do a bit of pointing at the menu!
I guess if I move out there I'll pick up some of the language and will get to know the places to go, though that said, they have a McDonalds, two 24hr Tesco's and a Marks & Spencer!

The next morning we went to visit UVMP Kosice (University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy) which was a quick tram ride away and pretty easy to find.

The Uni seemed to have good facilities, we met Martin and Denisa from the Foreign Office who gave us a tour of campus and answered lots of questions for us.

Anatomy Museum & Library:

 Lots of the buildings are older but they're obviously spending a lot of money developing it and building new facilities all the time which I was really impressed with. I guess as more international students are going out there to study it is building up the reputation and facilities so things can only get better.

A new Equine clinic with stables was built last year with cameras for 24/7 observation: 

Every stable has a separate yard so the horses can go outside if they want to. There was even a lecture room which looked onto a horse operating theatre which was a neat idea!

The only thing that really put me off was the dorms accommodation, but in saying that, it's only €120 a month which is silly cheap compared to home! We had a look at adverts for private apartments which were about €420 a month for 2 people so still pretty cheap and about half of what I paid in Aberystwyth.

They're both completely different universities and vet schools and not at all what I expected so I'm really glad we came. I've made a list of Pro's and Con's... If I could put Kosice University in the city of Budapest that would be perfect!

I now have some thinking to do and life decisions to make!

The Edible Garden Show 2014

I've had a great weekend at The Edible Garden Show, with a right Royal visit.

This year the show has moved from Stoneleigh Park to it's new home at Alexandra Palace, so I went down to London on Thursday night to help set up our stand. As usual we were running late so most of it was done on Friday morning but it all came together in the end!

We were at the show to promote the keeping of chickens in the backgarden as well as showcasing some of the pure breeds of poultry.

We took along our signature ChickenWall containing 60 photographs of pure breed chickens in the UK as well as a table of day old chicks I hatched in my antique incubator and some adult birds too.

As we were at Alexandra Palace, HRH Prince Charles and Camilla visited the show on Friday morning and came over to the PoultryTalk stand to meet my Pekin Bantam chicks...

Prince Charles asked Jamie all about what we do, how long the chicks take to hatch and about the incubation process while Camilla held a chick and spoke to the school children on the stand.

The chick she held she also named with the school children; they decided on Rosie!

After that the rest of the weekend seemed to fly by and we had a great response to the stand.

I had a great time walking around the show networking, speaking with other stallholders and befriending celebrity botanist James Wong.

I did a talk in The Experts Theatre on Sunday afternoon with Naomi from British Hen Welfare Trust talking about the basics of how to keep chickens, what they eat and require for housing, where to site them in your garden followed by a Q&A session.

Looking forward to next year already!

For more information visit www.theEdibleGardenShow.co.uk or @EdibleGardenSho on Twitter.

No Lambing for me this year...

I've just had an email back from the Director of Uni Farms to say thanks for our application but we won't be lambing this year.

Apparently as its a university farm their procedures impose that the jobs are advertised internally and funding is made available to employ current students.
I'm a bit gutted that we won't be going back and have said we'll be available if they can't fill the rota but it was a good idea while it lasted!

Back to Aber for Lambing?

It's been ages since I've updated this blog so I thought I'd just post and keep it up to date.

Since graduating last summer I helped out at the theatre, worked a couple of festivals and then tried to find a 'real' job. I had a few interviews which I missed out on and then landed an office job at the end of September.
We were only ever meant to be set up as a temporary team until the end of December, which has now been extended until the end of March and I'm unsure what I'll be doing after that.

I'm really enjoying the office job but its not what I wanted to do and I really want to get back outside and working with animals!
I told my Team Leader I was thinking about leaving to go and ride around Wales on a quad bike chasing sheep and she thought I was joking but I've had two Lambing jobs in Aber for the last 3 years I thought I'd find out if I could go back.

I emailed the Uni farm to see if they'd advertised the positions yet, they were in the process of it so one of the girls off my course and I have both applied for the Night Lambing positions.
From our point of view we'll be free every night unlike the current students, we know the job (and are hopefully good at it!) and know the staff so would love to go back.

If we get offered it the Uni have digs we can stay in for a few weeks or we'll have to rent a cheap flat for a couple months.

Fingers crossed!

Dr Chicken with The Rookies in Country Smallholding

I went over to Helpless Homestead in Machynlleth in July to help them dispatch some of their poultry.
They had a batch of Ross Cobbs but we did a couple of Aylesbury drakes.

They write as The Rookies in Country Smallholding and the article was published in the October issue:

Poultry Dispatch Course Feedback

Just had 2 messages of feedback from the Poultry Dispatch Course this weekend and am really pleased!

"Just want to say a huge thank you to Lewis for a very informative Dispatch, Pluck and Gut Course which my husband Dave attended yesterday - he thoroughly enjoyed it and learned so much - came home and was gutting chickens like a pro! Excellent course and highly recommended. Will be fantastic to be able to eat "home-grown" chickens from now on, no more supermarket rubbish  

A must-do course for anyone keeping chickens for eggs too, gives you peace of mind and confidence to know what you are doing when dealing with ill hens. THANK YOU!" - Lorraine L

"Hi just wanted to let you all know about the dispatch, pluck and gut course I have just been on, was not looking forward to this course,but felt I needed to do as I keep chickens. I arrived on the day I did not know anyone that was there but was made to feel really welcome. The course was brilliant, I learnt how to dispatch correctly without causing the chicken any discomfort, different ways to pluck. Lewis who runs the course was great at explaining and answering all questions that were asked, he made everyone feel at ease. I never thought I would be able to do anything like this 
but I came home confident and prepared a bird on my own. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone. Lewis if you read this many thanks not just for the course, but also for the new friends I have made."

- Tazmin O

Next one is at Cotswold Chickens on 6th October!

Poultry Dispatch Course in Wales

I ran a Dispatch, Pluck and Gut course this weekend in Aberystwyth and had a great time.

We ended up with 5 people on the course and then as families arrived later on we had 11 plus us for the BBQ.

The course went well, everyone seemed to enjoy it and feedback has been really good.

We dispatched in Angela's new goat shed and hung the chickens from beams:


Then went into the mock Medieval Tavern for gutting.

We spatchcocked and BBQ'd the chickens and ate them out on the decking

Then when I got home I roasted mine...

...was the best roast chicken ever!!

It sounds corny but you really can taste the difference between homegrown and supermarket chickenl I found it cooked much quicker too.

Really looking forward to the next course on 6th October at Cotswold Chickens now!

Didn't get the job...

I've just had an email to say I didn't get the job with Premier Nutrition which I'm gutted about, though it's not all bad news...

Unfortunately on this occasion you have not been selected, however Dr P*** really wanted to express his enthusiasm for your application and at how well you interviewed. He has suggested that you would be suitable for consideration for our Graduate programme – so please look out for an email from them.

I will also keep your details on file should other suitable roles become available, unless I hear otherwise from you.

Second interview with Premier Nutrition

I've just been to a second interview with the Nutrition Director and the Sales Manager of Premier Nutrition for the Transition Cow System Developer job.

I think the interview went really well, I answered all the questions and got on with them both really well so it just depends on how the other person interviews.

Last week Andrew emailed me a link to the apps they use with three demo farms set up on it and asked me to prepare some comments based on the score generated and implications they may have for the farm.

I went through each demo farm with my notes from last year, did some reading online and then made a list of comments with examples.

Then went through the comments and suggested what could happen if the issues weren't resolved.

At the interview they went through how the company car scheme works, the geographical areas we could be covering and working hours. They also asked when I'm available to start which is pretty much straight away!

I'm down to the final 2 candidates for the job so I guess now its just a waiting game!

Transition Cow System Developer Interview

I applied for a job with AB Agri last week and have just heard that I have an interview!

The job title is Transitional Cow System Developer and from what I've gathered it means driving round various dairy farms to look at nutrition, body scoring and other data collection to pass on to the nutritionists. Transitional cows are defined as the period of 3 weeks before she calves through to the three weeks after calving.

It sounds very similar to the research work we did on the uni farm, only with Dairy cows and it would be working on UK wide farms!
The job is well paid, includes a company vehicle as I could be in Devon one day and Durham the next so would be really exciting.

Premier Nutrition are a massive company so even though its only a 12 month contract there could be an extension or scope for other work after that.

Anyway, I've just been to have my hair cut and the suit is ready for tomorrow morning!

Poultry Dispatch Course in Wales

I spent the afternoon at writers from Country Smallholding magazine, Helpless Homestead near Machynlleth, showing them how to Dispatch & Dress Aylesbury ducks and then they'll do their Ross Cobb meat birds.
They have a great set up in the little strip of land they have - a flock of laying hens, a pen of growing meat birds, a couple of tamworth pigs for meat and a big polytunnel for growing all their fruit and veg!
Cleverly, as they're in a valley, they have diverted a stream that runs through their land to run into a pond for the ducks and I think the plan is to do the same for drinking water for the other animals!

First we dispatched and plucked then dispatched and skinned the next duck, which was a lot quicker + easier with the ducks two layers of waterproof feathers!

Adam skinning an Aylesbury Drake:

They have a batch of 5 week old Ross Cobbs which will be ready for the table in a few weeks time - they grow so fast and were struggling with the heat! I suggested they try Ixworths next time, the ideal Smallholder dual purpose bird; cockerels are great meat birds, growing fast and putting on a lot of muscle and the hens can be reared as laying birds.

Was a bit too hot in 30 degree sunshine but was great weather and scenery for it!

Next on to the gutting, we gutted the ducks ready for a roast but with the skinned bird it can be just as easy to joint it so you have the meat from legs, breasts which is a lot quicker and less mess if you're doing a large batch of birds!
You can use the rest of the carcass for stock or give it to the dog!

Gutting one of the plucked ducks:

Cutting the wings and legs off a plucked and drawn meat bird

One Aylesbury duck, ready for roasting!

Looking forward to going back to Wales in August for my next Dispatch & Dress course near Aberystwyth - www.DrChickenCourses.co.uk

Graduation

Today, I graduated from Aberystwyth University with a BSc Hons 2(II) in Animal Science! :D

Had the most amazing week ever.
Spent it with my best friends in 30 degree sunshine, on the beach and in the sea!