Bareback with Danny

I jumped on Danny bareback to take him up to the field earlier to see if I could balance and just because he could.

I know from the photos that I need to put my heels down but I was concentrating too much on other things to think about that.

This was just before he trotted off up the lane with me - luckily he stopped at his gate where Dylan was waiting for him.

Started Lambing at the Uni Farm

Started my first night at the Uni farm tonight! As usual they were a bit(!) unorganised and called me in at 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start but managed to get there - security code didn't work but should all be sorted now :P

It's a Performance Recorded Flock so we do research which is all Home Office approved and so if any of the ewes need help, pain killers or medicine we can just call a vet.
It also means that we have to record any medicines we give them, the research means we do data collection about the ewes and lambs, how much feed they have, how much bedding etc etc.

Going to be spending nights for the next 3 months here and I'm really looking forward to it!

New best friend

Meet my new best friend, Danny.

We went out on a hack today through the Ceredigion countryside with me on Danny and Sophie on Lady.
They were both really well behaved and Danny was really good for me. He trotted across a field when I asked him to, even though I was a bit nervous of getting him to stop - but I managed to sit to his trot, which is completely different to the horse I ride at the riding school.

Hacking out

My brother Nat has been in Aber this week so we went up to see the horses and took Lady and Danny out for a hack.

Sophie went up front with Lady and I followed with Danny, we had Nat and Victoria walking with them to keep an eye on traffic and hold the horses if they needed to.

Nat doesn't like horses and is probably a bit scared of horses but we stuck a hat on him and Danny was good as gold!

Teaching a new inexperienced lamber

Sophie my friend and flatmate has never been Lambing before and so have been teaching her how to lamb!

This was a Welsh Mule twin who I think had already had her first lamb. She took about half an hour to have the next lamb so we turned her over and checked that everything is alright.
It depends on the farm and the farmer as to how you'd go about things next - sometimes the farmer will see how the ewes go but Richard would rather we intervened and pulled every lamb so that there aren't any problems with the birth.

Sophie checked the lamb was coming in a diving position - 2 legs pointing forwards and a nose following along behind.

They were so she pulled the 2 legs with contractions...

...until they extended, were both out and the nose was nearly out of the vagina...

...and pull!

A mahoosive lamb!
It's covered in yellow Meconium which shows that the lamb was stressed - we were right to intervene and pull it as it was obviously distressed in the womb.


Deio the New Zealand Huntaway dog!

Started Lambing 2013

Aberystwyth, Wales, and I'm back Lambing again for 2013 and LOVING it!

We started in the second week of February so have done a few nights already - am doing 3 or 4 nights a week for Richard and then will start the Uni farm in a few weeks!

This year the girls from last year aren't coming so I have a few new friends coming along who've never need lambing before so am teaching them the ropes!

Lambing sequence:

Looks like a big Suffolk single

Wiped the gunk away from his mouth and he was up and running around in 10 mins!
After this we'd give him Spectam (a scour halt) and spray a strong Iodine solution on his navel to stop infections trafficking up it and to stop joint ill.

Teaching Daf to jump on the beach

We've been on the beach all afternoon teaching Daf how to jump!

We started working with him in October and he was pretty uncatchable and unhandlable so now he'd backed and jumping its awesome!

We started off walking him over a line in the sand, then a stick, a few stones etc and worked it up to this - he'd jumping really well now.

Not sure who's having more fun - him or me but thank god for my waterproof trousers.

Getting Daf used to water

Now that Daf has moved to Livery he's literally a 2 minute walk to the beach so we took him down earlier to get him used to water and the pebbles etc.

He's lived in a kind of marshy field before so has met puddles but I think it was all a it different being led in with a bridle on. He did really well though and the curiosity got the better of him!

Moving Daf to Livery

We moved Daf from his field with Tinks and Flos to livery with his owners other horse, a couple weekends ago and have been going up getting him used to being stabled as he's never been in before.

When Amanda asked us to move him we expected to be loading him into a trailer but when we turned up she was there with two high vis jackets for me a Victoria and she asked us to walk him.

She said it shouldn't take long but after she explained where it was it sounded quite far.
It took us two and three quarter hours walking in the pouring rain to get him there.

Anyway, he's pretty cheeky and has been drinking from the hosepipe as we've been trying to fill up his bucket...

Looking forward to Lambing 2013

I'm really looking forward to another season of Lambing!

I have the new job at the Uni farm which I think will be about 6 weeks split between me and Cody - not sure if we'll be in pairs, on our own, or what yet though. At least at the Uni farm there's somewhere warm to sit and do Dissertation work, if we're quiet with the Lambing!

Richard from Glanystwyth rang me a few weeks ago to ask if I could go Lambing for him again this year. It'll be 3 or 4 weeks of 9pm-6am which is quite a lot when we have lectures and Uni too.
I asked the 3 girls who have come for the last 2 years but they didn't want to come 'cos of Uni etc which is fair enough. A few other people on my course want to come this year but have never been Lambing before, so it'll be really good to have help but will need to help and teach them how to Lamb too...

I thought about it and can't do 7 nights a week this year so said I'd do 3 nights - which is awkward splitting it when 4 people want to come with but it'll be fine.
He won't want 5 of us there every night ('cos its usually just 1 person) and I can't afford to split the money 5 ways and do it for £1 an hour or I'd rather stay at home in bed! :P So I've said I can give lifts to save £20 taxi's and will buy them waterproofs etc.

The 2 farms are so completely different...
First the Uni farm is a modern, almost clinical, performance-recorded system where we don't pull much and have to measure and record every detail for research:

Then Glanystwyth is a traditional Welsh farm with a massive shed with 1,200 Organic ewes and lots of little barns with lambs in:

Not sure when Uni start but Glanystwyth start in 2 weeks! :)

Smurf the Unicorn

It's been challenging but I've been working with a Unicorn this week. He's been easy to catch and lead into his stable but has yet mastered flying but we have plenty of time to work on that.

 HEY SMURF

New Job! "Relief Stockman and Dairy Worker"

I've just had an email to say they'll offer me a job on the Uni farms as a Relief Stockman and Dairy Worker!

Most of the work will be Lambing before and during Easter but they'll also try and get me some Dairy work which would be really good. I want to try and get more experience on the Quad and Tractors - quad is easy but have only really driven the old tractor at the dairy farm to scrape out the yard. Would be good to get more experience, especially when we'll be applying for jobs once graduated this Summer.

The application form says it will "involve assistance with weekend checking and feeding of sheep, assistance with lambing, assistance in the milking rotas or with calf rearing activities."
Cody also got the job so I guess it helped that they knew us from Lambing the past 2 years!

Looking forward to starting it next year!

Uni Farm Work - Interview

I went for my interview for the Relief Stockman and Dairy Workers job at the Uni farm this morning and think it went quite well!

There were a panel of 3 people interviewing, the head of the whole Department and Uni Farms, the Farms Manager (who I know from Lambing) and our Course Director, so they kind of knew me when I went in.

Then asked about my CV and experienced, asked questions about what I'd do in particular situations etc.
I said I didn't have much experience driving a tractor but am really keen to learn, which they said is something they'd be able to help with.

They were also asking about what hours/days I could do, whether term-time or vacations (both) and if I had a car to get there.
Milking will start at 5am so I'd have to be up at 4am!

Hopefully hear sooooon

Lunge lessons with Lady

We've been back with Lady the Welsh D today and changed from long reigning to lunging.
It's been a learning curve for both Lady and me - neither of us have lunged before and I think we did pretty well!

She took quite a bit of encouragement to get her walking and it took me a few goes to get the timing ring without ending up halfway across the field but eventually we got the hang of it and she was starting to listen to me with walk, trot and stop.

Hey Daf

Dairy Placement in Aberystwyth

I thought I needed to do some more work experience in Aber this year.
I've started helping to back and break in 2 young horses and thought Milking would be a really good idea.
Lambing in great and love doing it but its only 6-8 weeks of the year so thought we could do Milking a couple of days a week before or after lectures so would be good experience and doesn't get in the way of Uni work like Lambing can.

Now the hard part was finding a placement!
Uni built a new Rotary Dairy parlour near Trawscoed last year but when I asked we didn't get very far trying to get a placement there. I don't know any local dairy farmers so asked around and didn't really find anyone so went back to the Uni farm...

After a few emails and speaking to the Farms Manager they decided they were looking for relief milkers and stockmen. To apply for the job we needed to hand in a CV and fill out a 10 page application form!

Anyway, I handed it in yesterday and now we wait!

Work on the Uni farm?

I've been looking for Dairy work in Aber for ages, and Uni have just built a massive new rotary milking parlour for a few hundred cows so would be really good to work there.

I emailed the Farms Manager asking about work and work experience etc but haven't had a reply. They've just opened up a Vacancy on the Uni farms looking for Relief Stockmen and Dairy Workers, I says is for experienced people only and looks really good.
I meet the Essential Criteria and most of the Desired (I don't have Tractor driving experience - but willing to learn!). I've worked on the Uni farms for the last 2 years doing Lambing so that should help too

Will apply and see what happens! :)

Uni 3rd Year

Can't believe I'm in the 3rd year of my Animal Science degree already!

We've started lectures, had meetings about my Dissertation (booked a lab induction and have a hand in date for it!) and got practical dates.
They're mainly lab practically and no dissections which I think is the best bit but they're left to first years!

Have been trying to get some more work experience in Aber - Lambing is good but it's only 6/8 weeks of the year so thought Milking might be a good idea. Either one or a couple of mornings milking a week and could do more/less depending in timetables and exams.

The Newcomer in Fancy Fowl magazine

Grant Brereton, editor of Fancy Fowl asked me to write an article as 'The Newcomer' about Poultry Showing for Beginners and I was in Septembers issue!

Kilo is all grown up

I went to see Kilo my pet sheep earlier and he's all grown up now!

He lives with a couple of Pygmy goats, Dave and Wendy, a few other sheep and some chickens and is living the life of Riley.
We had a BBQ at the field and he came and sat at our feet, probably waiting for food, for a good few hours while we chatted away!

Ex Battery Hens; Then and Now

Took a couple photos of the Ex Batt girls earlier and realised how much they've changed since I got them from the BHWT.
They were from the last batch of hens rescued from the old-style battery cages in December '11.

First there is Tracy Beaker with her twisted beak. She took a few weeks to start eating properly but copes ok now and has feathered up really well!

Then there is Justine, the friendliest and cheekiest one of them all! She's the only one to escape their Free Range area to come to our bit of the garden and see what's going on. She's feathered up really well compared to what she was but still hasn't moulted her wing feathers so they're still bare quills.

With the rest of the flock...

Callum my bosses son was annoying me as I was mucking out the stables earlier so I've found the perfect way of keeping him quiet...

...I think I should stick to working with animals!

Camels!

I've been working with Camels all week and over the Jubilee weekend. It's been a completely different placement to anything I've done before but had great fun doing it.

I've been with Joseph's Amazing Camels in Warwick who have Dromedary (one hump) and Bactrian (two humped) camels which are used in film and TV as well as at public events for camel racing, trekking and camel polo.

I have some experience with horses so knew how to put on head collars and tack up a horse but camel tack was completely different so that was a learning curve! The Dromedary saddle sits over the hump while the Bactrian saddle sits between them; the saddles we use have been imported from the Far East as there is a limited market in the UK! They have all sorts of props and costumes to go on their halters and saddles depending on the theme of the event.
The camels knew I'm new so really tested me, trying to intimidate and growl at me but Joseph said to act confident and they soon calmed down. We gave them a bath last night before putting them to bed in their clean stables and I narrowly avoided getting spat at!

Today we went to Bolesworth Classic - a big showjumping event. The camels raced in the main arena with our jockeys doing some showjumping before the famous jockeys and main show sponsors got on and had a go racing.

Oliver Townend and Dave Quigley on the camels:

Donald Whitaker on Kazak:

and Geoff Billington even had a go!

I have been staying with Joseph & Rebecca and their family have a cottage which they rent out so I have been staying in that for just over a week, working in the days and eating with the family of an evening.

In the past, before the camels, Joe & Rebecca kept lions for a circus and told me all sorts of stories about them, their training and the places the visit which was fascinating. They gave them up over 10 years ago before their children came along.

Last weekend we went to a festival in Aberdare (Wales) and took their team of Racing Pigs. I had the glamorous job of dressing up as a typical West Country farmer to start the pigs off and run behind them to stop them going the wrong way.
Also at the festival were Dick & Dom and entertainment from X Factor contestants, Only Men Aloud and other local acts!

Meet Hagrid

The chicks at Uni have hatched but one one Frizzle hatched with the quail and he's massive compared to them so he's been named Hagrid:

Meet Dr Chicken

I picked up the nickname Dr Chicken from regular customers at work as they'd bring chickens in with various ailments and we'd sort them out and I was asked to write an article for the June issue of Your Chickens magazine and here it is...



Have had lots of tweets and messages saying people like it, so hope they do!

Possum social

I think I've found a great idea for our next Animal Science social;

A game called Possum:

Obsessed with hatching!

I've gone from broody to obsessed!

I thought about setting a few quail eggs in my incy at Uni, got a bit carried away and bought 40 eggs from a breeder and another 36 from the Organic shop on my street who said they are fertile - they're due on the 21st May, my brothers birthday. Because of that and already having 12 bantam eggs in my Octagon 10, I needed another incubator so my friend Lee saved the day + lend me his!

Then, I was on eBay and saw an MS Broedmachine incubator for sale on there. They're the best you can buy, made in the Netherlands and so don't often come up for sale... so I kinda bought it!

Is in Nottingham so ma friend at Uni there has collected it for me and I'll go pick it up.
One of these:

Annie, one of my Pekins, was on 3 eggs due this weekend but only one has hatched so far - a Speckled Sussex x Araucana which if is a girl should lay green eggs. Not sure if the other 2 will hatch late or not at all.

I've got my brooder ready for the quail chicks too (if they hatch)!

Is a Hagen Vision bird cage (a bit like eglu's for budgies!) which has a deeper tray than my indoor rabbit cages so should keep them warm. I've got a big double height Vision Cage for my Diamond Doves and really like them!

Womble update

You might remember Womble, one of the rescue horses, who Stephie and I worked with last year.

I was at the yard earlier and he came over to his stable door for a fuss and is 1000 times better than he used to be - I remember when the vets needed to castrate him (I think it was) and he had to have 2 lots of sedations before they could even get a head collar on him.

I turned him out to the field and he was perfect - lead really well, stopped at the gates, didn't freak with the dogs running around his feet and everything.
He's always been turned out with a grab strap on his head collar because he's still not perfect to catch in the field and had rubbed his head on a fence post so I had to get him back in and bathe it with a bit of Hibiscrub which he didn't really like but he didn't make too much of a fuss.

Escapey Kitty

We had the most playful kitten ever in at the vets earlier!

He just wanted out of his kennel all the time and was sticking his paws out to try and get to the nurses every time they walked past sorting out the others.

Caught this cute photo

Meet Spike...

I've stayed in Aber over the holidays to carry on Lambing nights so thought it would be an ideal time to get some more practice in at the vets too.

It's worked really well as I've been finishing Lambing at 7, getting a couple hours sleep and going to the Vets then getting another few hours sleep after seeing practice before starting Lambing again at 8.
I've had a lot of caffeine to keep me going this week but its been good to see surgery!

I saw we had Spike booked in for surgery and was expecting a Rottie or Mastif, then in bounds this bundle of fluff...

He was in as he had an obstruction in his gut so Kate had to do a foreign body removal operation.

They found exactly what they were looking for, which turned out to be part of his lead, and then as they were suturing up Kate showed me a clever little trick.

When closing up the intestinal wall she pulled the two ends of the incision together and sutured perpendicular to how she'd cut it so that the lumen isn't restricted afterwards which could lead to further blockages.

Bottle feeding Kilo

Kilo, named because he was less than a kilogram when he was born, has definitely settled in and made himself at home.
He's had SO many visitors its untrue and the neighbours kids came round to give him a bottle this afternoon.

Rose was a natural, posing with a bottle

 and Evie preferred to give him a cuddle after he was done with his dinner...

Exotics at the Vets

Had another good day at the Vets today!
Was Lambing at the Uni farm 'til half 6 so only had an hour + half sleep but wasn't too bad!

First thing we had a bitch in who needed a caesarian. Glesnie the vet got them out then Nerys, the vet nurse, and I rubbed them in towels to get them breathing. I got to inect the bitch with antibiotic + painkiller. Then the puppies went in a box with a hot water bottle, so cute!

They look like little Rottweilers but are actually King Charles Spaniels!

Then had another cavalier in who needed syringe feeding with A/D and Glucose rehydration liquid so I did that a few times throughout the day - another first!

I watched a few op's - dog castrate, dog dental and had a cat with a big tumor on his face which needed looking at and X-rays.

We had Toby the German Shepherd in for X-rays to look at his hips for hip scoring. He's only 5 months old and the breeder said the parents were hip scored but he was really bad so not sure how true that is...

A vet and nurse had to go out to pick up a dog - a Neapolitan Mastiff, who doesn't like men. I wasn't going to mess with a dog that big so kept out the way for that one! ;)

Later on this afternoon I was in seeing consults with John; we had a 47 year old Amazon parrot with a dodgy eye, could have been bad conjunctivitis or the eye had ruptured. Gave local anaesthetic and antibiotic eye drops and it opened up.
We were meant to have a snake in which I was looking forward to but they didn't show up!
Like seeing all the more common animals but really like exotics - the parrot was really interesting, I was surprised at how old it was!

Kilo meets Sherlock

Kilo the house sheep meets Sherlock the house rabbit...