Egor is getting so big and getting around so well now!
Once again, I don’t know how to work Facebook. Tried posting a castration video on my “story” but it literally cut it short of everything! So here is the castration.
First I’m separating the tunic (protective covering over the testicle) from the testicle, then breaking down the muscle, then I clamp my drill to it and twist it off (I explain why in the video).
I am copying and posting this announcement from the USDA in regards to the continuing problems with bird flu. It unfortunately is circulating through wild birds and can affect backyard flocks of chickens/ducks/turkeys.
Please focus on the symptoms so if you see or hear of any birds with the signs you can let me know!!!
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Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is an extremely contagious disease of birds. It often causes death in poultry. The HPAI outbreak that started in 2022 continues to impact many areas of the United States.
WHAT KINDS OF BIRDS ARE AT RISK? HPAI is highly contagious and often fatal in poultry, including chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl. It can be carried by free flying migratory waterfowl, such as ducks, geese, and shorebirds.
DOES HPAI INFECT PEOPLE? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current avian influenza strain does not present an immediate public health concern; however, there is always the potential of viral mutation. Poultry meat and products are safe when following CDC food preparation guidelines.
HOW IS IT SPREAD? In many previous outbreaks, HPAI was largely confined to and spread among commercial poultry. In this outbreak, the disease is most frequently introduced to new areas by migratory waterfowl. People can spread HPAI by moving infected birds or contaminated equipment and feed. People can also spread HPAI on clothing and vehicles. Because of their exposure to wild birds, small backyard and pet poultry flocks are very susceptible to HPAI.
WHAT DOES HPAI LOOK LIKE IN BIRDS? Signs of HPAI include sudden death, respiratory distress (nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing), lack of energy or appetite, decreased water consumption, decreased egg production or soft-shelled or misshapen eggs.
WHY IS AVIAN INFLUENZA STILL ONGOING? In previous outbreaks, the virus did not persist in wild birds populations and disappeared aft
¡¡¡¡¡Slightly graphic content!!!!
See comments for pictures since I can’t figure out how to put a video and picture in same post.
Please vaccinate your horses! Every horse is exposed to tetanus through the environment, and West Nile and East/West Encephalitis through flies.
If your horse travels to cow pennings, rodeos, trail rides, shows, around various horses etc PLEASE vaccinate for flu/rhinopneumonitis.
This was a YOUNG horse that was just going to different cow pennings to get experience. A few of the other horses had cough/snotty noses, and no one thought anything about it. About a week after the cow penning this horse was coughing, had nasal discharge, fever, and just wasn’t feeling good. Almost another week passes… horse is bleeding from the nose, staggering, and a few minutes after this video was taken, DIED.
I did a necropsy on this horse and it had massive hemorrhages in its liver and lungs. When I first opened the chest, GALLONS of fluid poured out of the thorax. The lungs had abscesses and huge amounts of fibrin/inflammation.
When I got the lab results back, Guess what it had? The FLU. Something it could have been protected against.
Just like people, the flu affects horses differently depending on age and immune system status. Most horses can get over the flu by themselves, they get sick and may be out of commission for a few weeks (which depending on your horse, could be a big deal), but for some horses, getting the flu is DEADLY. Adding the flu to your vaccination program is $27 (unless inflation makes it higher). Not every horse needs the flu vaccine, so talk to me to determine your horse’s risk!
Just 24 hours later… the kid can stand on its own and was eagerly taking a bottle! Owner updated me today (kid is now almost 3 days old) and it was calling angrily for her to get fed when the owner was 10 minutes behind 😂
YAY happy ending!!!
I don’t know how to operate Facebook… so this is 2 posts (before and after)
This kid was born to a nanny that had prolapsed before giving birth and then rejected the kid after giving birth (to this kid and a stillborn). See how weak and rapidly breathing it is? It’s lungs crackled when breathing. This could be due to being slightly premature or because of fetal stress when she was being born and inhaling fluid.
The owner gets an A+ 100% because first thing she did was give it colostrum replacer (NOT supplement), bring it inside to warm and dry, continued to feed it small frequent meals, and call to let me know what was going on!
I told her the correct dosages of antibiotic to prevent the crackles in the lungs from turning into bacterial pneumonia, as well as a shot to help the lungs mature and decrease inflammation in them to help the kid breath better.
Tetanus!!!! 🤯😳😫😢☠️
Part of the oath I took when I entered veterinary school was “the prevention and relief of animal suffering.” Unfortunately, there are animals where the best option is to end their suffering.
This heifer had a 105F fever, bloody stool, lock jaw, and was unable to stand. While tetanus is treatable in early stages with fever reducers, muscle relaxers, penicillin, and Excede… her prognosis at her state was grave.
Tetanus is a PREVENTABLE disease. Horses and goats are most susceptible, with sheep and cattle behind them. NOT all cattle blackleg vaccines have tetanus in them, and NOT all horse EWT vaccines have tetanus!!! Be sure to ask if your vaccines have the necessary protection in them for diseases your animals are at risk for.
This owner thought he was protecting his calves from tetanus, but when I asked him what vaccine he was using, it was one of the ones that doesn’t have tetanus. Knowledge is power!!!
As a side note, rabies can look similar, but typically there are other clinical signs before an animal gets this bad and behavioral changes.
Just for some additional education, here is the complete veterinary oath:
“Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.
I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.
I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.”
This has been a crazy week. Posting this video and then another post with some pictures of cases.
I mentioned EPM in another post/comment. Unfortunately this is my first case to start the year. Notice how the horse doesn’t seem to know where it’s feet/legs are. It’s trembling, and uncoordinated. Thankfully this horse doesn’t have cranial nerve involvement, and the owner is attempting treatment (which is expensive and not always successful). Pray this guy recovers!
Here is a brief demonstration of how to tell whether your goat/sheep/cow/llama/alpaca needs deworming!
Unfortunately this doesn’t work on horses because the blood sucking parasites of Hemonchus, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus, and Cooperia don’t effect horses.
What IS cool is some goats/sheep/cattle are naturally resistant to parasites, which is where Fecal Egg Counts come into place! Some get sick and anemic (Low red blood cells) from parasites easier than others. Others can handle parasites better! So using fecal egg counts coupled with their FAMACHA (mucous membrane color) can tell you which animals will cause you more problems than others,so you’ll want to keep and breed those that can handle parasites better! Saving you money and preventing resistance to dewormers! If you are interested in learning more or doing fecal egg counts and FAMACHA on your animals, let me know!
Thanks to Luna Woodworks’ goat for demonstrating!
Need something? Check to see if I’ll be in your area!
Wednesday Sept 28th- Uniontown/Orville
Friday Sept 30th- Pennington
Sunday Oct 2nd- Grove Hill
Monday Oct 3rd- Eutaw
Tuesday Oct 4th- Selma
🚨¡¡I WILL BE UNAVAILABLE FOR FARM CALLS STARTING OCT 5th UNTIL MID OCTOBER!!🚨
In the mean time, check out this amazing video of an equine fetal heartbeat!!! It’s moving, the mare is moving, and I’m trying to move with them so just wait till you see something pumping! The bright white lines are the foal’s vertebrae/ribs! All signs it is happy and healthy!
Fall is in the air! Is your horse ready for the decreased forage options? Just because your horse isn’t dropping feed, doesn’t mean their teeth are in good shape! It’s a LOT easier to do maintenance care on teeth than emergency/salvage work! Let me come check them out!
It’s $130 and that includes an exam, sedation, floating, and any extractions!
Bad teeth can cause bit sensitivities, choke, abscesses, nasal discharge, deceased weight, and dropped feed!
Shout out to the Bells in Safford where we had over 10 horses today!
