***Sorry, we won't be able to post many pictures of the work we are doing. The cows are patients and the farmers are clients and Doctor-Client-Patient confidentiality still applies here. I'll still post as many embarassing pictures of Murphy as I can muster though, don't worry!***
Today was our first official day of work at VetFocus (soon to be renamed Vetora). After scraping ice off of our car windows, we were on our way. The VetFocus building is large and it's very nice. It's corporately owned and there are VetFocus offices in other areas of New Zealand. Downstairs is the small animal clinic, or 'smallies' as they call it. Yesterday they had a couple of spays and dentals and a laceration repair. Upstairs are all of the offices and where the large animal vets work when they're not out on a call. All of the vets we met are incredibly nice and helpful and don't seem to mind when we ask a million questions.
In New Zealand, you go straight from high school into Veterinary School, which is only 5 years. The first call I went out on was with a vet who is my age but has been practising here for two years already. She was shocked when I told her I'd never had my arm in a cow before. "...and you're graduating in May??" Yeah. She and the farmer (whose cow I was about to palpate) were stunned. I imagine they lost a little respect for American veterinary schools in that moment, and I can't really argue with them.
Are you paying attention, American Veterinary Schools?!? Show us more cow bums! Let us palpate! Students shouldn't have to go on externships to get more hands on work with animals!! Particularly, large animals. So far on my externships I've performed most of a gastrotomy, a neuter, sampled cow brains for mad cow, necropsied chickens, visited a slaughterhouse, helped in traceability procedures at a stockyard, participated in biosecurity training, palpated a pregnant cow, and assited with a fetotomy. (All of these experiences were new to me at the time, so I am by no means a pro in any of these fields) But, I'm not sure how much/any of that I'd be able to do at school. ...okay, rant over.
Either way, on that first call, the calf was dead in utero by the time we arrived. It was the second of a set of twins. The first twin was a female and unfortunatley her dead twin was a bull, meaning that both of them were essentially useless to the dairy farmer. When cows carry twins that happen to be male and female, the female twin, 92% of the time, is sterile. This sterile cow is called a 'Freemartin'. This happens because the female and male twins share a portion of the placenta and blood supply, where they can exchange proteins and hormones. During gestation, the male structures develop before the female structures. A hormome (AMH) secreted by the male, prevents formation of the certain structures in the female (Mullerian ducts), rendering her infertile. It's also possible for the male calf to have deficiencies in his sex characteristics. Twin calvings tend to be a messy situation.
The next call, Murphy and I went out on together. There were 21 cows on a farm that needed to be preg-checked. The farmer had kept the cows in the paddock with the bulls, nearly all of the time, and wanted to know if his cows were pregnant and how pregnant they were. Only 21 cow bums for our vet to palpate...not bad. Most of them were only a few months from calving. We also gave Magnesium bullets to some of the older cows.
Here's the part where I talk about Magnesium deficiency - if you don't care to hear about this please skip to the last section :) (Also, please feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken about anything I describe)
Magnesium deficiency (Grass Tetany or Grass Staggers) can happen to cows that are fed on lush, fast-growing, green pasture or on pastures with soil or fertilizers that are high in potassium. Symptoms of Grass Tetany, early-on, include nervousness, pricked-up ears, head held high with eyes wide, and walking stifly as if on stilts. If left untreated, it can result in death due to uncontrolled muscle spasming, including cardiac muscles. Incidence tends to increase in early spring when fresh grass low in Mg is growing. Hypomagnesemia can also commonly occur in pregnant cows nearing calving, when their dry matter intake can't meet their energy demands. Magnesium plays a role in calcium absorption, so supplementing with magnesium a few weeks prior to calving helps reduce the risk of Milk Fever in lactating cows.
In New Zealand particularly, Magnesium needs to be supplmented in the diet. Around 20-25% of all cows on pasture in New Zealand are hypomagnesemic at any given time. It's partly due to genetics and partly due to the use of fertilizers that are high in N and K. High potassium intake decreases the absorption of magnesium in the digestive tract. Cows need to have Mg supplemented in their diet consistently, because they can't pull from stores in their own body. Many farmers will supplement Magnesium in the diet by dusting patures, adding to feed, directly orally supplementing after cavling, or slow-release Magnesium bullets. Magnesium bullets don't have a high enough level of Magnesium to be used as a sole source, but some farmers use them in older cows close to calving, in addition to other supplementation.
After work was done we stopped by the Pak'n'Save to pick up some candy (exotic New Zealand candy, okay...it was totally justified...because it was super exotic...and we really wanted it) and went back to our little cabin. We enjoyed a dinner of chocolate and tacos, in that order. It was an excellent first day of work!
Here's Murphy eating a PB&J, aggressively.
Peace. Love. Cows.
No comments:
Post a Comment