“I think she’s faking it.”
That was his opening line.
For a moment I wondered if I had accidentally wandered into a scene from Sex and the City. Unfortunately, this conversation wasn’t going to serve up a Cosmopolitan.
Spring Update
And suddenly its March, was it just me or was February a little bit of a blur? In Cork, spring started very early this year around the 20th of January. I would never have considered myself an anxious person but from some reason this year the impending spring madness was making me feel ill with nerves.
Keep Smiling!
The last day of March, the clocks have gone forward, the sun has been shining and there’s a great stretch in the evenings. The usual promise of spring is not quite with us this year. So far 2020 has been challenging to say the least and possibly the most difficult stage is yet to come.
That said, there are a number of things that we can all try to implement into our daily lives to safeguard our mental health and to help reduce any anxiety that the current uncertainty is exacerbating.
“Eye Spy”- Sedation Headaches
Hi Everyone,
I am embarking on my first enucleation in years this morning and I am searching the internet for information and more importantly reassurance on how to perform the best nerve blocks. I have had bad experiences with eye surgery in the past and want this one to as well as a standing eye removal can go in a cow. First decision, sedation! It’s always a tricky one when it’s a surgery you don’t perform every day, do I you want her standing, what’s the risk of her falling in the crush, how long will it last and of course how fractious is she.
“Balls” Equine Castration
For many mixed ( and equine!) practitioners the thought of the castration season can fill vets with an impending sense of doom. There aren’t many of us in the equine industry that can’t tell, or know someone that can tell, a horror story about castrating colts. The areas I practiced in, in England were not areas for large scale breeding, or certainly weren’t in comparison to Ireland, so my exposure to castrating was relatively minimal. In our small two vet practice in Co. Down, we did nearly 60 castrations last season and I hope we’ve continued to tailor our technique into something others may find useful.
Becoming a Vet Nurse
I’m Jema, a newly qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse currently working full time in a small animal clinic in Tipperary, Ireland. I graduated from St. John’s Central College, Cork in November 2019 with a QQI Level 6 qualification in Veterinary Nursing. As well as earning a distinction level qualification I was also awarded the Graduate of […]
When the Darkness becomes Light
New Grad Top Tips: Dripping a Calf.
Dripping a calf can be a lovely call when it all goes to plan but can turn into a frustrating situation for calf, vet and farmer very quick. The temptation to stick in a cannula and hold on tight is always there but the following method, while takes a few more minutes, will definitely save you time in the long run.
Hazell’s May Update
It’s hard to believe its mid-May but does anyone know what day of the week it is. Lockdown was a novelty for me at the beginning not having to be anywhere and finally taking some time for me, but the novelty has most definitely waned.
Colloquial phrases for farm animal ailments in Ireland
It seems there are a whole range of terms and phrases in Ireland, for common farm animal conditions. For a start if your ewe is yeaning, in counties Wicklow & Wexford specifically, that would mean she is giving birth. In co Tyrone if one of your bullocks was a bit of a pyne, that would indicate he’s a poor-doer or suffering ill thrift. If your cow had a prolapse of the uterus after calving, in the west she could be said to have her vessel out whilst in many other areas it would be her calf bed out. Here we look at some more fascinating phrases.