What a Zoo!

Oh my, such a long long day. However it proved to be full of interesting cases. I am going to try to to cover it all before I fall asleep. Here goes!
 First off another trip to the chickens. This time we had to go into the barn and have the grower catch the chickens for us. I was sopmewhat prepared but it is still quite a sight! The entire floor covered with red chickens - both hens and roosters - with red red combs dotting the entire area.




The difference between this photo and our visit was the age of chickens - these are younger and don't have the full red combs, and our barn was smaller and  very dark. The grower caught the chickens using a leg catcher. He then handed them to me and I positioned them for Mike. When Mike was done swabbing and dipping in the formaldehyde, I took care of the tubes. It all went very quickly again. There will be a few more times to collect samples in the next few weeks.

Back at the clinic we had a C-Section on an English Bulldog. This breed usually cannot deliver their own puppies due to the size of the heads and the squashed in noses. We have one 'breeder' who needs this service a couple of times a year. I didn't have to help with the puppies this time - she only had 4 and two actually had birth defects. This can be a hard decision for the owner - often these puppies live but will have short short lives or trouble all their life. One puppy had a cleft palate - just like children are sometimes born with -




Of course with children, doctors perform surgery and are able to correct the problem. With puppies with severe degree of cleft palate, the best answer is to euthanize the puppy. Which is what Tom did today. The other puppy had deformed back legs but Tom thought that, with therapy by the owner (stretching exercises), the puppy may be able to live an almost normal life. But time will tell.

Another fascinating case was a calf with a broken leg. It seems the owner broke the leg when they pulled the calf during it's birth. It's very common to have to do that and most ranchers who raise cattle do this on a regular basis. And veterinarians have to do it often too. Usually it's because of a
heifer (young cow who has not given birth yet) having her first calf. They are sometimes too small in the pelvic area, or the calf is too big.



I left this picture big so you can see the chain wrapped around the calf's front leg. This is the typical way to pull a calf. Sometimes though the pull is directed wrong or the pull is too hard. Here is our little calf. Mike calls her "Flower" -

And here is her broken leg. It's broken right above the white sock

Aren't newborn calve's legs weirdly shaped?

Mike and I took radiographs (x-rays) of the leg so we would know how bad it was. If you look close, you can see the break. The outside edges of the bones are not completely in line. Look about halfway down the leg right before it starts getting bigger again.

The two bones at the bottom of the radiograph are the calf's toes. The many small bones at the top that resemble stones are the knee of the calf! Eventually we got the leg splinted. Little Flower had to be sleeping for this but she is fine. Back with her mother tonight!

Let's see. Is there anything I have forgotten? Oh yes. I had to teach an owner how to use a 'prong' collar on her dog. This is the basset hound I mentioned in an earlier post - that had eaten rocks. She is a very strong girl - especially for her owner who cannot hold onto her. For some dogs this really works - those that have thick necks with a lot of power behind it. Hopefully the owner will be able to get some control over her now. I use a reward when the owner has to 'pop' the collar and the dog turns and comes back to her. It should work if the owner is consistant!

The other thing this owner started with today is a basket muzzle. This keeps a dog, yes, from biting, but also from eating things it shouldn't! Carlie only needs it when she is outside and on walks with her owner. But without it, I am sure Carlie would have to eventually have to have more surgeries to remove things from her stomach! Eat it first, think later is Carlie's motto.

They can also be really useful for aggressive dogs that you want to take out on walks. 

That's about all the fun for the day. It was quite a day at the vet clinic! We are pooped.