Animal Care

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CHRISTMAS PAST…

Mark Newton-Clarke MAVetMB PhD MRCVS, Newton Clarke Veterinary Surgeons

Ask most vets about Christmas and you’ll get plenty of stories about the weird and wonderful things they’ve done on that special day. Of course, the truth is, it’s only another day from an animal perspective and illness and injury have no respect for festivals and holidays, secular or religious. So just like all the other emergency services, somebody has to be on-call and ready to respond.

Assisting at an animal birth has an added poignancy at Christmas, especially if it involves being in a stable or barn. For dogs, I have always advocated choosing the spring season for mating as the puppies come into the world in early summer, avoiding any chance of a caesarean on Christmas morning. For farm animals, a similar luxury cannot be accommodated for commercial reasons and I have attended many calvings on Christmas Day in years gone by.

One year I was called from my Christmas lunch, not to a cow but a sow. I couldn’t help muttering under my breath as I drove to the farm (I won’t repeat the words) but I tried to keep cheerful by reminding myself that I was quite well equipped for a farrowing, having long arms and small hands. The big difference between a calving and a farrowing is the former is normally done standing up and the latter is always on the floor, as sows lie down to give birth. Now, when I say ‘floor’, in this

case, I mean cobbles covered with what you might expect in a pig sty, albeit with some straw sprinkled over the top.

So, in order to assist a labouring sow, you have to lie down flat on the ‘floor’, directly behind the patient, and gradually inch forward, inserting a cleaned and lubricated arm in the time-honoured James Herriot fashion. Now, the naughty little piggies inside get the idea that someone else is in the room and take evasive action accordingly. What this means is when I touched a piglet’s snout, in an attempt to get my fingers behind its head, it wriggled backwards out of reach of my rescuing hand. Result: you have to inch in further and further until the inevitable happens and your face is pressed firmly against the sow’s rear end. Despite these circumstances, all thought of physical discomfort was forgotten, displaced by the single-minded desire to help a dozen piglets into this world – a place they clearly were not keen on entering.

After half an hour or so, my tally was one big piglet successfully delivered at the cost of an arm that had been squeezed lifeless by the powerful contractions of the mother, who continued to grunt quite contentedly throughout. Realising my physical limitations would soon be reached, I decided the one member of the litter that was now happily filling up on milk was probably the cause of the whole situation, acting as a cork stuck in a bottle. Not that my mind was turning to my abandoned lunch with its rather good red wine! So I reached for a different and, under the circumstances, a much more useful bottle, that of oxytocin solution that I had brought with me and administered a good dose by injection.

Now, oxytocin is a wonderful hormone but it has to be used with care. As I’m sure many of you know, it enhances uterine contractions and also causes milk letdown. An excellent combination for the birthing mother. Unless there’s an obstruction. Then it’s potentially a disaster as I have often explained to dog breeders who request it for their medicine cupboard – a roundabout way of saying no, your whelping bitch cannot have it until an examination has been performed. Anyway, back to the farrowing, with fat piglet No.1 now in a milky heaven (all teats available and literally spraying milk) I’m glad to report his litter-mates arrived in quick succession, leaving the farmer and me admiring the scene with not a small amount of satisfaction.

All animals have their specific smell, often not unpleasant, but that’s when it’s on them not us. The most pervasive is the billy-goat, the salt-tang-ammonia scent somehow resistant to several changes of clothes and multiple showers and hair-washes. Second is possibly pig, certainly not so bad, but not welcome at the by-then Christmas tea table. Maybe all the wriggling around on the ‘floor’ ingrained my skin with a certain aroma, not that I cared a fig as the job was a good ‘un and it was still Christmas Day.

Happy Christmas to all readers and clients from everyone at Swan House. We wish you peace and happiness and a New Year better than the last!

"All thought of physical discomfort was forgotten, displaced by the single-minded desire to help a dozen piglets into this world."

newtonclarkevet.com

Sherborne Surgery Swan House Lower Acreman Street 01935 816228 Yeovil Surgery 142 Preston Road 01935 474415

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A VET

Rebecca Price BVetMed MRCVS, Friars Moor Vets

Having joined Friars Moor last December I am coming up to my first full year as a practising Veterinary Surgeon. I graduated from the Royal Veterinary College last summer and have enjoyed the challenges that life as a farm vet in Dorset has to offer. Our clinical year at University was greatly disrupted by the Covid pandemic, and our hours spent out on farms and in clinics were greatly reduced, but I count myself very fortunate to have found myself working somewhere as supportive as Friars Moor. Every day is a learning day, and each season brings its new challenges.

This time of year, especially with the stormy weather we’ve been having of late, something we are all on the lookout for is acorn poisoning. Acorn poisoning most commonly occurs in sheep, but can also affect goats, cattle and horses. Acorns produce a toxin called tannin, which interrupts the body’s ability to absorb protein, by contracting tissues in the body. Because of this, animals with acorn toxicity typically present as being constipated, not eating, having abdominal pain (colic), being dehydrated and having blood in their urine.

Once consumed there is little that can be done to reverse the toxic effects, and treatment options are supportive. We typically use activated charcoal if ingestion was thought to be recent, and focus on rehydration with oral fluid therapy. Acorn poisoning can be severe and cause fatalities, but, if caught early enough, treatment can be successful. It is important to be mindful of the plants on your property and consider restricting access to them, especially after a storm.

I think one of the most daunting things about starting out as a new graduate vet, especially as a farm vet out on the road, is that the first time you encounter most clinical presentations will be by yourself. At university we are told to problem-solve – come up with lists of differential diagnoses and consider multiple different care options. But the reality is that very few animals have read the textbooks! As a result of this, we have a wide variety of diagnostic tools at our disposal, and experienced colleagues who are happy to share their advice from similar cases they have seen.

By far the best part of the job is meeting new people, and successful outcomes to tricky cases – whether that’s a tricky medical case to unravel and understand, or a complicated surgery. Every day is different, and the variety keeps us on our toes, always learning more and sharing experiences. We are lucky to be able to work with such proactive clients and getting involved in client education through meetings and courses has also been a great way to learn from other speakers and their specialist knowledge. My first year on the job has been a steep learning curve, stressful at times, but almost always rewarding – there is no job I’d rather be doing!

friarsmoorlivestockhealth.co.uk friarsmoorvets.co.uk

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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