First cat spey

First cat spey, also my first recovery surgery! Finally a surgery where a patient doesn't get put to sleep after!

The whole thing went really well, without any surgical complications. Gotta say, I was quite stressed throughout the surgery since our group was supervised by the head of surgery department, and he kept asking us questions - which I should be thankful i suppose, since it made the surgery quite interactive while encouraging us to recall important bits of must-knows

Some points I took home from this session:

1. Abdominal layer(external rectus sheath) can be closed using simple continuous sutures (all these while i thought only simple interrupted was to be used), making sure to tie more knots at both ends for extra security.

2. Ketamine and buprenorphine(analgesia) can be sprayed directly into a cat's mouth for it to work. So next time i get a cranky, hissing cat that needs to be sedated, draw up some ketamine and aim! ^^

3. To find the uterus, look undernath the bladder. The simplest thing to remember yet i keep forgetting pft!

4. Ovaries resected but the uterus can't be fully exteriorize. So, extend the skin incision?? Well, it's not needed. Just remove part of the uterus or simply remove both horns. According to Dr.Bruce, the risk of pyometra (stump in this case) is very low due to the medication we are using now. And he thinks that more vets will choose to perform partial oviariohysterectomy (removing ovaries and horns but not uterus) compared to total ovariohysterectomy 

A hurdle

Things have not been going well, not at all.

Conflicts, confrontations and more complications…

And yes, it all started with me.

I made the wrong decision, following through with worse actions.

Now that everything is unravelling, I can't help but feel so vulnerable.

Judgements and whispers behind my back, I can take it all.

What will I be left with after all these happenings?

I don't know.

I really don't.

God I need you, i really do.

Grant me strength please, to get through this mess.

I know scars and bruises are inevitable, but getting through this alive is all I'm aiming for.

I know beyond this valley, there is a peak that I can surely reach.

For 'Failure' is not falling down, but 'Remaining on the spot where one fell'.

Pregnancy diagnosis

Went through my first cattle pregnancy diagnosis prac exam this morn and surprisingly did pretty well! A shocker indeed! Have always considered my PD skills to be lacking, rectal palpation is just not something I can master in a short period of time, what more with the lack of opprtunity to practice.

Think I'm getting pretty good at diagnosing less than 10weeks old pregnancie since out of the 8 i did, 5 was in that range haha!

One thing i took home from this exam was to trust my gut! and trust what you feel! It's like I felt the membrane slip on the first  time but can't seem to get a feel of that again and it turned out I was right from the start! Certainly the more one incubates inside the cow, the more one will second guess their decision. So, best to go in, feel for signs of pregnancy and get out~ Easier said that done to be honest! Since sometimes i spend the first couple of minutes digging out shit from their rectum and some cows just wouldn't stop contracting and there goes my arm's sensation.

Was practically covered in shit after the whole thing since some cows basically shoot their poop out right onto me, and no.56 i'll always remember you as the one that flicked your poop covered tail over my neck and face pft!

Anyways, glad that one exam is over and hopefully i wouldn't need to repeat it!

update : YAY I PASSED ^^

Commercial poultry farming

Had a series of lectures on commercial poultry farming today and I was delightedly hit with some new info which set some light bulbs on. Let's get to the fun facts shall we?

• Now, when one reads 'free range' - Many (inlcuding myself!) will automatically think of --> oh the chickens are allowed to roam freely, more freedom, better welfare. 
• What i didn't know : Chooks are essentially kept in enclosed barns until 28days old (since prior to that they are incapable of regulating body temperature efficiently due to the lack of feathers), then are provided with outdoor access after hitting that 4weeks old point. 
• The catch: chickens are usually send off to slaughter around 30days+ mark. Which means although being labelled as 'free range', in reality they still spends most of their life in enclosed barns, only getting a couple of days of 'freedom'. And we consumers pays more for free-range chicken. Kudos for marketing ploy!
• Oh, sometimes freedom comes with a price too? If they somehow contract any disease in that final week of life, no medications can be used due to residue issues. Being let outdoor = unregulated environment, exposure to wild birds carrying diseases and parasites. Not so good now it seems...
• The craze for organic chickens. No chemicals = good?
• to be certified organic- producers are required to not use any vaccination, prophylactic antibiotics and medication on farm. For consumers, it's may seem excellent - well, since au natural is the best for us right?
• But what about the animal? No vaccination for endemic diseases and ubiquitous bacteria, no treatment even when it's sick - certainly a dent in animal welfare from my perspective.
• Let's throw in a trivia! How many poultry vets are there in Australia?

Poultry lectures in the morning, then spending my afternoon touring a commercial broiler farm. Tigh biosecurity, adhering to strict welfare standards, hygienic and tighly regulated environment - was certainly a pleasant surprise especially with the lack of 'smell' despite being fully enclosed. 

However, one thing that bothered me was certainly the fact that some chickens were unable to stand for long periods, merely lying on their breast for most of the time due to rapid muscle growth compared to bone growth, hence sore legs. After intense selection for growth, all of the broilers have huge breast meats, perhaps too huge and too heavy for some to physically bear. The only consoling thought was the fact that they are meant to be send off to slaughter in a couple of hours time, preventing any injuries stemming from that issue.

Gotta admit, chicken meat is certainly my go-to-purchase most of the time. This will certainly not change down the tract. Was definitely a good experience doing a walk through, looking at the facilities, understanding the rearing process and all. 

Now, i would love to visit a poultry slaughtering facility!

(Before i forget, there's a total of 12 poultry vets in the whole of Australia ^^)

Comeback

last post dated : 27/9/2010
current date : 9/3/2014

That's four years of abandonment! Well, time to hit the restart button shall we?

the next big thing

whew, finally trials is officially over

wait!!

before i automatic click into REJOICE mood,

it suddenly dawned upon me that the-oh-so-important-finals is merely 34 days away!!!

WTH?!

seems like exam is a confirmed part and parcel of a typical student's life

so, no point whining everytime one is around the corner right??

Although I am always clearly aware that revision needs to be done early, still, i often find myself struggling to finish revising before the exam commence ~

even though the thought of 'i'll definitely start studying today!!' is always ringing in my head,

but somehow, 'tommorow la' will creeps in and win....=.=

today's exam was seriously my worst exam, ever!

not referring to the paper though but rather my state of health

before entering the hall, i was perfectly normal albeit feeling somewhat tired

but, the moment i entered the hall, my nose just somehow became totally blocked AND started raining mucus!!! believe me, ya do not want me to go into details coz its totally *gross*

so, i spent the first one and a half hour of the test with utter discomfort, not just having to resort to breathing through my mouth, but also frantically wiping those mucus off every minute.....

to make my day worse, just when i can finally breath through my nose (hallelujah!), came the migrane attack......

therefore, i ended up spending the remaining time trying to organise my answer so that it actually make sense~(everything was jumbled up!!)

Did i screwed my paper???

Pleeease not!!!

Errghh, this ends the rant of the day~