Taking parts off and out

Yesterday we had a call for one of my not-so-favorite things: dehorning adult cattle. Now, usually calves are dehorned by burning them off with a hot iron when they are 1-2 months old. The procedure is quick and tidy when they are young. However, when they get to be adults, their horns are so big that they need to be sawed off using gigli wire. It is physically much more difficult to do, can get rather bloody, and can leave a big hole in one of their sinuses where flies can lay eggs. So it is undesirable for many reasons. This client said he didn't have the money to do it when these girls were younger, so now we're called out to do them when they're a whole 2 years old. And there were 21 to do!

It was the coldest morning we've had here; it was in the 30s when I went to work, so I wore long-sleeves. This farm was at the "bottom of the mountain" where the temperatures are literally 10 degrees warmer than where the clinic is. We alternated sawing every other heifer, so I did 10 of them. This involved fighting them in the headgate to get them haltered, blocking the cornual nerves with lidocaine, sawing the horns, and cauterizing the bleeders. It was tough for me to saw through some of the really thick, mature horns, but there was no way I was going to wimp out! It was hot and sunny and I had my long-sleeve shirt on, too, so I was sweaty and getting more and more worn out and slower with each heifer. I have to put my whole body weight into working the gigli wires (I sit back on the lines like a waterskier), and the farm hands were giving me a hard time! But the ones I did (including the dang bull!) were very neat and barely bled. This is due to the fact that I really have to work the wire well to get through the horn instead of just muscling through and breaking the horn off as the big, strong men do. So I think I held my own alright. There was no way that I was going to tire out in front of all them, that's for sure!

Here's what dehorning an adult looks like:

From Field Service - a nice and gentle girl who was also sedated.

Yesterday - not nice, gentle, or sedated.

Hole in head

This morning was slow in the country, so I was put in surgery. I did 3 cat spays and 2 dog neuters, which essentially doubles my lifetime tally of spays and neuters. I was the only one scrubbed in, so it was totally me doing everything myself. The only other time I was the sole person scrubbed in was when Jeff had me neuter Brodie on an ironing board in the kitchen at the farm! So these surgeries were really stressful for me, but things went OK. Since I don't have much experience, it took me awhile to get them done. By the time I got to the last one, a cat spay, I was sooo mentally worn out...and wouldn't you know it, the cat was in heat. That means lots of extra ligation of blood vessels, and for me of no experience, that meant tying off everything resembling a vessel, just to be safe! The other doctors and the girls were all very patient in waiting for me to finish, so that was quite nice of them. Not only am I slow from lack of practice, but I am very particular about my skin closure. I want it to look perfect, since that is the only thing the client actually sees. I put in subcuticulars, which means that the skin is sutured together with no suture material sticking out; that way there are no stitches to remove. It's difficult for me to do in cat skin because it is very thin and all the surgical tools are a lot smaller than what I'm used to in a cow. But I was happy with my artwork, even if it did take awhile!

I had a short driving lesson today in one of the girls' cars. We drove to my house to check my mail (still no VA license) and let the dogs out. Again I had trouble in the parking lot, but managed to get going after only a handful of times stalling out. On the way back to the clinic I was stopped at one of two intersections along the route. Of course it was on a slope. I was having trouble getting going when I saw someone coming behind me, so I panicked and floored it. Next thing I know we shoot off and there is smoke and the smell of burning rubber in the air! I come up to the second intersection which is on an even bigger slope, and again have trouble. For a second time I burned rubber, and I look up at the clinic to see one of the doctors in the lot laughing hysterically! Later this afternoon when I got back from farm calls, the girls had made me a "CAUTION: STUDENT DRIVER" box to put on top of the car next time I'm out! HA! At least there are plenty of roads I can drive where there is very little traffic, and often I don't even have to stop at the intersections. But boy do I need more practice!