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| We ended up having one more born last night, giving us three blondes and three black-topped-yellow-bottomed |
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| Yes, it's alive, just resting after breaking out! |
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Babies!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Waiting Game
Sorry for my silence lately. This semester has been a very tough one for me, and I am in the midst of finals week. Coming up to it were the usual piles of papers, last minute quizzes and homework that professors tend to shove in, as well as reviews and study sessions. I am 3/4 of the way done, having taken my poetry exam on Sunday, physics on Monday and cell biology on Tuesday. Tomorrow evening is organic chemistry. I have felt surprisingly good about most of my finals- yes, there were one or two questions on each that tripped me up, but overall I actually felt very confident and prepared about them. I am hoping organic will be the same (it is one of the easiest classes for me), but I am having a hard time studying for it.
Last Wednesday my goslings hatched, and yesterday and today my chicks have been hatching. Currently I have two chicks out and three breaking out, with two eggs showing no signs of occupancy. I did "candle" them and it looks like one of the eggs' membrane is drawing backwards as if the chick has died. The other one looks normal and was put in the incubator a day later than the others, so it is very possible that it will just be late.
I will post plenty of pictures once I get a chance this weekend.
I did just find out that I got an A+ in my poetry class as my final grade. With 100% on the midterm and A's on all of my papers and journals, it was something I was hoping for but not completely expecting! That will definitely help balance out my GPA with the relatively lower grades that I am expecting in physics and cell biology. If only my English classes counted towards my science GPA for vet school! I am keeping my fingers crosses that I pull out of cell biology with above a C. I have never even received anything less than a B+ in college, but I will actually cry with joy if I get a B- in cell. Even a C+ I would take. Anything above a B- is essentially unattainable for me, even if I got 100% on the final (which didn't happen). This, I suppose, it what someone once referred to as my "welcome to the real world."
I will know in less than a week. Professors are supposed to have their grades up by Monday I believe.
I hope I haven't lost any readers due to my silence (though I'm not actually sure that more than two people read this), and I promise that this Summer, filled with animal-related work on a farm and my usual shadowing, will be a much more exciting blog! Oh, and I'm applying to vet school this Summer. That might be interesting to everyone too! I would be happy to answer any questions about the process if any pre-vet students read the blog.
~Melissa
Last Wednesday my goslings hatched, and yesterday and today my chicks have been hatching. Currently I have two chicks out and three breaking out, with two eggs showing no signs of occupancy. I did "candle" them and it looks like one of the eggs' membrane is drawing backwards as if the chick has died. The other one looks normal and was put in the incubator a day later than the others, so it is very possible that it will just be late.
I will post plenty of pictures once I get a chance this weekend.
I did just find out that I got an A+ in my poetry class as my final grade. With 100% on the midterm and A's on all of my papers and journals, it was something I was hoping for but not completely expecting! That will definitely help balance out my GPA with the relatively lower grades that I am expecting in physics and cell biology. If only my English classes counted towards my science GPA for vet school! I am keeping my fingers crosses that I pull out of cell biology with above a C. I have never even received anything less than a B+ in college, but I will actually cry with joy if I get a B- in cell. Even a C+ I would take. Anything above a B- is essentially unattainable for me, even if I got 100% on the final (which didn't happen). This, I suppose, it what someone once referred to as my "welcome to the real world."
I will know in less than a week. Professors are supposed to have their grades up by Monday I believe.
I hope I haven't lost any readers due to my silence (though I'm not actually sure that more than two people read this), and I promise that this Summer, filled with animal-related work on a farm and my usual shadowing, will be a much more exciting blog! Oh, and I'm applying to vet school this Summer. That might be interesting to everyone too! I would be happy to answer any questions about the process if any pre-vet students read the blog.
~Melissa
Monday, April 29, 2013
My Eggs are Peeping!
I'm coming up on 21 days for the chicks and geese in my incubator. This evening they started peeping! That means tomorrow and the next day will be filled with baby chicks :) What a great way to end my last week of classes!
Finals are coming up next week and I'm studying my butt off. Today I finally braved up and asked one of my professors to write a letter of recommendation for me. He was enthusiastic about it, and I am thrilled. I have no doubts he will write me a great one, and I am very happy that he agreed. I was worried that since I am doing poorly (for me) in his class, that he would be reluctant, however he knows how hard I work and I think that that makes all the difference.
So, I'm back to studying :) I'll post some cute pictures when they hatch!
Oh, and I got a raise at the farm!
Melissa
Finals are coming up next week and I'm studying my butt off. Today I finally braved up and asked one of my professors to write a letter of recommendation for me. He was enthusiastic about it, and I am thrilled. I have no doubts he will write me a great one, and I am very happy that he agreed. I was worried that since I am doing poorly (for me) in his class, that he would be reluctant, however he knows how hard I work and I think that that makes all the difference.
So, I'm back to studying :) I'll post some cute pictures when they hatch!
Oh, and I got a raise at the farm!
Melissa
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Life Around the Farm
Things have been going okay lately. Sweetheart is recovering very well and even got on a nice new pair of shoes with pads on the front. She has never been shoed before, so we were all amazed at her allowance of the farrier to put them on (though I suspect the Ace had something to do with it too).
We have chick eggs and goose eggs in the incubator, and the sun is bright and shining. Hopefully my garden will be plowed soon and I can get in the vegetables that I love so much. I still haven't heard anything from my internships, and with the end of the semester fast approaching I am assuming that I probably won't. Luckily, I do have plenty of things to do with my summer, and the folks at Evermore even offered to help me run a research project on wormer effectiveness on their farms if I want to. So I'm getting somewhere I suppose, no matter how slowly.
The school also just hired a new professor for next year, and I have already approached her about doing research with her next year. She does behavioral work on dog breeds and wolves, and I think it would be something I would very much enjoy.
Today I am invested in writing a 15 page paper, the last paper of the semester and a very tiresome one. Thus, I am not going to write too much more, besides to say that I should have some time on Sunday to update on my shadowing Saturday night. I haven't been to the emergency hospital in three weeks due to illness, dinners and trips, so I'm looking forward to getting back there this weekend!
Here are some more pics from Evermore (because it's so beautiful I can't resist!):
We have chick eggs and goose eggs in the incubator, and the sun is bright and shining. Hopefully my garden will be plowed soon and I can get in the vegetables that I love so much. I still haven't heard anything from my internships, and with the end of the semester fast approaching I am assuming that I probably won't. Luckily, I do have plenty of things to do with my summer, and the folks at Evermore even offered to help me run a research project on wormer effectiveness on their farms if I want to. So I'm getting somewhere I suppose, no matter how slowly.
The school also just hired a new professor for next year, and I have already approached her about doing research with her next year. She does behavioral work on dog breeds and wolves, and I think it would be something I would very much enjoy.
Today I am invested in writing a 15 page paper, the last paper of the semester and a very tiresome one. Thus, I am not going to write too much more, besides to say that I should have some time on Sunday to update on my shadowing Saturday night. I haven't been to the emergency hospital in three weeks due to illness, dinners and trips, so I'm looking forward to getting back there this weekend!
Here are some more pics from Evermore (because it's so beautiful I can't resist!):
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Photo Blog
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| This is the ram and some of the younger cows at Evermore. The ram is super friendly, and the calf in front is getting there. :) |
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| This was one of the lambs who was posing for me. Right as I went to shoot (he had been staring at me), one of the other sheep came barreling out around the corner. |
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| This is a bad picture (in some many ways), but was a shot of the bulbousness of my chicken's hind end. I wish I had taken more photos of her (as well as the necropsy). |
Monday, April 15, 2013
Chicken, Chicken Now Come Down Outta That Tree
Sweetheart has been doing a little better. After a week on stall rest, her feet have started to firm up again. However, mentally she isn't doing so well. She spends all day everyday pacing back and forth in her makeshift stall, trying to get out. She bashed her face open a little on the ceiling trying to get out, and we ended up putting her on Acepromazine to try to take the edge off. Unfortunately even max dose isn't doing much to help her, though it did stop her from trying to leap out. Nothing will stop the pacing. Even tying her up doesn't help. It's a really bad sign, and I'm afraid that she will colic, especially with the new meds that she is on (muscle relaxers, bute, ace and aspirin). She refused to eat her pills for a few days without hand feeding and serious work on my mom's part, but with the slow mixing in of her new senior feed, she will finally eat it. She has lost probably 100 pounds in the last week. I'm praying that she gets through this. I am so grateful to my mother for taking care of her, and spending hours every day with her. I don't think I could handle it on top of everything right now, though I would do my darndest were she here with me. I've had her for 8 years, and that crazy horse and I have been through a heck of a lot together.
One of my chickens got really sick yesterday- blew up like a balloon, retaining water and had an abnormal-looking rectal area. She kept getting worse as the day progressed, despite isolation and warmth. We made the decision to put her out of her misery in the evening. I have never before seen a chicken walk upright, but I saw it yesterday. After she was gone, I necropsied her to check out was going on. She had about 2 cups of abdominal cavity fluid, which was slightly yellowed. However, all of her organs and membranes contained yellow staining. I thought this was perhaps renal failure, but upon consultation with Dr. C., I think she had egg yolk periotinitis. That is, the egg was deposited inside the abdomen rather than the oviduct. This makes complete sense, since her eggs have always been misshapen (she is our only white-egg layer), and that is a common precursor to this disorder. There is no real hope, and the chicken will simply waste away over the next few days. I am glad that she did not have to continue to suffer, and I am also glad that I now know the signs and what to look for... and if in the future I end up treating chickens, this is one disease I will certainly not forget.
~Melissa
One of my chickens got really sick yesterday- blew up like a balloon, retaining water and had an abnormal-looking rectal area. She kept getting worse as the day progressed, despite isolation and warmth. We made the decision to put her out of her misery in the evening. I have never before seen a chicken walk upright, but I saw it yesterday. After she was gone, I necropsied her to check out was going on. She had about 2 cups of abdominal cavity fluid, which was slightly yellowed. However, all of her organs and membranes contained yellow staining. I thought this was perhaps renal failure, but upon consultation with Dr. C., I think she had egg yolk periotinitis. That is, the egg was deposited inside the abdomen rather than the oviduct. This makes complete sense, since her eggs have always been misshapen (she is our only white-egg layer), and that is a common precursor to this disorder. There is no real hope, and the chicken will simply waste away over the next few days. I am glad that she did not have to continue to suffer, and I am also glad that I now know the signs and what to look for... and if in the future I end up treating chickens, this is one disease I will certainly not forget.
~Melissa
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Short Post!
I'm giving you a short blurb since I feel guilty when I'm not doing orgo problems!
Friday was a little rough for me; got a call in the AM that my horse was not doing well. Needless to say, I headed up to go see her and missed most of my morning classes. I headed back for my exam in cell biology (which I consequently tanked), and then back to my mom's house to be with her. She appeared lame and stiff, hardly moving and very poorly when she did. She looked miserable, and we had the deep fear that this may have been the end for her. We thought perhaps she had foundered and seriously injured herself (though it seemed very bizarre), and got her in a nice padded area, with 12 inches of bedding and penned her in. My mom's barn only has a run in, so we had to make a make-shift stall to keep her contained (not that she was going far but...). I checked out all her vitals and she seemed fairly attentive, just in a lot of pain. Doc came on up when he could fit me in later in the afternoon, and even after blocking her feet, he wasn't able to fully determine what was going on. She seemed lame in her front two feet, but also very hunched in her back. The night before she had been running and bucking (as usual), and so it was proposed that perhaps she had hurt her back, and possibly had stone bruises on her feet. Her range of motion was definitely limited upon testing. We put her on muscle relaxants, bute and stall rest (which she hates). By the next day she was looking a bit better, and she is almost back to her ornery self at this point. She had some blood work drawn up and it did suggest Equine Metabolic Syndrome, whose symptoms she does fit rather well. We are still waiting for the lyme disease results (lyme disease can cause both sore backs and feet). Friday will tell whether she has improved any, and also if she will ever be rideable again. If not, she is still my girl and will live out a happy pastured life so long as she is comfortable.
This week has been rough already; after finding out that I did poorly on another cell test, I have just been quite depressed. I put in a ton of time studying for it, and yet my grade just doesn't reflect it. I'm hoping to just make it through at this point.
Saturday I visited VMRCVM and loved it. I set up an individual counseling session with an admissions counselor to go over the best ways to present myself and how to be the best applicant I can be. I want in! That won't be until May, and hopefully by the meeting I will have my GRE scores and my grades for the semester. Here's to hoping they don't drop my beautiful GPA too far!
Melissa
Friday was a little rough for me; got a call in the AM that my horse was not doing well. Needless to say, I headed up to go see her and missed most of my morning classes. I headed back for my exam in cell biology (which I consequently tanked), and then back to my mom's house to be with her. She appeared lame and stiff, hardly moving and very poorly when she did. She looked miserable, and we had the deep fear that this may have been the end for her. We thought perhaps she had foundered and seriously injured herself (though it seemed very bizarre), and got her in a nice padded area, with 12 inches of bedding and penned her in. My mom's barn only has a run in, so we had to make a make-shift stall to keep her contained (not that she was going far but...). I checked out all her vitals and she seemed fairly attentive, just in a lot of pain. Doc came on up when he could fit me in later in the afternoon, and even after blocking her feet, he wasn't able to fully determine what was going on. She seemed lame in her front two feet, but also very hunched in her back. The night before she had been running and bucking (as usual), and so it was proposed that perhaps she had hurt her back, and possibly had stone bruises on her feet. Her range of motion was definitely limited upon testing. We put her on muscle relaxants, bute and stall rest (which she hates). By the next day she was looking a bit better, and she is almost back to her ornery self at this point. She had some blood work drawn up and it did suggest Equine Metabolic Syndrome, whose symptoms she does fit rather well. We are still waiting for the lyme disease results (lyme disease can cause both sore backs and feet). Friday will tell whether she has improved any, and also if she will ever be rideable again. If not, she is still my girl and will live out a happy pastured life so long as she is comfortable.
This week has been rough already; after finding out that I did poorly on another cell test, I have just been quite depressed. I put in a ton of time studying for it, and yet my grade just doesn't reflect it. I'm hoping to just make it through at this point.
Saturday I visited VMRCVM and loved it. I set up an individual counseling session with an admissions counselor to go over the best ways to present myself and how to be the best applicant I can be. I want in! That won't be until May, and hopefully by the meeting I will have my GRE scores and my grades for the semester. Here's to hoping they don't drop my beautiful GPA too far!
Melissa
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