Lambing School!

This Saturday my friends and I attended the Swannack Lambing School. We paid $45 dollars for an amazing, educational day all about lambing! It was taught by Dr. Jill Swannack, who also happens to be the farm's owner.

We arrived at that the farm 9 am and settled in for a 2 hour lecture on lambing supplies, vaccine protocols, various diseases, and flock management. Knowing absolutely nothing about sheep, I found the discussions extremely interesting and very helpful. Since the school was open to members of the community, not just vet students, it was good to hear about practices on other farms, as well as the questions the producers themselves were asking. Dr. Swannack was very knowledgeable and answered questions with great explanations and hilarious sarcasm.

Then we were off to get our hands dirty! I delivered my first lamb, which was absolutely amazing!

We also banded testicles and tails, and learned about dystocias. It was great! It was a beautiful day, we got out of Pullman, and actually worked with animals!

I wish we could have stayed longer; I would definitely rather be delivering lambs than studying! Speaking of studying...we have a Physiology exam coming up next Wednesday. Then it's on to preparing for finals. Boo.

This week is going to be pretty relaxed, other than studying for Phys and some small assignments. Which is great, because the weather's supposed to be sunny and warm for a few days! Hooray!

Have a great week, everyone!

Time for a Break

We're done with our second set of exams!...well, almost. We actually have a Physiology exam in 2 weeks. But close enough. Done, done, done! Now we can take a "break." Breaks for veterinary students usually consist of the normal things that normal people do daily:  folding laundry, cleaning the house, exercising, or eating real meals. Hell, maybe even going out for a drink or two, which, by this point, are desperately needed. 


So what's on the agenda for my break from exams? Lambing school! We're headed to Lamont, WA for an all-day, crash-course in lambing on Saturday. It's taught by a veterinarian on her own sheep ranch, and we get plenty of hands-on experience. I'm so excited! I've never been around sheep, so I'm definitely looking forward to the adventure. I'll be sure to post some pictures in my next post!

I'm also going to try (for the millionth time, it seems) to stay on top of my schoolwork; primarily Anatomy. I feel like I always fall behind, then spend the week or two before the exam cramming. Definitely not a good strategy when there is WEEKS of material on both the horse AND the cow. 


I've also decided to start volunteering. I contacted the founder of SaveABunny, an amazing rabbit rescue in California, to see what I could help out with. I'm going to be updating their blog, writing tweets, and creating articles and how-to sheets for rabbit owners! I'm excited that I can put my love for writing to good use, especially for such a fantastic cause. I'll keep you posted on what I'm up to and link you up to my other writing projects! In the meantime, check out the SaveABunny website; they have AMAZING photos of all their adoptable rabbits that will absolutely melt you, and some great adoption and rescue stories! Definitely a pick-me-up for the mid-week slump.


I'm off to bed; this is the earliest I've been to sleep in a few days, and I need to get an early start tomorrow to work on Anatomy. See! I'm trying to be productive...