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!