Long time no type

Again, it’s been a long time since my last update! Sorry about that.

I don’t think I updated about my stable work experience! I was there for a week and it was slightly disappointing, but at least I have some horse experience now. I spent most of my time forking straw and poo onto the muckheap. Fun! I also groomed a few horses, learned how to tack up and muck out. It was very very tiring although I did get used to it by the end of the week. I think I probably built up some muscles too! :D

Yesterday I started at a smallholding with free-range chickens, turkey, sheep, pigs, ducks and geese. There aren’t that many animals so not an awful lot to do but I learned a lot about the diseases affecting the animals there. One of my favourites was blackhead disease in turkeys . It’s caused by a protozoan (single-celled) parasite called Histomonas meleagridis which is transmitted by a nematode (multi-cellular, worm-like parasite) called Heterakis gallinarum. The parasitology geek in me found this super interesting. The disease affects the liver and caecum and turns the head of a turkey a blue-ish colour. The only drug against the parasite was withdrawn a few years ago so it mostly has to be managed by practising good hygiene.

I also met a hen and her foster babies – two ducklings she had been given to hatch. They were just a couple of days old and only just starting to eat food. They were soooo cute! They love their mum too, she hasn’t worked out they’re not chickens yet!

Got to ear-tag some lambs as well. They have two blood vessels running through their ears so you have to make sure the tag is in between those. It was quite a challenge because lamb ears are small and they don’t appreciate being pinned down and prodded so they were pretty wriggly. Luckily I did it ok and there was no blood explosion!

Ooh, I also have an interview to be a volunteer rescuer/ambulance driver for a wildlife rescue! It sounds really exciting so I hope I get it. I will have to do a few training days in rescuing wildlife which should be fun, and a chance to learn about wild animals which I’m not super knowledgeable about.

In other news, I started knitting a sky scarf! The idea is to knit two rows of the scarf each day using the weather to decide what colours to use. I have a feeling mine is going to have lots and lots of grey in it given the wonderful weather in the UK.

I’ll try not to leave my updates so long this time!

Bye for now!

Lucy