Dairy Farm Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales

I'm Ferne. I'm in Blackburn to meet George and William

and their herd of cows, who are getting a visit from the vet.

This will be interesting.

I'm Rory. I'm at an alpaca farm in the Scottish Borders

to see how the vet is caring for some of their new arrivals.

# Ferne and Rory telling you the story of some poorly pets

# We will take them, show you how to make them better at the vets

# Vet Tales These are our Vet Tales

# Vet Tales Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. #

-Hi, I'm George.

-Hi, I'm William.

Our family have lots of cows.

140 of them.

Some are mums, dads and babies of different ages.

We help look after them.

We give them, straw, food and water.

We love them very much.

-Hi, Ferne.

-Hi, Ferne.

-Hiya, George. Hi, William.

-You must be their dad, James.

-Hi, Ferne.

-Nice to meet you all.

-Do you want to see our cows?

-I would love to. Where are they?

-This way.

-That way.

-See you later.

-Bye!

Is that them there?

Hello! These cows are beautiful.

What types are they? There's lots of different colours.

We have a Holstein and Ayrshires and one Danish red.

-OK. And they're all dairy cows?

-Yeah.

-Wonderful.

Look at this one! They're really curious.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So, why do you have so many cows?

We get milk from them, so we need them.

-Oh, OK. So, these are working cows, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So, what is a baby cow called?

-BOTH: A calf.

-Right.

When a cow is pregnant, which means she's expecting a baby,

it's called being in calf.

And cows are pregnant for just over nine months,

which is almost the same time as us humans.

So, with all of these cows, do they need any vet visits?

-Yeah, and we have a very special vet here today.

-Who is that?

-BOTH: Our mum.

-That is cool.

-She's checking on the cows today?

-Yeah.

I can't wait to see this.

Sarah knew she wanted to be a vet since she was six years old.

She once had to remove hair bobbles from a kitten's tummy.

And has been sprayed all over by a super-smelly skunk.

-Hiya. You're the boys' mum, as well as the vet?

-I am.

-Hi.

-What have you got planned?

We've got cows at varying stages of pregnancy.

We're going to check Margaret to see how she's getting on with hers.

Hello, Margaret. So, what's up first?

We'll use an ultrasound to scan Margaret and see how her baby is.

An ultrasound uses sound waves to scan inside a mother's tummy

to see how the baby is getting on.

An ultrasound with a cow is different to one with a human.

It is. That's why I've got the gloves on.

-It's not on their tummy.

-It's a bit messier.

-A little bit.

-How big do you think this calf will be?

-This big.

-So, that's quite small, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Are you excited?

-BOTH: Yeah.

-Right, it's ultrasound time. Good luck, Sarah.

-OK.

To get a clear picture of the calf growing inside the cow's tummy,

Sarah needs to put part of the machine in through the cow's bottom.

So we're just having a little look around.

Is it hard to find a baby when the boys think it's so small?

There's normally lots of clues that you look for.

So we can see pockets of fluid, which is a good sign.

Will it look like a miniature cow?

It won't look as you'd expect at this stage.

-Is that it?

-That's it there.

-Can you see?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Oh, wow!

-That little bit in the middle?

-Yes.

-It's upside down.

-It is.

-It's floating about.

-That's incredible!

-How big is it?

-I think you're about right, boys.

-Yay!

-Just as you said.

So, how far along does that mean she is?

So she'll be about seven weeks.

-Just under two months.

-Still a long way to go.

-She's still got a long way to go, yeah.

-It's so tiny!

-Are you happy with how everything went?

-Very happy.

-Margaret did very well.

-She's a good girl.

What's next on your list?

We're going to check the calves.

-That sounds fun. Shall we go?

-BOYS: Yeah.

-Come on.

Calves are born after nine months growing in their mother's tummy.

Soon after they're born, they develop a good sense of smell

and can open their eyes quickly.

They wobble around on spindly legs,

but are soon able to stand on their own and walk around.

Look at all these beautiful babies! Hello!

William, what ages of calves do you have here?

From a few days to eight weeks' old.

They're beautiful. Who do we have here?

-This is Jessie.

-George, what age is Jessie?

-She's a month old.

-She's big for a month, isn't she?

-Yeah.

-She's gorgeous.

What's wrong with Jessie?

Jessie's had a bit of pneumonia, so she was treated yesterday.

We're going to see how she's doing today.

Pneumonia is a lung infection,

which means they can't breathe properly.

So, what did you do to treat her?

Yesterday, she had an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory.

She had a high temperature and she was feeling sorry for herself.

-OK. Where do you start with checking up on Jessie?

-With her head.

Yesterday, she had a very runny nose, but today, she's much better.

We'll just check her mouth.

-And her eyes.

-What are you looking for?

Just to check that she's nice and pink and she's not pale.

-The skin around the eye is pink?

-Yeah.

And the inside of the eyes should be nice and pink.

I'm going to have a feel under here. Check her glands.

Sometimes when they're poorly, they get enlarged glands under here.

-So, the glands would be swollen if there was an infection?

-Yes.

-How are her glands?

-They're fine.

-Great. She's doing better.

We're going to listen to her chest.

So when I listen to her lungs, I'm making sure they're nice and clear

and I can't hear any wheezes or crackles.

Her breathing has settled down.

That sounds a lot better. Much clearer.

-How do you think Jessie's doing?

-Lots better.

We'll check her temperature.

What's the ideal temperature for a calf?

A calf's temperature should be 38-39, up to 39.5 degrees Celsius.

OK. And what was Jessie's when she was poorly?

-Jessie's temperature yesterday was 40.5.

-Wow!

-That's quite high, isn't it?

-Yes.

-And today, she is 39.5.

-Great!

-She's one degree lower.

-So that's a good sign.

-She's normal today.

-I'm glad Jessie's doing so much better.

-Good girl, Jessie.

-Shall we go back to the farmhouse?

-BOYS: Yeah.

Let's see what else has been happening here today.

Sarah had plenty of other animals to see today.

She visited the chickens and gave this bantam hen a checkup.

Stanley, the family dog,

got a booster injection for his vaccinations.

And, of course, there were lots of other cows and calves to look after.

I had a wonderful time meeting you both

and seeing your beautiful cows.

Would it be all right if I came back to see how you're all getting on?

-BOYS: Yes, please.

-Thank you.

I wonder what Rory's been up to?

MOO!

BEEP-BEEP!

I've come to an alpaca farm in the Scottish Borders.

I'm here to meet some baby alpacas

that are going to be checked over by a vet.

-Hi, Vet Pete. Hi, Stuart.

-How are you?

-Good.

Look at these beautiful alpacas!

We've got two sets of mums and babies here.

This is the two greys

and we've got two whites, which Pete will be looking at.

Okey doke. Let's go.

Come on, then, out you come.

Come on, then. Yeah. Let's go.

Oh-ho! Look!

-Here we go.

-What a beauty.

-This is little Ollie.

-Ollie.

-He was born yesterday.

-Yesterday! Brand-new!

So we've come to check him over from nose to tail.

One of the main things we check

is that they're born with their lower teeth.

His teeth have come through there, so that's fine.

Cria is the name given to baby alpacas and to young llamas.

And they can be in their mummy's tummy for up to 12 months,

which is quite a long time for an animal.

I'm going to have a listen to his heart

to make sure it's nice and strong and healthy.

-Good boy, Ollie.

-It's going like a train.

-Good.

No problems at all.

Now we have to get a weight for him,

-so we'll need to take his jacket off.

-OK.

-And we just want to pop him on the scales behind us there.

-There we go.

And if you gently lower him down so he's nice and stable.

Settling out there about 9.1 there,

-which is absolutely fine.

-OK. That's a good weight.

-Yeah.

The last thing we want is to check his umbilicus.

We'll put a little bit of disinfectant on it

to encourage it to dry up.

So this is the umbilical cord here.

This is where a baby mammal, and that includes humans,

is joined to their mummy inside her tummy.

That's how food and oxygen get to the baby,

but also how the waste is taken away, as well.

Put some gloves on here.

Pete puts on disinfectant to get rid of any bugs that might be there.

-Great. Well done.

-That's absolutely fine.

-Excellent.

-Is that everything we're going to do?

-Yeah.

-I'm happy. He's nice and fit and strong.

-OK.

Well done, Ollie. Let's get our next alpaca in.

-Oh, wow!

-This is little Riva and he's six weeks old.

-Six weeks old?

We're going to give him a vaccination

against a group of diseases called the Clostridium diseases.

The most important of which is tetanus.

Tetanus is a rare, but serious condition

that can cause problems for animals and humans.

It happens when bacteria gets in through a cut or scrape

and can cause serious problems,

like muscle spasms or tightening, as well.

We'll give him this vaccination.

He'll feel a needle prick as I put the needle in,

-but he'll be fine.

-It's like us getting a vaccination?

-It's exactly the same.

-A wee scrape.

-So that's it. All done.

-Absolutely fine.

-Well done. What a good boy, Riva!

Thanks so much for introducing me

to this wonderful creature and Ollie, as well.

Not long ago, I met George and William

and all their beautiful cows and calves.

Now I'm back to see how they're all getting on.

-Hi, guys.

-Hi, Ferne.

-How are all of the cows and calves?

-The cows and calves are all really healthy.

-Hello! Who is this?

-This is Elsie.

-She was born just yesterday.

She's our youngest calf.

-No way!

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-So she is a brand-new calf.

-What type of cow is she?

-She's an Ayrshire.

She's got amazing colours and she's really good at standing

-and walking, isn't she?

-BOYS: Yeah.

-George, what are you doing to help look after Elsie?

-We feed her milk.

-And does she drink a lot of milk?

-Three quarters of a bucket.

That is loads, isn't it? I'm so glad Elsie's doing well.

She's looking good and strong.

Margaret is keeping healthy and Jessie got over her pneumonia.

I hope you've enjoyed finding out

all about the lovely cows and calves here, too.

See you next time for more Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales.

-ALL:

-Bye!

MOO!

# Ferne and Rory telling you the story of some poorly pets

# We will take them, show you how to make them better at the vets

# Vet Tales These are our Vet Tales

# Vet Tales Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. #