NEWSLETTER – September 2009

Minsterley Show Edition

At last some sunshine... At last the weather we'd all been hoping for. Some for the show, some for harvest. Spirits were high with the Holden's Golden Glow flowing from the keg. Bottles of Rehydion flew through the air and prizes were won by many. The 12 World class bottles of wine went to Price of Woodland Farm, Montford bridge. 13 more prizes were won. Still to collect their prize are: Charles Sandelss, Chris Parkinson, David Brown, Pippa Geddes and Reg Beedles.

XLVets Charity Bike ride.

Also, the show was the start of our Charity bike ride. Some of you might have seen us in the Shrewsbury Chronicle posing with our begging buckets.

Leg 1: went from Cain Vets in Llansantfraid to our office in Hanwood. The bikes rolled of the trailer at 6pm and off we went. Hurdles had to be taken, like cows crossing the road and a riverside pub! The 23 miles went by without hiccup and we finished at 9pm at the office popping the champagne in a glorious sunset. At the moment our sponsorship has reached £520. Last time we reached £900. We dream to reach this goal and to do this... Well we all know what needs to be done to get faster on the bike... waxed legs! I'm putting forward all boy vets as candidates to have their legs waxed, as chinese volenteers. The minimum offer is £100 for a pair of legs. The highest bidder get a framed picture of the chosen vet's waxed legs. Yayks.

Leg 2: This will go from Hanwood to LLM in Whitchurch and is about double the distance. We'll keep you posted.

From farmer to Farm Vet Nurse in 5 easy steps:

1. Cleanliness comes first: The operating theatre.

Surgery is best done in a clean area were you don't get interrupted by heifers knocking over the surgery kit or a calf head butting the vet. Fresh straw under foot is good if a calf is born by Caesarian section but not when the straw is put down 2 minutes before the op. Dust will be in the air and is a source of infection.

2. Theatre plumbing. 3 buckets works best.

2 with warm water, 1empty (the bin). The water should be clean. You should be able to drink the water from the bucket.

3. Operating table.

A work surface off the ground keeps the surgery kit clean and increases survival chances of the patient. (ehem and saves ye olde vet's back!)

4. Getting stuck in.

This is were the term 'the better half' must come from. The wife's hands are generally cleaner but often not available. Never put your hands inside the surgery wound, not even when the airbag goes off! (The airbag being the rumen which can pop out when the cow strains) Use long gloves when helping and keep them clean. Follow instructions from the vet when you find yourself in the midst of all the action.

5. Wear a skirt, of course!

The first client to wear a skirt before September 15th during surgery will have his/ her photo published, gets their operation half price and as a good will gesture we'll put the other half in the Bike Ride charity kitty.

Upcoming Meeting: Mac&O, Cogent & XLVets

Daytime meeting on Heifer fertility and how to make the best out of sexed semen. This will be on 29th September at Lord Hill from 11am – 3pm. Hot buffet over lunch time. The speakers will be Hugh Pocock from Cogent and Steve Borsberry from XL Vets. All are welcome. Contact the Office or the local Cogent Rep.

Routines:

Just a reminder for whoever is still not on routine fertility visits, the offer still counts: call out fee is free for routines as long as they stay on their fixed days. Generally 2 vets will be allocated to your farm and if the primary vet can't do the routine for some reason the number 2 vet will jump in.

James is now a married man!

What can we say? A man 's gotta do what a man gotta do. James got married to Caroline on Saturday 15th August. After some hefty partying shortly after midnight he whisked the bride off to an unknown (to all) location. Turned out he went to romantic Tuscany in Italy. We wish them all the best!

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