DofE Zoo Keeper Residential

The highlight of my summer this year has definitely been going to Blackpool Zoo for my Gold DofE Residential. I went with a company called Sam Sykes. One of the conditions of going on your DofE residential is going with people that you've never met. The group that I went with had 24 people (22 girls and 2 boys) and we all had at least one thing in common: our love for animals. 

The first night (Sunday) consisted of ice breakers, deciding on which room to sleep in, going through rules and having a relatively formal meal. As nobody knew each other before hand we were all keen to talk to everyone and get to know them. I ended up in a room with two girls, Jenny and Kath. Jenny is in Uni studying zoology and Kath would like to do medicine. On the first evening we spent our time getting to know each other and talking about what we were most excited to experience during the course of the week. 

The first day at the zoo mostly consisted of paper work. We had to sign risk assessment sheets and we told of the dangers of working in a zoo. Despite the somewhat scary introduction nobody was put off and we went on a tour of the zoo. Blackpool Zoo have recently had 2 tiger cubs and 2 wolf pups, which we were very excited to see. Before we had to go home we had the opportunity to meet the tapirs, penguins and feed the pelicans. We had to be careful of the tapirs' teeth when feeding them carrots and bananas as they are very sharp. We got to stroke one of the penguins which I expected to be less soft than he was. The pelicans fought over the fish that we were throwing to them which we found quite funny. Did you know that pelicans can hold up to 14 liters of water in their beaks, which is more than their stomachs can hold? 

During the course we had lessons on a range of different aspects of the zoo. We learnt about the roles of a modern zoo, about reptiles and mammals and about conservation and research. I wasn't expecting to be having lessons while on the course but they were actually very interesting. As we all want to work with animals in the future or have an interest in them, the lessons weren't at all boring. In the afternoon we had practical sessions relating to the morning's lessons. 

The day that we were learning about reptiles we went and cleaned out the tortoises and also fed them. We met Blackpool Zoo's 90 year old tortoise, Darwin. Before we went to the enclosure we picked handfuls of plantain which the tortoises love to eat. We had to wash the windows so that the public could see in, remove wet straw and replace the water in the enclosure. After this we looked around the reptile house and fed and held two snakes. 

When we were learning about mammals we cleaned out and feed the giraffes. I didn't realise that the giraffes would actually smell as much as they did but I'd like to think that we made their enclosure smell a lot nicer than it did before. After meeting the giraffes we went to the family friendly farm. We fed alpacas, pigs, sheep and horses. We also held a rabbit and a ferret. 

I think the most interesting day for me was the conservation and research day. We learnt about how zoos go about conservation. The two main coordinators of breeding programmes are EEPs and ESBs. EEPs stands for European Endangered Species Programmes which tell zoos what they must do when it comes to moving animals and bringing in new ones. ESBs stands for European Studbooks who recommend what zoos should do with less endangered species. Zoos will only breed animals if they have somewhere to put them as they don't want any surplus animals.

We did our own research project, which I may type up and put on my blog because it was very interesting. We researched The Effect of Enrichment on Brown Headed Spider Monkeys (Atheles fuscipes). We talked about the different methods of doing research and how to write up our results. 

Over the course of the week we had to do a project. We had to design and produce a species specific enrichment device and an enrichment device if we had all the money in the world. We did this project in groups of three and we had access to dissertations, journals and the books in the zoo office. We also got to go and study the animal that we were producing the device for so that we could design an effective enrichment device. I will also be writing a blog post about the enrichment devices that my group designed. 

On the last day we watched the sea lion show, met the sea lions and presented our enrichment devices to the group and gave them to the animals. Along with meeting the sea lions we met and moisturised an aardvark who lived with two friendly meerkats who came up and sniffed us. We also went in with the lemurs, which was the highlight of the week. The lemurs jumped all over us and pried our hands open to try and get grapes out of them. I really liked the way that they sat on our shoulders looking around and waiting for us to feed them. 

Overall I found this experience incredible and if I was offered to do it again I wouldn't even think twice about saying yes. If only it could have lasted longer. 

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

The two calves.

I found out that when twins of both sexes are born, the female calf's reproductive organs don't form properly. Therefore farmers don't want twins of both sexes. If the twins are two girls, the reproductive organs form normally in both.

Farmers call the female twin a "Free Martin". I was told that the farmers don't know why this happens and I haven't been able to find any information on this either. If anyone knows why the reproductive organs don't form properly please let me know. 

We were worming and  vaccinating 150 calves for black leg, in the barn, where there was a Free Martin. I was given the opportunity to examine the calf and see for myself the difference between a Free Martin and a properly formed female calf. 

This photo was taken about 10 minutes after the calves were born. 

Work Experience: Dairy Farm and Vet Practice

I've now finished exams and I don't know what to do with myself.

Half way through the exam period I experienced an existential crisis of sorts. I've been finding chemistry this year and hadn't fully expected the jump from GCSE to A-Level. This thought had me considering whether I will be able to get the grades to do veterinary. Therefore I sat down with my mum and discussed the options available to me if I don't do as well as I hope this year. We talked about looking into veterinary nursing, zoology and veterinary biology courses. As much as I wold like to become a vet, it is always sensible to have backup plans.

This summer I will be doing my Gold DofE residential in Blackpool Zoo. This will give me the opportunity to look into different jobs centered around animal care other than veterinary. I will be able to have hands on experience with the animals and ask as many questions as I possibly can. I hope to be writing a proper blog post about this, along with uploading pictures and information about the research that I will have to do while I'm there.

I went to the farm on Saturday after having not been for around 7 weeks. The highlight of my day had to be when we got stuck in the mud after moving 30 cows into a new field. Despite us not wanting to admit that we were stuck, we knew that we'd have to get the tractor to tow us out. We had cows surrounding the Land Rover so we ended up having to feed them in the wrong field, so that the tractor could get near us.

The Land Rover stuck in the mud

I also went to the vets on Friday since starting my exams. There was a cat admitted that had possibly drunk anti-freeze. There have been cases of quite a few cats being killed by anti-freeze. It looks similar to water and some people decide to put this down for cats to drink. I honestly don't understand why anyone would ever decide to do this. The anti-freeze causes the kidneys to fail. Symptoms are difficult to pick up on until it's too late. The cat was given fluids but the levels of protein were around 3 times the regular level which indicates that the kidneys were failing. 

My Thoughts: Amazing Animal Related Stories

I found this article today and couldn't not share it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1364849/Guide-dog-aids-blind-owner-AND-leading-labrador-loses-sight.html

I promise I will be back after the exam period. 
Good luck to everyone taking exams in the next few months! 

Sorry!

I'm so sorry, due to revision I haven't been posting anything recently! 

After exams, or when I have a spare 5 minutes, I promise to start posting blog posts more regularly! 

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

Saturday was a busy and diverse day on the farm. 

We castrated and dehorned around 10 calves, as well as milking. However, the highlight was definitely seeing a calf being born. Instead of writing about the experience I thought I would upload the video that I took.


 https://www.dropbox.com/s/s0rhapk8r38fsg3/2014-03-08%2013.11.38.mov

To watch the whole video you may have to download it. Also up until 1:30 minutes the video is me and my friend talking and trying to find out what we could do to help.

Work Experience: Vet Practice

Friday was a very busy day for me, so I only had chance to go to the vets for my appointment with my guinea pig. The week before I had been giving her antibiotics, banana flavour, morning and evening. However, after a week her right eye was still quite red and swollen (but definitely not as bad as the previous Friday). After another check up by the vet, Peanut was prescribed eye drops. 

These eye drops had to be applied every 4-6 hours until the coming Friday. Due to my school routine I have had to apply them in the morning, straight after school and before I go to bed. Her eye looks a lot better than Friday, but I'm still a bit worried about it. I think Suzanne was expecting to see a much better improvement before Friday but there hasn't been too much of a change. However, I will let you know how the story of my guinea pig's eye progresses. 

Side Note

I'm sorry that I've been really rubbish at uploading blog posts recently (revision and homework have taken over my life). Hopefully I will be getting back into the flow of things and you can expect at least two more blog posts by Wednesday. Thank you so much for reading!

Work Experience: Vet Practice

Friday was, yet again, very busy at the vets. 

The first consult was a Springer Spaniel that had been in season about a month previously. The owner said that she was normally a bit of a busybody, but in the past 2 to 3 days had been very quiet and inactive. She was eating normally but she was drinking less than usual. Suzanne, after having a feel about, told the owner that the dog had swollen nipples and a tight and slightly swollen abdomen. This made her think of a possible ghost pregnancy. However, the owner then told her about a small volume of clear discharge that she had spotted. Often a discharge is a definite way of confirming whether a bitch has Pyometra. Pyometra is an infection of the uterus which then gradually fills with pus. Suzanne wasn't sure whether this was the case, however she didn't want to rule it out. 

Example of Pyometra from Google images

Due to the day being Friday and labs being closed, she didn't particularly want to take tests as the results wouldn't be available until the following Tuesday. Therefore she arranged another appointment for the Monday with the owner, informing her that if she was worried at any point she was to contact the emergency vet services. She also prescribed Tramadol, which is a human drug, to relieve pain. Tramadol can cause drowsiness and in worse cases sickness. (In cases of sickness Tramadol is stopped being given to the animal).

Me and Peanut after getting home from the vets

Another animal that I saw was my guinea pig, Peanut. I had noticed, at the beginning of the week, that her eye was quite red and swollen. This made me think of a possible eye infection. So I made an appointment for Friday, while I was volunteering. I was allowed to take my guinea pig with me and put her in one of the cages while I sat in on the consults. When Suzanne was free, at the end of the consults, she took a look at Peanut's eye. She said that Peanut had conjunctivitis but that she wasn't too happy with how red her eyes were, so there may have been something more sinister. She prescribed antibiotics to her, which would last a week, but if her eyes didn't improve by Monday I would have to go back. Suzanne taught me how to give Peanut her medicine. (I have to sit with Peanut on my lap, tilt her head towards the sky and, using a syringe, put 1ml of the antibiotics into her mouth, a little at a time.) Thankfully my guinea pig is known to sit still and snuggle in when I'm holding her so this is relatively easy. However, if this was my sister's guinea pig it would be an entirely different ball game. 

It is now Sunday and Peanut's eyes do seem to be getting better. I have my fingers crossed that she doesn't need to go back to the vets before Friday!

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

One of the diary herd being nosey

I'm so sorry I haven't written a blog post in over a week, school has been hectic and I haven't been feeling very well. 

Last week, when I went to the farm, I had the chance to see some dehorning of the calves. Dehorning is done for safety and economic reasons. Horned animals can take up more space so require bigger barns or/and fields, they can cause injuries to other cattle and the farmers, special equipment is often required to look after horned cattle and often cattle can entangle their horns on fences and vegetation.

To some people dehorning is considered to be a form of cruelty, however I believe that it would be more cruel to allow the cattle to harm themselves and each other. 

Me and the calves

The calf is first placed into the crush. This, in itself, looks more dramatic than it is. The horn areas are then shaved and anesthetic is then injected into the calf's head. Following this a heater is pushed into the calf's head and the horn is removed. The heat is used to stop the growth of the horn, this is called cauterisation. Dehorning is done when the calf is around three to four weeks old as the horns haven't had chance to attach to the skull. 

Michael dehorning a calf

The area where the horn had been removed was then sprayed with antibacterial "blue" spray. This would prevent infection of the wound. 

Michael also decided to check the teats of the calves and remove any of the extra teats. The best positioned four teats were left and any extra were cut off. I was expecting this procedure to be quite bloody however, I was surprised to see that there was none. We sprayed the areas that had had the teats removed with "blue" spray to prevent infection. It was relatively difficult to hold the calves down, while checking their teats, as they wriggled and kicked out at us if we got too close. Therefore we had to be aware of here they're hooves were in relation to our heads.

Calves are very needy

Work Experience: Vet Practice

I was back at the vet's again on Friday. Apart from regular booster vaccinations, I saw a Cocker Spaniel with unusual symptoms. 

The Cocker Spaniel had been having tests for a number of weeks. He had an unexplained cough, he has had x-rays and echoes to try and find out what is wrong. Unfortunately the last test showed a slight enlargement of his heart. This could cause multiple problems such as coughing, swelling of the abdomen and (in worst cases) collapsing. At the moment the Cocker Spaniel has a cough, which has been persisting for around a month. The vet had to take a blood sample, which would be sent to a laboratory for testing. After taking the sample, from the jugular, Suzanne realised that if she sent the sample on Friday, it would get to the laboratory on Monday/Tuesday. Unfortunately this would be too late to take reliable tests. Therefore after speaking to the owner, and apologising profusely, an appointment was arranged to take another sample on Tuesday, so that it would get to the labs by Wednesday/Thursday. 

When Suzanne was trying to arrange what was going to happen to the blood sample I had the chance to talk to the owner. He asked me whether I was on work experience and whether I was certain this was the job area I would like to go into. We then went on to discuss why I want to be a vet. I told him that I love science and animals and would like to combine the two, also that I would like to be able to help animals and, indirectly, people. We also talked about how after an animal is euthanised, in Valley Vets; the staff send condolence cards to the owners. He told me that after his dog was putting down, this was a very touching, thoughtful idea, which he believed displayed the consideration and caring nature of the vet practice, to both the owners and the animals in their care. 

This experience made me realise how much the owners depend on a caring vet who can explain medical terms to them clearly. I have also found out that if something goes wrong and the vet admits to being in the wrong and offers ways in which the wrong doing can be corrected, the majority of owners will be responsibly understanding. 

My Thoughts: Animal Cruelty

This week in critical thinking we've been told to choose a problem in the world and think of ways to solve it. I personally think that animal cruelty is a big problem in the world.While searching the internet for some RSPCA videos, I came across this:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012/apr/24/animal-cruelty-rspca-video

After watching this video, I realised how frustrating this topic is. I feel that whatever we do to lower the cases of animal cruelty, we won't ever be able to eradicate it. However, this video made me even more determined to be a vet, as I would like to educate people on how to properly look after animals and help people make decisions on whether it would be sensible for them to own an animal. 

Did you know?

- 73,000 animals are seen by the RSPCA every year

- The maximum fine given to someone who has abused an animal is £20,000 and the maximum prison sentence is 6 months

- The fine is transferred automatically to the government, even though the RSPCA require £81,000,000 to run the charity for a year

- Animal abusers are often able to own animals again after a certain amount of time (usually 10 years)


In the UK the Animal Cruelty hotline is: 0300 1234 999

Image taken from Google Images

Image taken from Google Images

Work Experience: Vet Practice

At the beginning of the week I phoned the vet’s asking if I could go today. Claire, the trainee nurse, made sure that Friday was fully booked, so that I could see as many consults as possible.

The first consult was a Schnauzer. He had been brought in because his owner had been having a lot of trouble with fleas. Despite having a look, Suzanne couldn’t find any. But the owner was advised to use Frontline rather than un-prescribed, shop brought flea treatment. Suzanne also gave the dog a vaccination against canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus, leptospirosis and infectious canine hepatitis. These are vaccinated against in the same inoculation.

During the second consult a Labrador was brought in with a lump under its eyelid. The lump may cause irritation to the eye and uneven distribution of tears, which may cause ulceration. Despite this the lump didn’t seem to bother the Labrador at all. Suzanne took a blood smear test by using a needle and taking samples of substance out of the lump. The results often take three-four days to get back to the vets.

The next consult was a Terrier who had been bitten around a week previously. The dog was very protective of its ear and wouldn’t let Suzanne near it. She kept her distance and only went towards the ear as soon as she thought it was safe to do so. Suzanne asked the owner to go back to the vet’s in 10 days just to make sure that there wasn’t any risk of gangrene.

Finally I saw a Labrador with an infected ear. The ear was “crusty” on the external area and it was swollen and red within the ear canal. There was also a small amount of puss within the ear. Suzanne prescribed an anti-inflammatory ear drop which needs o be dropped into the ear twice a day. The Labrador would need to be seen within the next 10 days to see whether it was clearing up. Also Suzanne asked the owner whether she could tell that the Labrador was in pain. The Labrador had painful joints, but she wasn’t vocalising her pain. Therefore she prescribed Previcox, which is a stronger and more expensive version of pain relief, such as Metacam.

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

Me on Saturday, before going to the farm

On the farm, in the winter, it can be quite difficult to keep warm. Therefore I’ve found myself wearing a ridiculous number of layers. I thought it would be interesting for you to see what I wear, so that you have an idea of what to expect when doing dairy farm experience in the winter.

My coffee

On Saturday I wore a pair of leggings, a pair of walking trousers and a pair of waterproof trousers. I also wore two old t-shirts, two hoodies, an oversized fleece and a waterproof coat. Wearing three pairs of thick socks helped to keep my feet toasty and a woolly hat kept my head warm. Normally at 9 o’clock in the morning a mug of hot coffee, with milk straight from the cow, helps to keep my hands warm.

My main advice is to wear old clothes, that you don’t mind getting covered in cow poo, iodine and cattle feed. In the first few weeks of going to the farm I made the mistake of wearing a relatively new hoodie and I’m still finding feed and straw in the pockets. Also I have come to the point where I don’t bother with how I look (considering that we all get covered) on a Saturday, but only about how warm and dry I’ll be. 

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

Today I've decided to write a different post compared to the other’s that I've written. Recently quite a few people (mainly Lucy Phillips – Hi!) have asked me what “dipping” is and why we do it, therefore I've decided to write this post.

The parlour

Premilking dip

After bringing in the cows and feeding them, we dip the teats with conditioning dip. The pre-milking dip is used to clean the udders. This helps to reduce the amount of bacteria that’s spread by the clusters and the amount of bacteria that finds its way into the milk supply. This can reduce the spread of mastitis among the dairy herd. Dipping the teats also promotes the letdown of milk which helps to speed up the milking process.

Postmilking dip

When the cows have finished milking, we dip the teats with postmilking dip. We use an iodine based dip which helps to destroy the mastitis organisms that are on the teat. Postmilking dips prevent the development of new infections by about 50% and are useful in overall milking hygiene.

Clusters

On the farm we have a system of identifying cows with mastitis, other infectious diseases and those that are in calf. Red (mastitis) and blue (infectious disease) tape indicate that we need to wash the clusters before putting them onto another cow and green tape (cows/heifers in calf) shows us that they may decide to kick. When wiping away the premilking dip, we don’t use the same tissue to clean the cows after those with blue and red tape. 

Work Experience: Dairy Farm

20ml oxytocin

Yesterday was an incredibly chaotic day, so sorry for this post being uploaded late.

Again I started my Saturday with milking cows. Some people have asked me what I do when a cow tries to kick me when I’m dipping their udders. I presume everybody’s answers to this will be different but I dip just as the cow puts her hoof down, so that she has very little time to react. I've also been told to approach them from between the cow’s back two legs, so that she can’t get a very good aim and catch your arms between her leg and her body (which hurts, trust me!).

One of the cows, with mastitis, was just about to finish her course of antibiotics. So Michael asked me to draw up 20ml of “oxytocin”. This is the drug that is injected into a cow with mastitis, I don’t know whether this is what every dairy farmer uses, but this is what the dairy farm that I go to uses. I thought that this would be a really easy job to do but the antibiotic was like golden syrup. It took a lot of strength to draw up the 20ml and I even had red fingers to show of my struggles.

The inner part of the horn

Michael told me that that morning a calf had died. Including the emotional aspects of losing a calf, I found out that it also means a loss of £200-£300 for the farm.

The outer part of the horn.

After using the power washer to clean the equipment, we got to work on trimming cow’s feet. The first cow, 666, has always been a bit crazy, so getting her into the crush was reasonably difficult. Half way through trimming the first hoof, she started shaking her head about to try and get out of the crush. She didn’t manage to get out, but she did manage to rip off the outer part of her horn. I didn’t know that the horn had a soft inner part so when I saw the blood I was quite worried. Michael told me that it was okay and the outer part of the horn would be on the floor somewhere, but to make sure that no infections set in, we used blue spray on the wound.

The other cow’s feet were all in good condition. But we did shave the tail and the freeze number of one of the cows. The freeze number needed shaving, because in the parlour we couldn’t see her number to put into the computer system so that she could be feed. 

Work Experience: Vet Practice

Unfortunately Wednesday's are always incredibly quiet at the vet's. Therefore I only had the chance to see three consults and help the nurse clean up. 

The first consult was a post-op check of a Doberman cross. She'd been neutered two days before and the vet just needed to check that everything was healing properly and no infections had set in. The owner said that she hadn't seen the dog licking or scratching the wound, however, she had seen a small amount of discharge. The vet, Suzanne, informed the owner that this is normal. However, if the volume or frequency increases the owner would have to contact the vet’s. Suzanne wasn't entirely happy with the slight redness and tightening of the skin around the wound, so she booked to see the dog on Friday.

The second was a Labrador being discharged from today’s surgery. She had been spayed in the morning and had two lumps removed, one from her neck and one from the base of her spine. She was a relatively old dog so she had been given fluids during the procedure and also given a morphine based pain killer afterwards. The fluids were to assist the functions of the liver and the kidneys. The morphine based pain killer caused the Labrador to mumble (or as Suzanne put it "sing") which is a side effect of the morphine. It’s completely normal but Suzanne could tell that the owner was a bit concerned because the Labrador isn't usually a vocal dog.

The last consult was for an elderly dog. He had recently become incontinent and had lost the use of his sphincter. This may have been due to a lump that had been found and removed previously. The lump may have caused the muscle to stop working properly. Suzanne told the owner that there is little than can be done to assist with incontinence, especially with males. She suggested washing him and keeping him as clean as possible, to prevent urine burns on his skin. Suzanne also suggested trying to make a sort of nappy, out of a t-shirt and absorbency pads. However, with a homemade nappy, you'd have to be careful that the dog didn't trip on it. 

Hopefully I'm going to start going to the vet's on a Monday from now on. This is because I may be able to see more consults, as they tend to be busier at the beginning of the week. 

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Work Experience: Dairy Farm

I started my morning, on the farm, at 7:45. I began milking straight away. Getting into the routine of conditioning dip, clusters, iodine dip has become second nature to me. After milking around 90 cows we brought some more in from the barn. The cows and heifers from the barn have either recently calved or are lame. One heifer had calved earlier in the morning, so we milked her for the colostrum.Colostrum is high in energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals, that's needed to reduce the health problems of the calf. The colostrum was taken straight from the jar and emptied into a bucket, which was used to feed the calf. 

My job, after having milked, was to use the hot pressure washer to wash the jars and clusters. This is not as easy as it sounds, because you have to make sure that the suckers don't come loose from the clusters (or they won't be cleaned properly) and because the pressure washer is quite heavy. 

I then went with Michael to see the cows that were bulling and to ring the vet who would be artificially inseminating them. Michael pointed out to me that the cows that were bulling, were sweating and steaming much more than the other cows that were with them.

The cow that was very stubborn and wouldn't move

Following this we went to the barn to bring in four dry cows and three cows that have been having problems with their hooves. The first cow took 10 minutes to get into the crush, because she was being incredibly stubborn and not moving. Using a knife, a rasp and blue iodine spray we tended to her feet. Michael explained that the outside of the hoof, where the pedal bone is, is what the cow walks on. Therefore the middle of the hoof must be trimmed to prevent sole ulcers (caused by bruising) on the softer, overgrown areas of the horn and promote weight bearing on the outer parts of the horn. 

The tools we use for hoof trimming

On the third cow's back left hoof, Michael showed me an inter-digital growth. Not all cows have one and this was the first that I'd seen. A inter-digital growth looks a bit like a middle toe between the cloven horn. I was told that it is best to keep the inter-digital growth, rather than cutting it away. However, the hoof must be trimmed regularly to prevent the pinching of the inter-digital growth, which would then cause swelling and discomfort for the cow. 

The hoof having had the block fitted

The last cow that we tended to had cracked horn on her back two hooves and her front left. This may have been to do with stress, but she has had lots of problems with her hooves in the past. So Michael was unsure way this had happened. We only had chance to set a block on her back left hoof before she began to become too upset. The crack had made some of the horn loose, so we had to use clippers to cut away the horn which looked a little bit like a slipper. However, removing the "slipper" made the hoof bleed. I had to hold some paper against the bleeding to staunch the flow. This was difficult because the cow kept moving and we were using a heater to dry out the hoof, so that we could apply the block, so my fingers kept getting too hot. (You attach the block by roughening the surface of the hoof, drying it out, applying resin to the hoof, and to a wooden block, and placing the wooden block onto the hoof and letting the resin dry.) 

Finally, because I'm learning to drive at the moment, I drove down the farmyard. Laura has promised to give me extra lessons whenever we have any spare time. Hopefully I will become a bit more useful when I can drive, because I'll be able to do the feed round by myself and do a few jobs on my own, which will allow Laura and Michael to do more during the days that I am on the farm.