Bulls, bulls, bulls

Hello!

I wanted to share my experience at a Local Simmental farm recently. I was invited by a friend to help test some young bulls before their December auction.

This farm runs a bull test every year in order to select their top bulls for their bull sale in December. The bull test consists of a feed trial and then a series of measurements (including ultrasound (US) to measure carcass traits) used for genetic and phenotypic evaluation of these bulls.

Measurements include:
- US of rump to measure fat cover of carcass (at site of bicep femoris inserts)
- US of ribeye size (latissimus dorsi over the 12th and 13th rib)
- US of marbling and fat cover over ribs (11th, 12th, 13th ribs)
- Hip height in cm
- Scrotal circumference in cm
- Weigh in lbs and kg
- Aesthetics - manliness, uniqueness, gait, etc.

There were about 30 bulls about 18 moa. Herded them into a head gait, US then into another shoot to weigh and measure. Then after they were all done, having them walk around a concrete pen with hay and just taking a look and comparing them.

:)

Getting good at measuring the scrotal circumference

US probe

I am pretty inexperienced with beef and ESPECIALLY bulls so this was a great learning experience. I also have very little experience with the US. It is definitely a learned skill that takes a long time to master.

We are looking at fat cover, marbling, and ribeye sizes because this is genetic and a good breeding bull should have complimenting genetics to their prospective cows.

This breed has a direct relationship between scrotal circumference and fertility. 35 cm is poor and 42 is excellent. The more you know!

There is such a thing as a "girly" looking bull. It takes a practiced eye to see but I did start to see what they were taking about. Similar to tom cats. They just look manly...

I encourage questions and comments.
I did see there was a request for more prevet school material. I will see what i can do!

Marketplace response

As i am sure most of you heard, CBC Marketplace did a "review" (I use this word loosely) of veterinary costs in Toronto last week and it got a LOT of people's hackles up, including me.

First, This is media. So of course is bias. Second, people have a right to their opinions about it.

I am sure if you read this blog, it is because you have an interest in veterinary medicine. So you probably found this show complete bullshit. But I am mostly worried for those viewers that do not have an interest in vet med; similar to the clients that rant and rave about an exam fee while holding a Starbucks latte and the new iPhone 5 and then leave in their BMW with their $1000 purebred animal. These are the people I fear will listen to marketplace.

Some people can straight up not afford vet med for their animal that they love dearly. I know that I get edgey when I have to take my reptiles in or my parent's animals. I am a student. I would much rather buy new shoes or go out for dinner, or buy beer with this money, but my animal needs it. I hate paying for meds and my car and gas, and all sorts of things, so TRUTHFULLY I get that the vet's office seems like a money grab. And the biggest thing that is lacking is communication. If I knew WHY gas prices went up the hour before I needed to fill up, or WHY the car needed to have a part replaced, maybe I would respect the cost more. I think that if clients knew WHY we heartworm test, WHY we vaccinate, what those disease treatments would cost and the amount of pain and suffering the animal would go through, they would be more willing to pay the bill.

Communication, communication, communication! Most important part of our job!

There was an article in the OVMA magazine a while back about getting clients to understand the VALUE of what you are doing. I really am on board with this. Show them what you are doing! Show them your clinic! Introduce them to your "behind the scenes" staff!

Anyway, there are enough ACTUAL vets posting their opinions online, and as upset as I was about the out of context bashing this woman did on vets, I would much rather offer you some things to read so you can formulate your own opinions.

First:
The episode if you have not seen it.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2013-2014/barking-mad

And some Twitter responses! Definitely good to read for a chuckle!
https://twitter.com/SnarkyKellie

Second:
A vet from Quebec
http://www.montrealdogblog.com/18019/trustinyourvet/

Third:
A vet from Toronto
http://barkingmadatcbc.tumblr.com/?og=1

EDIT:
3 1/2:
A response from a client.
http://raynecanada.ca/the-value-of-the-veterinarian-the-cbc-marketplace-dilemma/

Fourth:
A blog about the darker side of vet med
http://hstdvm.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/the-thing-i-hate-about-being-a-veterinarian/

Fifth:
A blog from a silly vet
http://vetsbehavingbadly.blogspot.ca/

Ethics

Today we had an interesting lecture on ethics in AVM. It was interesting because it had us start to dissect right and wrong into sub categories. Why is this event wrong? Because it is illegal? Or because as a veterinarian, that is poor care/treatment? Or is it just not good for the societies view on vets?

Example:
Examining a horse, you forget your hoof testers. you decide to make a diagnosis without them. Turns out you were wrong and the testers would have helped you make a correct diagnosis. Horse misses a year of racing while recovering.

Technically, you did nothing illegal. This is bad business, in that the CVO can fine you, you could get fired, and/or the client finds a new clinic and you lose the client. But because we are still a semi-service industry, it is a "buyer beware" situation. The client should have questioned the absence of testers or found a more experienced vet.

I would have always considered this an un-moral (if that is a word) act, but professionalism, laws, and medicine have fine lines between them.

Another Example:
You admit a spay which has to stay overnight at the clinic, as per clinic policy. The dog eats it's stitches overnight and is a gross mess of infection in the morning. It now has to stay for a couple more days to be monitored on fluids and antibiotics. The client is charged for the extra hospitalization time. Owner wants you to take the extra time off saying that it is your fault for not having a cone of shame on the dog.

Again, nothing illegal. In fact, not poor care either. You did not know the dog was going to eat it's stitches, because 99% of the time when a spay stays overnight at the clinic, they do not! And this is how "most vets" do things. Second, informed consent should cover this. Properly worded, the owner signed a paper after a vet or tech explained that post-spay infections can occur as a risk of the procedure. So you are fully morally allowed to keep those charges.

Now, the PR on this sort of thing may cause some clinics to just eat some of the cost, but the "relationship" of the owner to the clinic is the only factor that would change this.

I do not have a lot of business background, so I find all this very interesting!

Pretty much the following is what counts as morally wrong on all fronts:

• Fraud – charging with no deliverables (no service provided or object obtained)
• Deception and Misrepresentation – lying about qualifications/deliverables (ex. saying you are board certified and you are not)
• Manipulating for financial gain at the expense of others
• Profit at the expense of society, be it individuals or the environment 

Do as you wish with this info. And remember, laws in Canada are different than other countries. But ethics, legality, professionalism, and morality have to all be taken into consideration in every case that we handle. 

Fun stuff.