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Donna Wildwood

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Posts posted by Donna Wildwood

  4. Kit Colour???

    in Ferrets & Ferreting

    Posted

    I *think* it is to do with dilution....

    Silver is dilute poley....

    Merle is dilute black.....

    Albino is the absence of pigmetation not the dilution of it...

    Er... Bit complicated to recall all this after a few whiskeys lol!

     

    Off to find my notes.... be back in a while ;)

    • Like 1

  5. Kit Colour???

    in Ferrets & Ferreting

    Posted

    Sounds similar to when people breed merle to merle in dogs (especially collies) produces what is known as a lethal white.

    Mainly white with odd bits of colour, blind or deaf or with skeletal deformities. The one litter I knew of had all 3 poor lil things :(

     

    AFAIK it's caused by the double recessive in the geneology. Merle is a recessive gene and I am guessing the same goes for silvers in ferts?

    The recessive can also carry all the genetic deformities, not normally expressed in breeding of different colours as it is just that, recessive. It cannot be expressed while there is a dominant gene present in the breeding only when breeding 2 recessives.

     

    I hope the above makes sense and is applicable in the case of ferts....

    Been along time since I was studying all this lol!

  7. Gutted..new Pup Got Parvo.

    in Bushing Dogs

    Posted

    If they used the live or attenuated vaccine she may be giving a false positive as such, and reacting to the vaccine is making her feel like shite...

    Have any of her litter mates come own with it do you know?

     

     

    A report by Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, DipABVP

    The Fecal Parvo ELISA Test

    The ELISA test has become the most common test for parvovirus in puppies. ELISA stands for Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay. This sounds complicated and high tech but is actually the same type of technology used in home pregnancy test kits. The parvo ELISA test is also a kit and is performed in the vet’s office in about 15 minutes or less. There are many different brands and testing is sensitive in its ability to detect virus in stool.

    The test has some limitations that are important to realize. Recent vaccination with a live vaccine (the type of vaccine that is most effective) may interfere with the test results. This means that the test may detect the live virus from the vaccine and show a positive reading when, in fact, the puppy does not have a parvo infection. Classically, this interference occurs 5 to 12 days after vaccination so if a positive fecal ELISA test is obtained within this period after vaccination, additional tests may be recommended.

    Further, the puppy could be infected but no longer shedding virus in its stool. Or the virus particles may be so thoroughly coated with antibodies that they cannot react with the chemicals of the test. In almost all cases, one can trust a negative ELISA reading but it is important to realize that no test is perfect.

    The Drop in White Cell Count

    Recall that one of the first actions of the canine parvovirus is to inhibit white blood cell division in the bone marrow. The virus essentially turns the immune system off before making its deadly way to the GI tract. This is a feature of parvoviruses in all species which means that a characteristic drop in white blood cell count is seen on a blood panel. This characteristic finding is especially helpful in the diagnosis of a recently vaccinated puppy as the ELISA test maybe positive from the vaccine but if the white count is normal, the puppy is probably not infected. The white blood cell count is commonly monitored in the treatment of a parvovirus case. If the puppy is not presented to the veterinarian until later in its disease course, it is possible to miss the white cell drop and not correctly make the diagnosis. Similarly, a puppy presented early in the course of infection may not yet have the white cell drop and sequential tests may be needed to confirm diagnosis. confirm diagnosis.

    Antibody Titers

    There are two types of antibody titers that can be run: IgG and IgM. With the advent of ELISA testing, titers are not frequently used in making this diagnosis. The IgG titer is a more long-lasting antibody level. A high IgG titer would probably indicate active infection in a puppy that is old enough to generate antibodies and who has not yet received any vaccinations. Most of the time, the IgG titer simply reflects antibodies generated by vaccination. The IgM titer reflects recent antibody production so if a vaccinated puppy had not been vaccinated recently, a high IgM titer might indicate active infection.

    Because parvovirus infected puppies have frequently received vaccinations in their recent past and are frequently too young to generate their own antibodies (which is how vaccinated puppies get infected in the first place), these test results are difficult to interpret. It is easy to see why the ELISA test that directly detects the virus has become so popular.

    Titering is mostly used nowadays to determine if a dog has adequate protection against parvo, either through vaccination or prior exposure. In a shelter setting, a dog of unknown vaccination status can be tested to determine if he is considered protected from infection or not. In the pet setting, a dog can be tested to determine if a vaccine is needed or not. Certain antibody levels are associated with protection; however, because of other contributing branches of the immune system, an inadequate titer does not necessarily mean a dog is vulnerable.

    • Like 4

  9. Sentimental About A Tree

    in General Talk

    Posted

     

    Yes plant more trees!

    Don't see enough Lyme trees nowadays, Used to be one of our main trees before the Oaks, Chestnuts etc came here me thinks.

    I used to plant a tree for every tree I cut down and always tried to talk customers out of total removal.

    Bit partial to giving the odd tree a hug, especially the ones I know :icon_eek: .

    Lyme trees, thats a new one to me, i'm not that well up on tree species but i plan on being better!

    Oh, and if anyone could point me in the right direction of traditional saplings cheap as poss it would be appreciated?

     

    I can send you some willow if you want some? just stick im in the ground, or a bucket of water and they will grow ;)

    • Like 1

  12. Sentimental About A Tree

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Get up there an snaff some of the timber to make a something from, when all the rest is rotted away you'll still have summat ;)

    i still got me dads ash stick he made and we used when I was a little un to reach the best black berries...

    Neither he nor the tree are here anymore, but i do grin like a fool every time I use it to black berrying!

    • Like 11

  14. One Good Turn And All That....

    in General Talk

    Posted · Edited by Donna Wildwood

    Year before last my Anglo Nubian nanny goat got a really bad case of mastitis and nearly died.

    I decided once I had got the weight back on her I would send her for the freezer...

    It took a year to get her a decent weight (she was very poorly) and I had become very fond of her in that time.

    Got sick of hearing people say not to keep a goat with only one tit, not worth the feeding etc etc (google Poland syndrome, i have this so you will see why I took offence lol!)

    Any hoo, bless her cotton socks, not seen a billy in over 2 years, no kids, but decided with her one remaining tit to come into milk!

    2 and a bit pints a day! Woo hoo!

    Not the biggest yeild, but enough for the kitchen and some leftover to make soap with :D:D:D

     

    Praps this is her way of saying thanks for not eating me!

    • Like 3

  16. Help With Photos

    in General Talk

    Posted

    What sort of file is the pic saved as?

    On my computer/photobucket I can only get jpegs to show up. right click on your pic (on your computer, not in photobucket) and it will tell you what sort of image it is ;)

  18. French Lops For The Table

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Well she kept chucking 3 ofem out the nest. I kept putting them back but I guess nature knows best as the last time she chucked em out she nipped their necks :(

    Hey ho, though 7 healthy kits and the ferrets have had a treat already.

    Still waiting on me other doe, she's huuuuge!

  19. Swap Fishing For Ferreting/lamping

    in Fishing

    Posted

    I have some permissions I am more than willing to share, but briar patches aplenty....

    Be ok for ferreting but I think it would be too frustrating for a young dog.

    I might get the briars away by this coming season, but if not they will be gone for the next ;)

  22. French Lops For The Table

    in General Talk

    Posted

    sweet and tender mate ;) but I never hang em, nor wildies I don't like that taste myself.

     

    But I don't have to choose, I keep the rabbits, chooks, goats and sheep to eat. Variety is the spice of life they say :D

    Also I don't know if it makes a difference, but my rabbits are kept in colonies not shut in hutches and i pick them fresh wild greens twice a day. Hay ad lib and some pellets.

    Though even if they didn't provide me with food, they are still worth it to convert waste veg and weeds into top notch fertiliser!

    • Like 2

  23. French Lops For The Table

    in General Talk

    Posted

    YAY!!!!

     

    One of my does has just had her 1st litter! 10 kittens and they are huge!

    Me other doe is building her nest as I type so fingers crossed I shall have some more in the morning.

    Going to keep a doe from each litter if possible but we shall see when the time comes, Ido the boys first so don't have to pick any out straight away. I'll give her a day or 2 then get some pics up :D:D:D:D

  24. I Eat Meat But ?

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Yup shetties would get too fat on clover and have a hard time getting in lamb. Mine eat the roughest stuff they can find and will turn their noses up at lush pasture in favour of weeds and scrub.

    But you could always get some to help clear the ground (mine eat sedge grass and the spikey stuff you get where land has flooded) Eat them and then get some beltex or summat to really go for the weights when the ground has come good.

    I personally think you can't beat Shetland lamb/mutton for taste BUT it can take 18 months for them to get there. That suits me as I get ground cleared, a crop or 2 of fleece to spin, a nice size carcass for the freezer and a skin worth tanning.

    If you want lamb ready straight off the ewe, they aint the right ones for you!

    Goats are good too, but IMO don't taste as good, but they do give lovely milk (if you make sure they have a cobalt supplement their milk won't taste goaty ;))

     

    But if you can clear it without stock and get good grass.....

    Worm free pasture... definately worth trying for

     

    took me years of being pig headed about sharing grazing or lending stock to get my flock 'clean' but now haven't had to worm or trim feet in 2 years.

    • Like 2

  25. I Eat Meat But ?

    in General Talk

    Posted

    I am working towards having a flock on the ground soon enough, just working hard to bring my fields back to decent pasture after years of neglect.

    It's quiet nice to be thinking about the quality of the grass will directly relate to the quality of the meat.....sort of a start to finish project.

    Word of warning, don't get started on thinking about grass.....it will take up every waking moment of your life !!!

    Bugger the working hard..... Get yourself some Shetland sheep! Let THEM do the hardwork of bringing back decent pasture, and as an added bonus fill your freezer with the best hogg mutton you ever tasted ;)

    You don't get sheep and clear ground yourself lol!

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