[Jacob-list] Hannah's injections

[gordon johnston]

Two points about injections :
 - a larger needle hurts less than a small one - this may seem surprising,
but if you squirt some water against your hand through a large and a small
needle, depressing the plunger at the same rate, you will feel that the
liquid comes out much faster from a small bore needle, potentially causing
local tissue damage.  So if you do use a smaller needle, you need to give
the injection more slowly - if you are not confident, the sheep will
certainly move during the procedure, so go for the large bore needle, using
a new one each time as has already been said.
 - as well as pinning your sheep firmly before injecting, try also to have
the muscle relaxed.  Sheep will normally try to push away from you, tensing
the leg muscle, so the needle has to be forced between the muscle fibres.
If you are on your own, try sitting the sheep on its bottom and flexing the
hind leg up, so the muscles are relaxed.  If you have a helper, let them pin
the animal firmly in such a position that the leg muscles are not under
strain. Take a moment or two to make sure all is relaxed before giving the
injection, make sure you are going for the right spot (get a demo from your
vet if you're not sure), then stab the needle in quickly and firmly - what
will really hurt is if you lack conviction and end up pushing the needle in
slowly. Once the needle is in, depress the plunger steadily ; if the liquid
is very thick, have it warmed first and inject fairly slowly - important to
have the sheep well controlled.
 - a tip from our son who was a shepherd for a large commercial flock : just
before the stab, tap the area sharply with your finger tips a few times.
Somehow this is often enough so that the sheep doesn't even notice the
actual stab.

Very sad about your lost lamb - things get a little easier as the years go
by and you gain in experience, but you never learn it all and you never get
used to losing animals.
Good luck with the rest.

Juliet in Scotland