My Take on Hope the Bear...Freeze Branding

Hope was a black bear that was killed this month, taken legally by a hunter in Minnesota during hunting season. Hope was also a bear that was being studied by researchers. Hope was also a favorite with a lot of people, due to her birth being captured on video, having her own Facebook page, etc.

Unfortunately, Hope was also unmarked and uncollared, having nothing on her body to distinguish her from any other bear. On Yahoo, the comments about the article that tell of her death are quite polarized, with hunters bashing the bear-lovers, and the bear lovers bashing the hunters. Its foolishness! I did leave a comment, stating that if they valued the bear, then she should have been marked. Someone replied that she had been collared, twice, but slipped the collars. To me, scientists need a different solution, a permanent and inexpensive way to mark all research bears and other specifically studied wildlife.

I believe this solution already exists. While I do not know if it has ever been tried on a bear before, freeze branding is an inexpensive way already used to permanently mark cattle, horses, and dogs, and I suspect it would work wonderfully on a bear!

Instead of using a hot brand, the branding iron is soaked in either liquid nitrogen or dry ice, then applied to an area on the animal that has dark hair, but has been shaved. The skin is frozen with the brand. When the hair in the freeze branded spot grows back, it is white wherever the skin was burned. If the freeze brand was an '8', then a clear '8' grows back in white hair, standing out quite obviously against the surrounding dark hair.

Some animal right activists might complain that the branding would cause pain to the bear. I have two things to say to this.

#1 My son got a large wart frozen off his leg earlier this week...and he said it didn't hurt, and still doesn't hurt.

#2 Even if it does hurt to be freeze branded...I suspect it hurts less than getting shot! If the bear was able to choose a brand or death...I know what they would choose.

I believe freeze-branding wild research animals could save a lot of time, money, and aggravation by saving the research animals lives. Quit the griping, people, and just solve the problem!

Goat kids and Lambs and Nursing, Oh, My!

After a goat kid or lamb is born, unless you want to bottle raise them, they need to nurse on their mother as soon as possible to get some colostrum into their system.

First, you need to remove the waxy plug in each teat..this makes it easier for the baby to nurse and actually get some colostrum. The plug is just a small waxy piece that seals the teat, keeping the colostrum in and bacteria out until the babies are born. To remove the plug, you simply milk each side of the udder until you get a good stream going. Some people refer to this as 'stripping'. Its pretty obvious if the plug is still in there...very little to nothing will come out of the teat while the plug is still in place! Usually I can dislodge it within 3 squirts of colostrum. Mind you...this is text book perfect that I am talking about. Sometimes, there is very little in the udder, but for the sake of this article, we will assume the dam has an ample supply of colostrum. Scads, as a matter of fact, so I can make my second recommendation!

Which is...have a clean jar or bottle ready before you strip the waxy plug out! Then...milk some of each side of the udder into the container. Extra colostrum is invaluable to have on hand in the case of an emergency, such as an orphaned kid or lamb who did not get a chance to nurse on its mom. It will also make you popular in the event that a friend or a friend's friend has an orphan in need of colostrum...you could get a call at any hour...popularity has its drawbacks! Not really...its actually the beauty of belonging to a great community of people who are willing to help each other out!

Freeze the colostrum...some folks put it onto ice cube trays so they can thaw out small amounts as needed. Date and label these cubes clearly so they don't end up in somebody's homemade smoothie!

Last part is helping the baby to find its mom's teat, if necessary. Some don't need help, some sure seem to! If you just try to grab the baby's head and shove the teat in its mouth, it will fight you. You need to guide it gently to the teat...and scratch its little bottom, right above the tail. No, I am not kidding or making this up! It mimics what the mom does when the baby nurses, and it encourages the baby to nurse. Try to gently cradle its jaw and get the teat in the mouth while scratching its little bum. Sometimes getting it to latch onto your finger, guiding it to the teat, and then transferring the baby to the teat helps, too. Generally, they figure it out pretty quickly. For twins...try to get each one on a different side of the udder, one on each teat.

And...don't forget to try to enjoy the birthing and bonding process...its a stressful time, but amazing as well!!

Dipping Goat Kid and Lamb Navels

When a lamb or goat kid is born, it is important to the treat its umbilical cord/navel. Within 15 minutes after birth, take sharp scissors and snip the cord so it is about two inches long. For this and the next step, it is easiest to pick the baby up, holding the baby with its back to your front with your arm under its front legs. Some folks like to use the little plastic clips on the cord…I never have, and I have never had a problem with the navel getting infected. Sometimes, the cord has naturally broken shorter than two inches. Still try to trim the tip off, for a clean edge with less of a chance of bacterial contamination. If its just too short to trim, go on to the next step, which is dipping the cord in iodine. An empty pill bottle filled about halfway with iodine works the best for this…it’s the perfect size! Have the bottle filled and cap off before you pick up the baby, so you can snip the cord and dip it at the same time, without having to put the baby down to get things situated.

To dip the cord- while holding the baby, tilt your body forward a bit, put the bottle opening over the cord, and press it firmly against the baby’s belly. Then tilt your body backward a bit to make the iodine cover the entire umbilical cord, tip back forward, and then take the bottle away from the baby’s belly. Try not to get the iodine on anything, as it stains. Also, it can burn your skin if it dumps on your clothes and stays wet against your skin. It is important to dip the cord to reduce the chance of infection.

I once had an over-zealous Great Pyrenees take the whole cord off right down to the belly…it bled more than I would have liked, but I still dipped and the goat kid was ok. The dog was just trying to clean the kid up to get rid of all discharge and tissue that could attract predators, not harm the kid.