Tuesday 10th 

a busy day but spent in the class room today starting of with a discussion on parasites ready for are fecal egg count we do later on in the week when were weighing lambs. we also did some work on spread sheets where we learnt how to work out growth rates needed and how to put weight data into a spread sheet which im sure will be really handy 

we then moved onto dairy production systems and body scoring which we also have a test on :/ but is cool that we get a certificate in that on top of the diploma if i pass :/ fingers crossed.

To finish of the day we did a quick starter on MINDA data entering which im really looking forward to doing more on :) 

over all was a very busy sunny day in the class room with lots to take in but has all been really interesting :) 

Monday 9th 

the start of a busy week began at 5 am morning milking. this was my first time milking in the Telford shed so was very exciting even if it was pouring with rain.

After milking i had to move onto cattle handling which involved using the balance points on cattle and then correctly restrain them in a head bale and drench them. i also learnt how to put a halter on a cow which was cool :P

Once we finished milking we all had a quick breaky and then went of to class where we had a talk about dairy production and how it effects New Zealand, which lead onto are next assignment the dairy calendar.

After a bit of morning t which was pizza YUM we got invited to see some alpacas being Shawn which was awesome, i also was allowed to give them an vitamin D injection which was my first time ever working with alpacas :P We headed of to lunch after are alpaca work and then i got the afternoon of as i had milked that morning so went for a walk to get some poisonous weeds and did some study :) 

My first week 

Because iv only just got the hang of my blog i'm just going to summarize my first week but from now on ill be a lot better and try do it daily :)

on my second day we went for a drive to collect are poisonous plants for our collection was really nice getting to see a bit more of Balcultha. we found one weed called tree nettle that we weren't allowed to touch so we just had to take a photo with it to put in the collection because if we touch it it can kill you.

On my third day we had to do our ATV safety test which was really fun. we had to learn to safely move are weight up and down steep hills and then are last test was go across a steep hill and prevent the ATV from rolling. i was really pleased because i completed every stage. when i sore the course i didn't think i would do it all 

On my forth day we had milking and coincidentally it was on Telegraph road.

we got Friday of cause it was a public holiday so i met willy in Omaru to drop connie of. it was also Hana's birthday so we had a girly night and watched movies and ate way to much junk food.

On Saturday 7th i decided i needed a study day so court up on my weeds collection and a bit of my dairy calendar. after dinner me and a few of the girls went to the beach for a walk because it was the first day we hadn't had rain since we have been hear.

so overall it has been a very busy exciting week and cant wait for another next week will be a lot more detailed :) 

First day 

after a bit of a sleepless night because of nerves i got up early and took connie for a walk, it was my first time seeing the farm so was really cool exploring, i took her up the main farm track and soon realized i'm going to have to get used to hill country and get my fitness up. once i finally got to the top it was stunning looking over the paddocks 

class started at 8.30 so i had a quick breakfast and headed off. we started of by introducing ourselves and then it got to the exciting part we got are fancy new overalls for the year. :D 

for the rest of the day we had some health and safety talks ready for when we're out on the farms :) 

Arriving at Telford

This blog is a record of Bella's time at Telford Polytechnic. Telford is in Balclutha, Otago in the South Island and is a specialized agricultural college based on a 900 hectare farm. Bella is there training to be a Rural Veterinary Technician which is a one year intensive course.
Our journey starts with a rather early start to drive 5 1/2 hours down to Balclutha, once we had the cars (plural! family day out) packed with belongings and the dog (Connikins) we hit the road. After a few drink and pee stops for the dog we made it!

Bella showed the family round before settling into her room.

 

 We helped Bella unpack and Mum made her bed and made it feel 'homey'.

Of course being Bella's room there had to be cow spots in somewhere! After unpacking and meeting the locals we had a quick drink then headed home again. Many hours and torrential rain later (don't mention the rain to the Canterbury farmers!) we made it home. Now we will hand the blog over to Bella to keep us all updated with her adventures.