(no audio) (no audio) (cheerful instrumental music) - [Narrator] In the heart of glorious North Yorkshire lies the quaint market town of Thirsk.

Here, the world's most famous vet, James Herriot, lived, worked, and wrote his best-selling books.

His former surgery and home are now a museum.

But his practice lives on nearby.

(phone ringing) - Good morning, Skeldale Veterinary Center.

- We still feel that we've got that Herriot ethos, you know, a mixture of different type of animals.

You feel like you're part of the community, rather than just being a professional, who does his job and goes home.

That's a beauty, the miracle of life.

- [Narrator] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire Vet.

- It's a great place to be.

I don't think I'd want to be working, or living anywhere else, really.

(Julian laughing) - [Narrator] Julian runs the practice, alongside partner, and former Herriot trainee, Peter Wright.

- [Peter] I wanna put me top on.

I'm not quite as well toned as he is.

(everyone laughing) - [Narrator] Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team.

- Tryin' to find a bit of chicken under all these feathers.

All right, toots.

Oh, hello.

- They treat animals of all shapes, sizes, types, and temperaments.

(worker screaming) - Humphrey, you've been sick everywhere.

- [Narrator] It's definitely not glamorous, but it's varied.

- [Peter] He's a fine chap.

- Not the biggest testicles though.

- No, maybe not.

- [Narrator] It's rarely easy.

- [Nurse] Naughty.

- [Narrator] As the Yorkshire Vet carries on the Herriot tradition of looking after all creatures great and small.

(peaceful instrumental music) (sheep bleating) It's late spring, and thistles burst into bloom.

Wandering this exquisite countryside, are animals of all sorts.

(peaceful instrumental music continues) More than enough to keep the Yorkshire vet on his toes.

- We need a vet's opinion, don't we, Charlie?

- [Narrator] Whether it's saving the life of a little girl's hamster.

- She has like a wet tail, and she's makin' noises while she was asleep.

- [Narrator] Or helping a grown man's beloved bunny rabbit.

- Oh, yeah, it's definitely good news.

Everyone'll be pleased.

- Go on, well done, look at that, perfect.

How well trained are you?

I mean, it's always brilliant when our patients respond well, but particularly so when we see cases, and the prognosis is really bad.

It's nice to be surprised by a really positive outcome when we're not expecting it.

Oh, Millie, brilliant.

- Bye-bye.

- Bye.

- She did well because she didn't bite them.

She didn't bite the doctor.

- [Narrator] It's all in a day's work for Julian.

(cheerful instrumental music) - Come on, girls.

- [Narrator] Chocolate Lab owner, Sean's hoping for good news today.

- Okie-doke.

- [Narrator] He's extremely worried about one of his faithful friends.

- Minnie's been with us, she's now 11, and she's been with us since she was eight weeks old, along with her sister.

We set out to buy one Labrador puppy, and came home with two, which is quite usual for our family.

You okay?

Be about four weeks ago, her right eye started, looked like it was glazing over.

She didn't look good so we went down to Skeldale and Julian had a look at it for us.

It was an ulcer.

Come on, Min.

- [Narrator] Minnie received treatment for the ulcer and it has healed.

However, it left her with limited vision in her right eye.

- Her left eye started glazing over.

It appeared initially that she's got an ulcer, but now it's turned into glaucoma, which is a totally different problem to the right eye.

You're supposed to be leading your sister.

Rue is now having to help Minnie find her way around.

Rue has become a guide dog which she seems to enjoy.

(somber instrumental music) (dogs panting) We're obviously a bit worried that it might be the end of the road for her, rather than putting her through a lot of pain with an operation.

(somber instrumental music continues) - Yeah, that's high as well.

I think we should take that eye out.

- Do ya?

Or give it a few more days with the treatment or might it burst and?

- It probably won't burst but it'll be really painful with that and she'll be instantly a lot better and a lot more comfortable.

I think there's zero chance of any vision in that eye returning.

Minnie, poor old you.

- [Narrator] With the vision in Minnie's right eye already impaired, removing her left eye will leave her virtually blind.

- It's better than the prognosis I was giving myself for her on Monday morning so.

Let's hope that it clears it up and she has a normal life.

Sorry.

- [Narrator] Julian will perform the operation later on.

- See you later.

(upbeat instrumental music) - [Narrator] Sitting quietly in the center of Thirsk is The Wold of James Herriot Museum.

It's the actual building where Alf White, along with Donald Sinclair, practiced their veterinary skills.

- There's an actual real biscuit here.

- Is there?

Are they real real biscuits, or are they pretend real biscuits?

- [Child] They're real.

- [Narrator] Alf and Donald were the inspiration for the iconic characters James Herriot and Siegfried Farnon.

- I remember coming here with my dog when I was a little girl.

- [Guide] Did you?

- [Narrator] Hoping to provide inspiration for the next generation.

- Children, shall we go see Peter now?

See the vet?

- Yeah.

- Yes, come on.

- [Narrator] Peter Wright, who worked her alongside Alf and Donald- - Hello everyone, come in.

Gosh, what a collection.

- [Narrator] Has returned to have a chat with some local school children.

- That's called Om Nom.

- Called what?

- Om Nom.

- Excellent.

They're in lovely condition, they're very healthy.

- I've had Om Nom since he was three.

- [Narrator] An old hand at working with animals, how will he fare with a bunch of kids?

- First of all, who knows who I am?

(suspenseful instrumental music) Does anyone know?

What do you know about the place we're in now?

- Did James Herriot used to work here?

- You're quite right, and he actually used to live here as well.

I was lucky enough to work for him, many years ago.

Now don't be tempted to take the top off, 'cause it's not very nice.

Now, how many of you have spaghetti at home?

Well, these look a little bit like spaghetti and that's a roundworm and you get those in kittens and puppies.

Anybody here want to be a vet?

- Yeah.

- Do ya, yeah.

You got to be prepared for a lot of long hours, weekends.

nights.

It's hard work.

The good side of being a vet is when you make an animal better, (peaceful instrumental music) especially an animal that's very poorly.

And they go home and you feel $1 million when that happens.

It really is lovely.

That's the best bit.

That's the best bit.

- [Narrator] Coming up.

- [Julian] The first thing we're gonna need to do is suture the eyelids together.

- [Narrator] Julian removes a poorly dog's eye.

- [Julian] It's not the most visually aesthetic bit of surgery.

Gets worse as well.

- [Narrator] And helps a cow struggling to give birth.

- [Julian] It's not a small one, no, it's a big one.

(cow moos) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] In Britain, top of the list of most popular pets.

- Where is he, let's have a look at her?

- [Narrator] Are actually, believe it or not, dogs.

(cat meowing) - Hello, Missy.

And what a lovely coat he's got.

- [Narrator] Although cats are a very close second, and we all have our favorites.

- Labradors.

(laughs) - Yes, hi.

And we do love you don't we?

- If an English bull terrier came wandering through that front door, I think I'd probably break down in tears, just out of joy.

- Right then, Minnie, are you ready for this?

- [Narrator] Minnie the Labrador is about to lose her left eye after developing glaucoma.

- She can't see very well so I need to just make sure that she doesn't bang into anything.

Good, girl.

Come on.

- [Narrator] She needs her owner's love now more than ever.

- The beginning of the week, we were a little bit worried about whether she'd pull through this or not, 'cause her eyes were very swollen.

Looked dangerous as though they were going to explode.

- [Julian] Go on, Minnie, good girl.

Tell you what I might do.

Might give you a lift.

- Certainly there was a concern whether we might to have her put down so here we are.

How we'll manage I'm not quite sure, but we'll see to that.

- [Julian] Ready to go?

- [Narrator] With the vision in Minnie's right eye already impaired, this operation will leave her almost blind.

- So the first thing we need to do is suture the eyelids together.

'Cause we remove the eye and all the structures around the eye including the eyelids.

And then the next thing to do is incise around the eye.

It's not the most visually aesthetic bit of surgery.

Well, it seems like a really horrible operation to have to do.

It's actually gonna be really, really helpful for Minnie, because once the eyeball's out, then immediately, all the pain that's been caused by that increased pressure will immediately go away.

So it slowly becomes more straightforward as we get more tissue dissected out.

So, gruesome as it is, and disappointing in many ways that we couldn't have saved the eye, it's often just a really good way of immediately resolving all the pain that's associated with glaucoma.

So that's it out.

Little blood clots and some fat remaining, but that looks okay.

(melancholy instrumental music) So what we need to do now is just close over the tissue as best we can to fill in the dead space inside the eye.

So she'll be, soon as she wakes up, she'll be feeling pretty much immediately better than she was beforehand.

So yeah, that's it done.

(melancholy instrumental music continues) She'll wait there until she's sitting up, and then we'll pop her back in her kennel after that.

(upbeat instrumental music) - [Narrator] Even though dogs and cats top the list in the popularity stakes, not everyone's taste is so conventional.

Jean Davison, a local children's author, has a taste for chickens.

- They're just fantastic and real characters, every single one, character.

(chicken clucking) They answer to their names, believe it or not, they answer to their names.

She comes to me when I call her.

Amazing.

People wouldn't believe it.

They really wouldn't believe it.

But I love them to bits.

- [Narrator] Polly's one of six hens that live in luxury with Jean, but, recently, she's noticed that Polly hasn't been her usual plucky self.

- She's not been feeding.

She's been very listless.

She's had a real pain in her throat and we don't know what's wrong, and she has brightened up now I've brought her down here, which is just typical.

- Polly?

- Come on, Polly.

(cat meowing) - Hello, shall we get you out, my young lady?

- [Narrator] Vet Sarah has been trying to figure out the cause of Polly's problem.

- So Polly came in last week, not eating very much really.

Just not herself.

And she's just quite sore, sort of around her crop, and through the base of her neck really.

- [Narrator] Located in the lower neck, the crop is a small pocket, where food is stored for digestion.

- I mean, I do think it's the crop that's causing the problem, and that's what's bothering her.

I think what I'd be inclined to do is knock her out, and then have a look inside of that crop, and see what's going on I'm afraid.

And it might be that we have to go in there, and flush it out which would be a general anesthetic.

- Okay.

- Is that okay?

- Yeah.

- [Narrator] Expensive surgery on a chicken might seem extreme but Jean is happy to go that extra mile to help her feathered friends.

- People sort of view hens as egg-producing commodities, and when you sort of look at the price of an egg versus the price of sort of a consultation, or a treatment or even sort of surgery, sometimes it doesn't sort of tally up in a lot of people's minds.

Stop, stop, stop.

Settle down, come here.

Let's see how you move that leg around.

Just because it's a food animal, rather than a pet, it doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the same care and attention that your dogs and cats will.

- So I'll see you at nine o'clock.

- Yeah, okay.

- Thanks, Sarah.

- No problem, bye.

(upbeat instrumental music) (people chattering) - I've just got a visit to put in for this afternoon for Tim.

- Ah, right, yeah.

- [Narrator] Teamwork is an essential part of running any successful practice.

- Yay.

- High five.

- [Narrator] But when the two leading vets can't agree, it can put a fly in the ointment.

- If you want it slightly shorter, then I would go through Thornley Moor.

Come out past Solberge Hall and then turn left at the roundabout there, which takes you to Morton-on-Swale.

- I would go up the A-1 and come back the other way.

- [Peter] But I wouldn't go out that way.

- I could time it.

- Right, yeah, time it, but you've got to be fair to both of us.

- [Julian] You wouldn't go down Newton Road?

- Could do, yeah, you could go Newton Road if you wanted.

Yep, yep, I'll concede that yeah.

- [Sarah] But I will time both of them and I will get back to you tomorrow.

- Yeah, but you won't do it fairly now, 'cause you're biased now towards him.

- No, I'm not.

- Yes, you are.

- [Sarah] No, I'm not, I'm a very unbiased person.

(soft instrumental music) - [Narrator] Also needing a helping hand with directions is Minnie who's just coming round from having her eye removed.

- Minnie, you all right?

Time to go home, mate.

Yeah, she looks well.

The surgery this morning went really well so she's going home now.

She's had quite a lot of extra painkillers this afternoon so she's a little bit more wobbly than she might otherwise be, but I think she'll be good to go.

She'll be better at home, than with us over the night.

Come on.

That's it, well done.

She's a bit wobbly of course 'cause she can't see quite where she's going.

There's not a lot of vision in her other eye.

Minnie.

Once she gets going, she'll be okay but she's a bit disoriented.

Minnie, good girl.

Minnie, it's this way, follow me.

Minnie, look who's here.

- Minnie, oh, sweetheart.

Hello, darling, hello.

Are you a good girl?

It does actually look better than I thought it would.

- Can you manage?

Once the hair's grown back, honestly, it'll look way better than it did before.

Any problems, give us a shout if anything.

- Thanks.

- Thanks, cheerio, bye.

It's great to have her back.

At one point earlier this week, we thought we were gonna lose her, which would've been very traumatic for us.

More traumatic than putting her through an operation anyways so we're on the better side of it.

We'll get her home and give her lots of TLC.

She'll be great.

(birds chirping) (soft instrumental music) - [Narrator] The sun sets, casting a warm glow over the Yorkshire countryside.

And all the animals settle down for the night.

But work is just beginning for the Yorkshire Vet.

- I've been on call six nights on the drop so that's a particularly bad run.

You get one call after another and you've not had a chance to get home and say goodnight to the kids, and have even a drink of tea, let alone anything to eat.

It's been quite a long day today.

- [Narrator] Julian has received a call from a local herdsman who needs help with a cow that's calving.

- The problem that he's got is the calf's coming backwards and he thinks he won't be able to get it out himself.

Sounds like it's a big calf so we might be in for some problems.

I would imagine it'll be early hours of the morning before I'm getting back home.

- [Narrator] With the lives of both animals at stake- - [Julian] Oh, she's a big cow then.

- [Narrator] Julian gets the lowdown from herdsman, Ian.

- So what's the story then?

She started calving earlier on today?

- She's wandered about all day but not really done anything.

You knew she was going to calve and then she just started tonight, just a bit of slime away and I left her for quite a while, and she was layin' with this other calf and sorta motherin' it so I thought I'll just have a look inside and when I put me hand in, there's two big back feet.

- Right.

- Pelvis.

- I think often when they're coming backwards like this, you're right, they don't quite get on with it, do they?

(cow mooing) - [Narrator] Ian thinks the calf is breech, coming bottom first.

This could be deadly for both mother and baby.

- Well, there's plenty of size about the cow at least.

- [Ian] She's quite wide, like, (speaks faintly).

- [Julian] The feet are upside down but there's a head there so it's twisted and it feels pretty big as well.

- [Narrator] It's good news, the calf's the right way round, but it's still in an unusual position.

Julian is going to have to use all his skills to ensure this baby arrives safely.

(Julian faintly speaking) - It's very vigorous, yeah, I've just.

- [Narrator] He tries to pull out the calf.

(cow mooing) - Its head's going right the way back, like this.

- [Narrator] But despite his best efforts- - [Julian] But these feet now are complete upside down.

- [Narrator] The calf won't budge.

- So what I'm doing now, I'm just putting a rope on this.

So we can hold onto him better.

- [Narrator] If Julian can't deliver the calf naturally- - It'll really pull backward, this little calf, 'cause it's feisty.

- [Narrator] He'll have to perform an emergency C-section or risk losing both mother and her youngster.

(cow mooing) (upbeat instrumental music) Coming up.

- I've brought, Peggy, the wonder dog, back.

- [Narrator] We meet a Bernese Mountain Dog, with an unusual appetite.

- She thought it'd be fun to chew through wires.

- [Receptionist] She's quite pleased with herself.

- You shouldn't, you know.

- [Receptionist] I'm actually just ashamed.

- [Sarah] Come on then, tutti fruit, no, no, no, no.

- [Narrator] And discover the cause of plucky Polly's painful problem.

- [Ruth] It stinks, it absolutely stinks.

It's pretty putrid isn't it?

(suspenseful instrumental music) - [Narrator] Earlier, a weary Julian began his night shift.

- Not had a chance to get home and to say goodnight to the kids and have even a drink of tea, let alone anything to eat.

It's been quite a long day today.

- [Narrator] He's been called to help deliver a calf that's stuck.

- [Julian] But these feet now are completely upside down.

- [Narrator] If Julian can't deliver the cow naturally, he will have to perform an emergency Caesarian.

(metal rattling) (cow mooing) As the calf is stuck tight.

- That's beginning to strain him.

- [Narrator] Julian decides to bring out the big guns.

- [Ian] Is that enough?

- [Narrator] The winch.

- [Julian] This is where you need about three pairs of hands.

- [Narrator] Herdsman Ian, is keen to do all he can to help.

- [Julian] Look at this.

That's a lucky calf.

- Bag of straw just to drop him on just so that he won't hit the concrete.

- I've never seen that before, calves aiming for cushions to land on.

That'll be a luxurious birth.

- [Narrator] Julian needs to turn the calf to a better position for a safe delivery.

- So what I'm trying to do now is, whoa, here we come again.

Keep the head kind of in place, as we get a little bit of pressure on the feet.

(winch creaking) - You all right?

- Yeah, yeah, just go.

Just leave it there a second just to.

(cow mooing) It's not a small one though, it's a big one.

The head's kinda coming onto one side, so that's always a sign that it's gonna be a tight one.

She's a big cow though.

(cow mooing) (suspenseful instrumental music continues) (peaceful instrumental music) You missed your cushions, little cow.

That is a monster!

That's why it wasn't wanted to come out, isn't it?

- [Narrator] The youngster may be out but it's not safe and sound just yet, and neither is mum.

Julian wants to make sure the calf hasn't suffered from its traumatic birth.

- Bet that's the biggest calf you've had this year.

That's a beauty.

And I mean that's about as big as you get, really, in a newborn calf.

- [Ian] Don't want any bigger.

- Any bigger than that and we'd be takin' it out of the side, I think.

The miracle of life.

In the middle of the night.

That is a, that calf is, what is it?

Two minutes old?

Three minutes old, and look at it, lookin' around.

- [Narrator] Having given the calf the all clear, it's time to check on mum.

(suspenseful instrumental music) - She'll be relieved that the calf's out but she'll be very keen to get to see her calf now, yep.

- [Narrator] Julian does an internal exam to check for damage.

- You'd be surprised if I said there was another one in here.

You'd be surprised if I said there was another one.

- I'd be very surprised.

Be a first, I think.

- Yeah, no, she's fine there.

Any calf that's enormous like that, there is quite a risk of tears and internal damage.

But she feels fine.

(peaceful music continues) It's a strong calf, isn't it?

Perfect, yeah, that's what it's all about.

- Nice color as well, nicer on the calf.

- It is, isn't it, yeah, beautiful color.

It literally doesn't get any better than that does it?

But that's, you know, perfect calf, perfect mother, perfect.

See ya.

- See ya, (speaks faintly).

I'd have struggled on me own there, because it was a fair old calf and it needed one of us pullin' the legs while the other sorta straightened the head round, so you'd have struggled on your own, really.

So it was just the best way I think, at the end of the day.

All's well that end's well.

(laughs) (peaceful instrumental music) - Well, the good thing is you do that and then, you know, you're pretty exhausted not having had any tea and not really have stopped all day, and suddenly then you've got a lovely calf like that.

You forget about the fatigue and the tiredness, and all the rest of it.

It's about as good as it gets, really.

(peaceful instrumental music continues) (peaceful instrumental music continues) (peaceful instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music) - [Narrator] Back at the surgery.

- And those are the wormers so Julian's put two tablets for each dog, yeah.

- Thank you, bye bye.

- Thank you, see you again.

Bye-bye.

- [Narrator] It's business as usual.

- Is it full of plastic and metal?

Right, okay.

How old is this puppy?

Are you able to pop it down now or?

Okay then, thanks, bye-bye.

(people chattering) - [Sarah] Lots of babies.

- [Narrator] Recently, Vet Sarah helped Miley, a Bernese Mountain Dog, give birth to eight pups.

(puppies squeaking) 12 weeks on, and one of them has developed an unusual appetite.

- Hello.

- Hi, there.

- I've brought, Peggy, the wonder dog back.

(laughs) - What can I say?

- [Esther] The giant teddy bear on legs.

- What have you done now?

- Look, she thought it'd be fun to chew through a wire.

And then that as well.

So all this, I was just concerns about the rest of it.

- About the wires, yeah.

- Yeah.

Don't sit down now.

Now you've seen the wires.

- She looks quite pleased with herself, actually, doesn't she?

- [Narrator] Lovable Peggy is becoming quite a handful for owner, Esther.

- We thought we were having an easy time of it, and clearly we were, so she's given us something to think about now.

Yeah.

(laughs) - This must be Peggy.

- [Esther] This is Peggy, the wonder dog.

- And she must've been doing something she shouldn't.

- [Esther] Yeah, I've brought the evidence.

- All right.

- Here we go.

- Come on, Peggy.

(people chattering) What on Earth possessed ya?

Peggy, I'm sure your biscuits and your meat was far more interesting.

What I'd like to do is X-ray her.

- Okay.

- So it'll give us an indication as to what's in there.

Peggy, the radiator doesn't taste any better than the electric cable.

(whimsical instrumental music) That's it, that's it, oh, Peggy.

Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy, Peggy.

Oh, Peggy.

(people faintly speaking) If there's little bits there, they will pass through, okay?

If there's any quantity there, we may run into problems.

(laughs) There's some rather strange bits other than electric cable there, so I think Peggy's been snackin' on other things, other than electric cable that she shouldn't have been, so I think the owner only knows half.

(laughs) - What have you been snacking on?

- [Peter] Now, she looks very innocent but she's not.

Now you can see there's a little strand of wire there.

(Esther gasping) The strands of wire here.

- Oh, Peggy.

- Now what this, I don't know.

But that's not electric cable so you can see that's a different density from the cable sheath.

That's a moderate density.

This is extremely dense and you can see compared with Peggy's bones, it's much more dense than bone, so she's been snackin' on other things as well.

- Oh, so- - [Peter] It's almost like a little bit of stone, that, that's workin' its way through.

- Oh, no.

Yeah, that would make sense.

- Would it?

- Yeah, we've got, like, a court yard-y type garden.

We've got slate.

She's been gettin' her nose underneath the decking, where there is some little stones.

- You naughty girl.

Now the good news is we don't have to do anything heroic.

- [Esther] Really?

- No, that's going to work its way through.

- Lovely.

- So, Peggy, you're not as innocent as you look you are, you are not cute.

You're a very naughty girl.

- Naughty Peggy.

Just because you're a Bernese Mountain Dog, you think you're all that.

- [Peter] Come on, Peggy.

You might be very cute, but you don't get around us that easy.

- Not Peggy the wonder dog.

At all.

(both laughing) - Peggy is absolutely delightful.

I think she's a brilliant character, and she has obviously a naughty trait to her, which probably makes her a little bit more endearing still, but I think she's a lovely character, and I think the owner's very proud of her, and quite rightly.

- Now, Peggy, I don't want to see you again, until your annual booster's due, right?

- Me?

Did you listen to that, Peggy?

I love all this attention I just had.

Oh, she's gonna come round.

- Hello.

Have you loved all of this attention?

- All right, let's get this- (both laughing) - [Narrator] It's a lucky break for Peggy.

Avoiding surgery by a whisker.

(upbeat instrumental music) (people chattering) - [Jean] Good girl, Polly.

Good girl.

- [Narrator] Not so lucky is Jean Davison's beloved hen, Polly.

- Sarah won't be in first thing but we'll admit her.

- [Narrator] Polly's a sick chick.

She's off her food and has pain in her lower neck.

- Just take a seat and the nurse'll admit her and explain all the details to you.

- Right, okay, thank you.

- Okay thank you.

- Thank you.

- [Narrator] To get to the crux of the problem, Polly's about to have surgery under general anesthetic.

A daunting prospect for Jean.

- I know.

There you go.

Good girl, yeah.

I hate leaving them, I hate it.

- [Narrator] Jean's well aware of the potential risks of surgery as sadly, in the past, not all of her poorly hens have made a full recovery.

- I always taken them home no matter what happens, they come home with me back to the garden but hopefully she'll be better.

But there she goes, hiya Pol-Pol, hiya.

- [Narrator] It's time for Polly to head to theater, as mother hen, Jean, sits and waits.

- [Ruth] Come on then, tutti fruit, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

- [Narrator] Vet Ruth will be operating, assisted by nurse Katie, and they both find themselves in uncharted territory.

- I've never done a hen anesthetic before in my life so.

- It's just a little bit out of the ordinary to be doing this so that automatically makes me feel a little bit more uneasy about doing it so this is the shortest, safest anesthetic we can possibly give to her.

- [Katie] Her breaths are really steady- - Good.

- Compared to what her heart rate is goin' like the clappers.

- [Narrator] It's an anxious wait for Jean.

- It's a big thing for a little hen, anesthetic.

So yeah I'm a little bit nervous, little bit apprehensive, but you just wonder what's going to happen and if she's gonna be okay, and especially, bein' hens, they're not like cats and dogs.

They sometimes can just literally keel over.

- That's it, we're in.

You can see there's some meal worms there, some corn, some greens, some grass.

She is a very, very spoiled chicken, clearly.

It's pretty putrid, isn't it?

Just, it smells very acidic, like the smell.

- Smells like vinegary smell.

- It stinks, it absolutely stinks so I think there's definitely a clog going on.

She should be contractin' this crop and mashing these grains up, and wearing them down a bit, but she just isn't so I think what we'll do is to try and increase maybe the grit content of her diet and what the grit will do in her crop is it will grind against these grains and break them down.

So if we flush all of it out and we give her a fresh start.

I'm gonna infuse some antibiotics in here for her before I sew her up again.

(suspenseful instrumental music) - Ruth?

- Mm-hm.

- [Katie] It's not breathin' no more.

(suspenseful instrumental music continues) - [Ruth] She's still got a heart rate.

- It's not as fast as what it was, Ruth.

- The heart rate?

- Mm-hm.

- [Narrator] With Polly in critical condition, the girls must act fast to save her life.

(suspenseful instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music) Still to come.

- Usual, when you want 'em to do something, they won't.

- [Narrator] We catch up with Julian's big calf.

- When you get a good family, it makes all the difference, you know?

She's one of the best families we've had really.

(suspenseful instrumental music) - [Narrator] Ruth is performing a risky procedure on Polly the hen.

- Ruth?

- Mm-hm.

- It's not breathin' no more.

- [Narrator] Her vital signs have suddenly dropped.

- It's not as fast as what it was, Ruth.

- The heart rate?

- Mm-hm.

- [Narrator] It's a race against time to sort the problem.

- Can you reach over and turn her down to maybe two.

She's startin' to struggle a wee bit so what we'll do is we'll get her shut, we'll get her closed up as fast as we possibly can.

Put the antibiotic in now and I'll just start sewing her up, Katie.

I'll go as fast as I can, okay?

(suspenseful instrumental music continues) - She's breathing again now.

- [Ruth] Good.

- Heart rate's gone back up.

- Gone back up?

- Yeah.

(people chattering) - So I've just thought, Katie, I'll be pressing on her vagus nerve while I'm doing this.

So that's probably done it.

So that could've been me, sorry.

- Well don't do that then please.

(laughs) - Sorry, guys, sorry guys.

(everyone laughing) (suspenseful instrumental music) Just have a look and see what that looks like.

That looks all right.

- That went very well.

(laughs) There was a little bit of a scary moment, and a bit of a breath hold moment but, no, she's doing very, very well.

(Ruth faintly speaking) Yeah.

- [Narrator] It's been a tough day for Polly.

- What I'm gonna do, is I'm just gonna just take that out, 'cause she's just regurgitated a bit while she's been under.

- [Narrator] And she's not ready to cross the road just yet.

- So we've just got her in a head-down position 'cause I've been mucking around with her crop, it's caused her to reflux a little bit so the last thing we want her to do, is for it to get down into her lungs.

There we go, you havin' a cough.

Cough it all up for us.

- I think that most of it's gone now.

Yeah, she's wakin' up now, so very happy about that.

She's just, she's on her feet.

- It's amazing.

Oh hello, oh.

(Polly clucking) (both laughing) Hello!

- She's awake.

- You all right?

Sort your feet out, sort your feet out.

Look, there you are.

- There you go.

- [Ruth] Don't be untidy.

Hey, you okay?

- [Narrator] With Polly back on her feet, the wait is almost over for Jean.

- Yeah, quite shocked to think that she hadn't been breathing, but the anesthetic with hens, I know is always risky.

And they do what they can, of course, but I mean, gosh, yeah, a bit scary.

- Come on then, Polly.

Let's get you home.

Here she is.

So she was feeling a little bit sorry for herself and she is a little bit groggy.

- Oh, she's beautiful.

Actually, she's not as pale, is she?

- No, I thought, as soon the surgery was over and she was recovering, I thought her color looked a bit better.

- Oh, yeah, oh, good-O.

- [Sarah] Yeah, she's a good girl.

She's just a nice chicken.

- Yeah.

(cat growling) (upbeat instrumental music) - [Narrator] Three weeks ago at Castle Upstill Farm, one of the biggest short-horn calves ever seen was born.

(cow mooing) It wasn't the easiest labor, but thanks to Julian, it all went well.

- The miracle of life in the middle of the night.

- She's doing well now, she's a good calf.

Been about the best heifer she's had I think, really.

It should be turn out a good female I would think at some stage.

- [Narrator] Herdsman Ian has brought owner, Mr. Tatton, down to meet the newest member of his herd, but how's he feeling?

- Oh, yes, naturally, very pleased, yes.

When you get a good family, it makes all the difference, you know?

She's one of the best families we've had, really.

- Usual, when you want 'em to do something, they won't.

(cow mooing) - [Narrator] So what's in store for this short horn?

- I think this one could be one of the best we've had.

She's got a bit of style about her.

She walks up nicely and gets her head up and hopefully she'll, yeah, she may be a show calf one day.

She may end up at the Great Yorkshire yet, you never know.

(laughs) (soft instrumental music) (hooves clacking) (rooster crowing) - [Narrator] Also settling in nicely, is Polly.

- Hi, Polly, how are you doin' darlin'?

Have you eaten anything?

- [Narrator] She's taken up residence in the kitchen of chicken lover, Jean Davison.

- So we couldn't have a cooked tea last night because the cooking facilities are all where Polly is so we did without last night, and just had salad.

But you just have to, don't you?

It's only occasionally and if it gets them well, it's worth it.

- [Narrator] Jean and her family might've gone without.

- Good girl, Polly.

Eating your mash.

- [Narrator] But Polly certainly hasn't.

- There corn and there's cheese and grapes and a bit of dog food.

Rice pudding, which she won't eat.

I tried her with porridge earlier on, she won't eat that either and what she's peckin' at there is a bit of mash.

- [Narrator] Sounds delicious.

- And maggots.

- Come again?

- [Jean] Live maggots.

- [Narrator] On second thought.

- [Jean] On a regular basis they get the maggots, just for something different.

- [Narrator] Don't make yourself too comfortable, Polly.

- Gonna make a move, darlin'.

Yeah, we are.

Come on, don't knock those over because they'll go everywhere, okay?

Good girl, come on then.

- [Narrator] It's time to rejoin her flock.

- Hiya, Latte.

Hiya, Mocha.

Hello, darlin's, hello, good girls.

There's Nutmeg and Frappuccino.

She's hot today.

Look at poor old Frap.

There you go, Polly.

Okay.

Are you happy?

You happy, good girl.

(cheerful instrumental music) - Next time.

- That's great.

- [Narrator] Peter meets a lamb that's going for the chop.

- [Peter] And there's our testicle there.

(sheep bleating) - Good boy, Humphrey.

Told you it was nicer than it looks.

- [Narrator] Julian struggles with a poorly pug.

- (laughs) Humphrey, you've been sick everywhere.

Stay there.

All in a day's work, this.

- [Narrator] And a cow's labor becomes a life-or-death situation.

- [Peter] We might get it out, we might do.

(cheerful instrumental music continues) (cheerful instrumental music continues) (cheerful instrumental music continues) (cheerful instrumental music continues) (cheerful instrumental music fades) (no audio)