Hog, lamb die at fair

Fair veterinarian Dr. Randy McGraw of Bunchgrass Veterinary in Colfax said two fair animals died during the fair week.

“We did have a couple animals die out there this year, but none of them heat-related,” McGraw said.

McGraw said there are usually incidents with the fair animals, but he monitors them closely to ensure the animals are safe and even sends some home if he finds that conditions are not right for them.

“The state requires a veterinarian to be available (at the fair),” McGraw said. “You get that many animals together and things happen. It was just incidental things that happened.”

McGraw said a pig “shook a couple times” due to a stress gene that is exhibited in heavier-muscled pigs.

“You can’t do anything about that,” he said. “It is just part of the genetics of the modern pig.”

McGraw said the pig succumbed to complications resulting from the stress gene before he could get to it, though he was nearby.

Another animal, a lamb, got caught in a fence and accidentally choked itself.

“He somehow got his jaw hooked on the wire below,” McGraw said.

McGraw said the fair animals as a whole did great, even with the high amount of animals in the barns.

“Overall the animals did well. We did send some of the rabbits home,” he said. “But they mostly did very well.”