How much veterinary work should we do on our on?

DISCLAIMER:  While there are no gross photos in this post there is a gross description of a surgery conducted by Brad and me.
I have always given my dogs their vaccinations.   These are subcutaneous shots: just under the skin.  Like the shots we get in the arm.
Recently I bought a cow, that I later determined was sick when purchased,  I learn how to give intramuscular shots, like the shots we get in the hip.  In an animal you plan to eat these go in the neck muscle.
In the last two years of raising chickens, I have had to somewhat learn to be a chicken vet.  When we had many little chicks and their legs were banded for identification, there was one who missed getting a band changed and the leg grew around the band.  Brad and i removed the band, and doctored the leg until it had fully recovered. 
When Lilly was attacked by a dog she had a serious cut on her back.  Again my faithful assistant accompanied me with a in depth wound cleaning and regular treatments until she had fully recovered.
Well this past we we were at it again.  The girls were feeding my dog when they let Duke out without my knowledge.  After returning home from church, I went to check on my grandparents and Brad found we had an injured chicken and one missing.  When I returned home, I found Brad setting in my recliner holding the injured chicken.  He told me it was bad and he did not know if she would make it.  When I saw the problem, I considered euthanasia, because he was right.  But it was worth a shot…..Right?
She had a busted crop:

The “crop” is the pouch in the digestive tract where food is ground by rocks for digestion. 
We went to my parents house where we could work in the garage, because this could get messy, I have new hardwood in my kitchen, and besides it was in the low 30s outside. 
Brad helped me by taking care of the chicken until I could get all my supplies together.  Then we began; the crop had to be cleaned out (this is like a person having their stomach pumped).  Once the crop was cleaned, we had to suture the crop to allow her (hopefully) to be able to eat in the future.  After about 6 stitches in the crop, there were only a couple of stitches in the outer skin because she needs a place for drainage to prevent infection.  We placed her in a cardboard cat carrier with some bedding, she spent the night in the laundry room.  The following morning Brad put her in the bus stop with the large animals to keep the roosters off of her.  When I came home from work that afternoon she had flown out of the fence, when into the coop and laid a beautiful green egg, she appeared to be eating fine.  We are now ready to remove the outer stitches however the internal stitches will have to stay.  Unfortunately they are not the dissolvable type as I have limited veterinary supplies to work with. 

Quote from “Little Rascals” the Movie

As I have mentioned before I have a pot bellied pig (Hamlet) who was born in mid December; he was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. I also have a Basset Hound pup (Duke) that was born the end of November; he was a Valentine gift from my wife, girlfriend and lover.

To quote Stymie “You only have a once in a lifetime friend, once in a lifetime.” That is what I think every time I take Duke out the the field. He runs straight to Hamlet’s pen and they will rub noses through the wire, waiting on me to open the pen.

Once Hamlet gets out they play

and play

and play

This last picture is priceless, they are having a chicken scratch snack at Hamlet’s place.

I am so SPOILED!

In January of 2008 I purchased a Basset Hound from a pet store in Atlanta. In November of that year he was outside and a stranger was walking down the road. Our neighbor said he let out a low howl and took off after the stranger, as the stranger crossed the road with Aristotle in hot pursuit, he was struck by a car. Despite the attempt of Dr. Randy Smith to stabilized his flail chest and deflated lung; he died. Since then I have been wanting another Basset; there is something about this breed that is absolutely adorable. If you don’t believe me as my friend, Angie who recently purchased one (Daisy Mae So To Much) commonly called “Daisy”. They are both spoiled at this point. Today I asked Angie for the phone number of the breeder and tonight, I have a new puppy.

Duke of Rosebriar, will be his registered name but on the farm he will simply be known as “Duke”. He is 11 weeks old and from tip-to-tip his ears span 19 inches.