Day 37 ~ Lets Talk about Cows and Pigs!

Today was another early, 5:00 AM day. I got to farm at 6, then helped out milking the 240. After the milking was finished, Les and I tended to the calves making sure they all got milk. I am proud of Baby Kacie, Daisy, and Baby Brad for being such good eaters and taking to the teat immediately! After a short breakfast break of tea, toast, and delicious live rhubarb yogurt, I followed Jon the Artificial Insemination Technician around as we rectally palpated cows to feel for hardening of the uterine horns or the development of a corpuse luteum. This is great experience for me and I'm slowing learning how to recognize the organs through feeling! I actually really enjoy palpating cows!

This is how its done! All feel, no vision.

This cow has a bad case of Metritis (inflammation of the uterus) She is being treated

The semen must be kept in a temperature controlled nitrous oxide tank (really cold) and then upon removal the technician has 15 minutes to implant the semen before the sperm die.

Working in the dairy barns have really been a good refresher course of everything I've learned in my classes, now I can put it to practice! And they are very impressed with my knowledge and have gone as far as to call me "over-qualified" for just being a veterinary nurse! They really like me, and I have been able to do so much. After hanging out with Jon and picking his brain about reproduction and embryo transplant, I moved on to my next victim -- Chris the hoof-trimmer! All of the guys here have been wonderful about thoroughly answering all of my questions. Plus, they get to laugh at my silly American accent. Today, Les, who has been to America on several occasions, said I have the most "American" accent he has ever heard. I'm not sure what he meant by that, but I called it a Franklin County thing. Anyway, Chris has this awesome hydraulic cattle lift which is a giant contraption (that is the best word I can use to describe this thing) that holds the cow while he grinds away at the feet. It looks like one of dad's man-lifts had a crash with his roll-back, that is how intense this machine is. Anyway, I saw more ulcers, watched him grind/file the hooves down, and apply wooden blocks to redistribute the cow's weight to allow for healing in the foot.

the contraption! made in Holland by the Dutch

Chris uses a grinder to file down the hoof

See the ulcer in the right claw? I did not know that cattle have a pedal bone in each claw! Just like horses, the pedal bone has the potential to penetrate through the bottom of the hoof wall causing great pain and lameness.

Applying the wood block to the left claw to take weight and pressure off the right claw so the ulcer can heal

the finished product

After watching Chris, I was called to the pig yard today to help out. At Hartpury's pig unit, they have over 800 pigs of all ages, from sow and piglet up to feeder and finishing/market weight pigs. The average life span of "the bacons," as the pigs are lovingly called, is 4 months. This is the amount of time it takes for them to reach 80-90 kg (240-250ish pounds). I helped to clean out the pig sheds - which is really smelly and back-breaking work.

Although smelly, I still found the pigs really cool and fascinating to observe! They are such curious critters and very attune to humans!

num num num!

They like to cuddle!

Baby!!!

Then, I was sent back to the dairy barns to eat lunch and finish the day milking. Now that the cows have been milked and turned out to pasture (too bad I didn't have my trusty quarter horse Baylee to ride away into the sunset) I have eaten super and am now relaxing in me room. Tomorrow, I get to sleep in a little bit! I will  be starting at the pig unit and they don't start as early as the dairy. Then, I have a meeting with the principle of Hartpury and then I return to help the evening milking. Friday will be very similar in the routine of pigs in the AM and cows in the PM. Saturday is the Equine Therapy Center Open House, Sunday will be spent sleeping and packing, Monday is my last day at the Therapy Center, and then I leave Hartpury at 6:00 AM Tuesday. WOW! What a fantastic 6 weeks this has been. Lots of learning experiences, growing opportunities, and relationships made. There have been times of trials and times of joy, times of appreciation and times of homesickness, but I don't regret any of it. I have learned more about myself, grown as an individual, and narrowed my vision for life after college. Still, there are 5 days left, I wonder what other adventures might come me way? Stay tuned!!!