How to milk a cow (No wooden stool required)

The dairy farm was a brilliant experience. We were all enlisted to participate in the clockwork movements of Langhill milking parlour. All of the cows were identified moving through a barrier, moved up to a computer controlled milking station along a line and we placed the milker onto the teats of the cow. The technology was incredible: for each cow, everything from the amount and rate of milk was recorded to whether any antibiotics were being used as well as all of the cows details were available as the cow milked at the station. Once finished, the milking machine fell off the cow and the udder sprayed with iodine. And so it went on, until all cows had been fed and milked. We were also shown how to milk the cow without the technology, just in case....

Moo-ving on

And then came the cows. Here we were taught about cattle handling: Everything from restraining and putting on a halter on, to raising a back leg using a rope pully and putting a metal gag into the cows mouth (seen on the left), at the diastema, to prevent the cow closing it's jaws, enabling us students to get a better look inside. A little trickier than it looks with that musclular tounge flapping in the way, but with a bit of practice and a very pateint cow we were there.

This little piggy went to market...

My first encounter with pigs was great!...

The college at Oatridge breeds pigs, keeping around 100 females and 6 males, producing hundreds of piglets reared for the food industry.

We were shown around the farm, observed how the pigs were kept and the different stages along the way, from boy meets girl to the larger groups of piglets, ready to leave the farm. Females having just been seperated from their litter required vitamin injections. Cue vet' students-that's me in the top left injecting a sow with a vitamin supplement. First pig injection, very successful!

How much does a sheep weigh?

Baaack to basics with the sheep. We moved, herded, identified, condition scored, aged, weighed, assessed, flipped and trimmed feet of sheep at Easter Bush. No lambs yet though. (And just incase you were wondering, this suffolk ewe weighed in at 42kg).

Graduation

Today I graduated in Biological sciences (Zoology honours). It was great!