Well its back to Anatomy class practical where we had to dissect yet another cat.
Poor kitty was probably from the shelter and came to our labs as an extension of his life.
Photos later but our goal for today was to identify all the organs under the diaphragm and yes this means opening him up, pulling out each and every part (well not out out but shifting his organs around so we can see what is hiding behind).
More to this post later this week but honestly, no one tells you before going to vet school how stinky the animal cadavers can get!
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Dissections, decisions
2nd year of vet school and there isn't as many posts because we are not going out to the farms so far.
Just to clarify, this is the 2nd year of my Bachelor of Veterinary BioScience and as part of the bridging programme, I will start the Doctorate of Vet Medicine next year hence some of the stuff that I do now tends to be more science based.
The nice thing about this year is that we do cover a quite a bit on anatomy and anatomy practicals mean having to
1) Dissect animals (so we would know what to expect within the animals in future).
2) Decide if this is really for us (it's not a joke, if you can't bear to dissect animals or you faint at the sight of blood, this is good time to transfer degrees)
We started off with a cat dissection practical which allows us to familiarise ourselves with the position of the various organs, the digestion tract, gastrointestinal tract, the position of the diaphragm, thoracic cavity etc.
(OK here is the part where I will post some pictures of animals all cut up, if you can't take this, maybe move on to the next blog?)
I think I did pretty well with the cat dissection practical - we cut up the cat pretty well and it wasn't too messy.
Another disclaimer (this post is just FULL of it!), all animals you see here were ethically sourced. They were not put down for our purposes, they would still be put down at the end of the day, we are just extending the usefulness of their life.
Just to clarify, this is the 2nd year of my Bachelor of Veterinary BioScience and as part of the bridging programme, I will start the Doctorate of Vet Medicine next year hence some of the stuff that I do now tends to be more science based.
The nice thing about this year is that we do cover a quite a bit on anatomy and anatomy practicals mean having to
1) Dissect animals (so we would know what to expect within the animals in future).
2) Decide if this is really for us (it's not a joke, if you can't bear to dissect animals or you faint at the sight of blood, this is good time to transfer degrees)
We started off with a cat dissection practical which allows us to familiarise ourselves with the position of the various organs, the digestion tract, gastrointestinal tract, the position of the diaphragm, thoracic cavity etc.
(OK here is the part where I will post some pictures of animals all cut up, if you can't take this, maybe move on to the next blog?)
I think I did pretty well with the cat dissection practical - we cut up the cat pretty well and it wasn't too messy.
Another disclaimer (this post is just FULL of it!), all animals you see here were ethically sourced. They were not put down for our purposes, they would still be put down at the end of the day, we are just extending the usefulness of their life.
Our next Anatomy class was on muscular skeletal system.
This time around we were only dissecting chicken wings (seriously its the same ones you buy from the supermarket, we just had to dissect and look at the different muscles and tendon, not the most exciting).
The rest of the animals were shared stations which allowed 3 classes (we are talking 300 students or about there) to view these specimens and not waste them.
The demonstrators for this module are superb! They answer any of our questions, they help procure and prep the animals and so super nice and approachable.
Here we have the horse's leg cut in half to show us the joints
And the musem have very cool specimens that have been preserved for students like us
Honestly I'm having a blast in school so far, it has been fun (but very full on).
Til the next post.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Pre-dog research
My own thoughts on what people should consider doing research on prior to getting a dog.
Owning a dog is something that most people wish to do once they have enough time and money or their own pet-friendly apartment. Prior to adopting a dog, it is always useful to do some research on the dog's breed. Even if the dog is a mix breed, if you are aware of what breed mix it is, it will give you an idea of the energy level of the dog. This information will also make it easier to determine if the dog will be suitable for your lifestyle.
There are tons of research online with regards to dog breeds and how do they fit in various family units e.g. with or without children, living in an apartment or not, do you have an active lifestyle etc.
Animal Planet has this great series called Dogs 101 (they also have Cats 101 as well) and its quite interesting what they tell you on each breed.
Besides all that before you buy or adopt a dog, here are a few useful things to take note of:
· Where is your nearest veterinary clinic
o With regards to the clinic, even if you choose to go to another clinic, knowing where the nearest veterinary clinic will allow you to gauge where you can go in an emergency.
· Where is the nearest / nearest dog boarding house/ puppy daycare
o Nowadays with our busy lifestyles, it is not uncommon to go on holidays or be busy with work. Knowing that you have an option to place your dog in daycare or a boarding house if you are away would definitely provide you with some flexibility.
· Where is your nearest pet store or pet supply store.
o Knowing where the nearest pet store is will allow to plan your schedule with regards to buying of your dog’s necessities such as toys, food, leashes etc.
· Where is the nearest dog run/ dog park
o One of the best things about owning is a dog is spending time with your dog at the park or planning meet up/ play dates with other dog owners. Being aware of where the nearest dog run/dog park is will definitely help and even friends who don't own dogs can also join you at the dog park
When I adopted my mix breed dog Hunter, I did do all the research mentioned above and to be honest, with the internet these days, its pretty easy to get reviews, feedbacks and suggestions as to where to go. It definitely made it easier for me to decide which veterinary clinic I would prefer to go to which was convenient for me and finding out the nearest dog park was rather helpful in bringing Hunter out to burn off all his puppy energy.
In case you were wondering what happened to me, I'm out of school and home for the holidays. I spent 6 weeks volunteering at a veterinary clinic and I do want to post some stuff on it. This blog kinda serves two purposes, one to share what I know with whoever is interested and two kind of a record of what I've done as well.
Besides volunteering, I've been working at a retail shop and bingeing on dramas and meeting with friends.
Til the next post :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Grrrr-oats
Have you guys ever seen any of those funny goat videos on youtube?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL6Ws4i07is
Or the famous fainting goats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ-evIW6_0U
Those are a type of goats that when they are stressed, their muscles all tense up, causing them to "faint" as their whole body stiffens up.
Unfortunately during the semester's farm practicals, we didn't have the opportunity to look at goats, take care of the goats etc. We did cover how to handle the goats and manage the goats as part of our curriculum.
Goats are quite hardy and don't need much care.
There are goat breeds that are good for :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL6Ws4i07is
Or the famous fainting goats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ-evIW6_0U
Those are a type of goats that when they are stressed, their muscles all tense up, causing them to "faint" as their whole body stiffens up.
Unfortunately during the semester's farm practicals, we didn't have the opportunity to look at goats, take care of the goats etc. We did cover how to handle the goats and manage the goats as part of our curriculum.
Goats are quite hardy and don't need much care.
There are goat breeds that are good for :
- Meat - Goat curry any one? I've had Goat Briyani here in Sydney, it was YUUMMMYYY
- Milk - Back home in Singapore, it was quite common for people who are lactose intolerant to order goats milk. Some family prefer to give goats milk to young kids as well. The milk is also used to make goats cheese
- Fibre - did you know that the Mohair yarn comes from the Angora goat? (http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crafts-and-nature/angora-goats-14912.aspx)
Basically there is a pretty good industry for hobby farmers to have a few goats. Even if you don't sell much of the 'produce' if you keep milk goats, you can trade goat milk with friends. There isn't that much demand in Australia for mainstream farms to go and rear goats full time but some farms have 'sideline' of goats to complement their farm.
We had a great lecturer who told us how to care for goats, give us his own experience of keeping goats and honestly if I had a small farm, I would be keen to keep a couple of goats myself (well in all honesty, I may rent some and see if it suits me or not).
Something that I did come across while surfing pinterest is that Google in San Francisco used to rent goats to 'mow' their lawns.
Links from their Google blog:
- https://googleblog.blogspot.com.au/2009/05/mowing-with-goats.html
- https://googleblog.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/goats-are-baaaahk.html
There hasn't been updates on the blog if they have continued this practise in the next few years and I haven't found anything on the internet that say they do but honestly this is a great idea to start off for companies with a large compound which needs to be mowed. The cost (according to the Google site) is similar to lawnmowers but the carbon footprint is much lower. I think that Google has set a great example and more companies should look to doing this.
If you have any examples of other companies doing this, feel free to put a comment. :)
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Examinations and more examinations
Most people don't realise how much Veterinarians have to study for in order to be a vet.
We study as much if not more than Doctors in a sense that we need to study and learn about a whole group of animals as compared to just the Homo sapien.
This isn't to say Doctors don't study hard or Vets are better but just that the general public tends to underestimate how much work is required or how much studying is required just to be a Vet.
I'm at the end of my first year in my Animal BioScience degree (this is the Bachelor Pre-Vet degree) which is still critical since my grades determine if I do get accepted into the Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine later on.
Grousing aside. There are a number of pre-vet courses that needs to be undertaken such as Chemistry, Basic Biology, Cell Biology and we cover Animal Management (hence the numerous vet practicals).
It is exam season and I think everyone is stressed out but generally there isn't an atmosphere of competition amongst us but rather a sense of camaraderie since we are all in this together and we will be classmates for 6 years together. Its nice since some folks willingly send out notes or helpful hints.
Next time you go to the Vet or see Vet students studying, do appreciate how much work they have done to be where they are or how much they are struggling to be where they want to be. This is the same for all jobs and all profession, a bit more appreciation on the work that everyone does goes a long way :)
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
No more farm practicals this semester ~
Prior to the semester break, I had my last farm practical of the semester.
It ended on the practical discussing beef cattle which was pretty insightful as a future vet or scientist.
When it comes to creating your own cattle herd (took me a while to find the right word for it!) there is quite a bit of consideration that comes into play.
1) what kind of cattle are you trying to breed - the desirable characteristics of the breed which you would like to have
2) looking at your environment, what are the kinds of breeds that would be most suitable for it
3) Genetics of the breed - you would need cows and bulls, these days if you were to go out to the market to buy a bull, there would be an evaluated value for each of its characteristics for each breed.
The farm in the school is pretty big with little calves running around.
There were large Brahmin bulls who were kept in pens away from the rest (they were actual used for testing of chemical insemination) and very pretty Charolais cows with their calves and we had a large black bull (whose breed I cannot remember!)
It was a bit of a revision for me since we did visit this same farm earlier in the year for the first semester but with all our farm practicals, classes on farm and animal management, it also drives home the message that farms are essentially a business, if the cows or bulls do not make the targeted weight or birthing seasons, it is in the interest of the farm to sell them.
- more posts to come once I've cleared off my quizzes :)
It ended on the practical discussing beef cattle which was pretty insightful as a future vet or scientist.
When it comes to creating your own cattle herd (took me a while to find the right word for it!) there is quite a bit of consideration that comes into play.
1) what kind of cattle are you trying to breed - the desirable characteristics of the breed which you would like to have
2) looking at your environment, what are the kinds of breeds that would be most suitable for it
3) Genetics of the breed - you would need cows and bulls, these days if you were to go out to the market to buy a bull, there would be an evaluated value for each of its characteristics for each breed.
The farm in the school is pretty big with little calves running around.
There were large Brahmin bulls who were kept in pens away from the rest (they were actual used for testing of chemical insemination) and very pretty Charolais cows with their calves and we had a large black bull (whose breed I cannot remember!)
It was a bit of a revision for me since we did visit this same farm earlier in the year for the first semester but with all our farm practicals, classes on farm and animal management, it also drives home the message that farms are essentially a business, if the cows or bulls do not make the targeted weight or birthing seasons, it is in the interest of the farm to sell them.
- more posts to come once I've cleared off my quizzes :)
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Free Range Egg vs Cage Egg
This is going to be a non-stop ethical debate that both sides have positive and negative comments. This post is really just what we discussed during the practical - there is no conclusive view that would be expressed here. In a nutshell, this is just sharing of knowledge.
Free Range eggs are now all the rage since consumers are more educated, more well-informed and we would like to know that the animals that produce our food are well taken care of, ethically put down (if that does happen) and have their welfare managed. This is for all animals who produce meat, milk or fibre for us.
I too would like to have chickens like that do back in the day where the chickens roam free and are happy plus they have ample food and space. And we benefit by eating their eggs from the layer eggs and for the broiler chickens, they would be make into chicken meat.
What was interesting that I learnt in this prac is that
1) chickens are pretty scared of everything - you, me, larger animals, planes that fly by
2) Chickens can get quite vicious
3) in this day and age of biosecurity, sometimes that free running life-loving, egg-laying chicken is a thing of the past.
The school had an experiment with free range eggs where the chickens had a little door to run out to a small yard.
What was counter-intuitive was that the chickens rarely went out to the yard (since the food was inside). Them chickens all prefer to laze around near the food.
furthermore, the yards should only have short grass since the chickens eat anything and everything and their systems cannot digest the grass (so you get a dead chicken).
The one thing that bothered me the most is that in the free range system the chickens have a larger area to roam so you have more chickens but there will also be canabalism in the coop. To be honest, the quote - survival of the fittest really applies here. If the chicken is seen as weak and is pecked at, blood will drip (duh. from the wound). The bright red blood seems to ignite something in the other chickens and within the day, the weak chicken will be pecked to death.
Gruesome but true.
In egg laying systems where the chickens are well taken care of (although in cages) but have suffient space to move around and a perch - the chickens' condition and feed is more controlled hence it is possible that the cage eggs could actually be 'healthier'.
Just food for thought. Pun totally intended.
Free Range eggs are now all the rage since consumers are more educated, more well-informed and we would like to know that the animals that produce our food are well taken care of, ethically put down (if that does happen) and have their welfare managed. This is for all animals who produce meat, milk or fibre for us.
I too would like to have chickens like that do back in the day where the chickens roam free and are happy plus they have ample food and space. And we benefit by eating their eggs from the layer eggs and for the broiler chickens, they would be make into chicken meat.
What was interesting that I learnt in this prac is that
1) chickens are pretty scared of everything - you, me, larger animals, planes that fly by
2) Chickens can get quite vicious
3) in this day and age of biosecurity, sometimes that free running life-loving, egg-laying chicken is a thing of the past.
The school had an experiment with free range eggs where the chickens had a little door to run out to a small yard.
What was counter-intuitive was that the chickens rarely went out to the yard (since the food was inside). Them chickens all prefer to laze around near the food.
furthermore, the yards should only have short grass since the chickens eat anything and everything and their systems cannot digest the grass (so you get a dead chicken).
The one thing that bothered me the most is that in the free range system the chickens have a larger area to roam so you have more chickens but there will also be canabalism in the coop. To be honest, the quote - survival of the fittest really applies here. If the chicken is seen as weak and is pecked at, blood will drip (duh. from the wound). The bright red blood seems to ignite something in the other chickens and within the day, the weak chicken will be pecked to death.
Gruesome but true.
In egg laying systems where the chickens are well taken care of (although in cages) but have suffient space to move around and a perch - the chickens' condition and feed is more controlled hence it is possible that the cage eggs could actually be 'healthier'.
Just food for thought. Pun totally intended.
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