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 :

• 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. :)

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 :)

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 :)

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.

Prolapse Uterus in Cows and Horses

I've recently been watching quite a few episodes of the Incredible Dr Pol - on NatGeo TV recently.

I find the show pretty fascinating since I'm still considering which track I would like to take as a Vet.
Do I want to be a large animal Vet? This would mean most of the farm animals.
Shall I just work on Cats and Dogs?
Or do I want to travel the world and be a wildlife vet (and its quite competitive too)?
There is the option of a Marine Vet which goes hand in hand with my love for Scuba Diving.
Or I could also look at exotic pets such as hamsters, rabbits (yes those fall under that category), iguanas etc.

Since I'm studying as an International Student here, I must also consider if there is a viable industry back home on what I choose to specialise in.

Instead of obsessing over it, I'm still a year one student so there will be sometime before that decision needs to be made and the farm practicals have been helpful too.

Dr Pol's TV show on life as a farm vet in the middle of Michigan is great since its a peek into what a farm vet's life is like for me and is that what I want to be when I'm done studying.

Since he is in an area with a large dairy cow presence in the farms, he often assists on cow births on the dairy farm (cows need to give birth to initiate lactation to give us milk - just in case you were wondering) and there has been quite a few occasions where he encounters a Prolapse Uterus.


Now what is a prolapse uterus?
Basically its the uterus moving from inside the cow to the outside of the cow if the cow makes too much effort pushing out the calf and keeps on pushing til the uterus pops out.

Here is a nice site that describes it pretty well (and has no photos for those with a weak stomach)
http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/livestock/aps-07_02/aps-405.html
There are videos on this plus pictures you can google.

It is also an issue as
1) the cow will DIE if the uterus does not go back in (cow = $$ to the farmer)
2) the cows weigh easily 500kg so the uterus is easily 18 kg (this was mentioned in the show)
3) the uterus is quite delicate so shoving it back in takes some effort.

Overall this is a quite common problem with cows and if you are going to be a farm vet, well one of the things you would have to do is to 'fix' the issue with the prolapse uterus of cows.

Additional papers can be found here:
http://beefmagazine.com/mag/beef_prolapse_problems

Some 'light' reading on cows and their anatomy:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2016
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2017
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2015
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/fieldservice/Dairy/perepro.htm

*disclaimer - I own none of the information from the sites I've included, if you are the owner of the sites and you want me to take the link down, please email me. I claim no credit on the information on those sites*

Equine Flu in Australia - 2008 Outbreak

This was something that was mentioned in Class and how PCR could be used in genetics. To me this is quite interesting as it shows how a simple epidemic can break out easily and cost a country thousands of dollars before it can be resolved.

*Note this is a compilation of information from a number of sites which will have their actual links placed at the bottom of the section - none of the information is mine, if you own the information and wish it to be taken down, please email me*

What is Equine Influenza

Equine influenza (EI) is an acute, highly contagious, viral disease which can cause rapidly spreading outbreaks of respiratory disease in horses and other equine species. EI is exotic to Australia (this disease can be contracted around the world but because it is exotic to Australia, it makes the horses in Australia more vulnerable since no vaccine or knowledge is ‘handy’ at the point of the outbreak and even now. ) and would have a major impact on the Australian horse industry if it were to become established here.

Humans do not get infected with equine influenza.

However, humans can physically carry the virus on their skin, hair, clothing and shoes, and can therefore transfer the virus to other horses. 

It is vital that you shower and wash carefully, wash your hair and put on a completely fresh set of clothes (including shoes) after contact with any horses (including your own horses) that might be infected with EI. The virus can also be physically carried on equipment and vehicles. (examples later on in the post)

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horses/health/general/influenza/what-is-equine-influenza

What is the value of the Horse Industry in Australia (this was taken off a site on the Melbourne Cup)

Estimates are that over the year, racing is an $8 billion export industry, with around $1.7 billion generated from networking at the Melbourne Cup (this was based on a post from 2014, possibly even higher now!)

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2014/s4120992.htm

How does this disease spread?

Equine influenza is highly contagious and can be spread by a couple different means. The first is through respiratory tract secretions. Coughing horses can release the virus into the air, where it is spread up to 30 to 50 meters2. It can also be spread by direct contact between horses and indirectly via a person’s hands or clothing or on inanimate objects such as buckets, tack or lead ropes2. Hence the advise from the DPI on washing everything that you use or wear.

http://americashorsedaily.com/equine-influenza-virus/#.VfTpcZ2qqko

Summary of the result

At its peak, 47,000 horses were infected in NSW on 5943 properties, and horse owners and industry workers were facing dark times with major impacts on their livelihood and lifestyle.

This also indicates the importance of biosecurity in Australia.

This also puts in perspective why a country like Australia would have such strict laws on animal import (think Johnny Deep)

More details on the outbreak itself and the summary of it all can be found on the DPI website - 

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horses/health/general/influenza/summary-of-the-200708-ei-outbreak

Biology and me ~ General grousing

If it isn't obvious, you can't do a degree in veterinary science and try to escape from the clutches of biology.

I'm not a biology person. In fact I'm a maths and physics kind of person who loves animals and want to know more about animals.

My first semester (this is my second), I had the introduction course of biology and its main concepts. To be honest I kinda struggled, it was a ton of material which we were covering in one semester and to be frank, the teaching quality wasn't the best :(

This semester, we are delving into the different living systems in Biology (both plant and animals). It is interesting how I find more interest in Genetics as compared to generic Biology. I guess one of the reasons is that the general Biology topic is so diverse when you read one item, it leads on to another item which is linked to a third item. Where exactly do you draw the line when it comes to studying is a bit of a mess.

I don't find it boring to read to be honest, I find it quite interesting actually. The mugging and cramming for this module however does makes me feel like I'm in pain. With two quizzes this semester (it was three last semester so this is an improvement!) I've to keep up with what is going on. The plus point is the final exam has a low percentage so you are not penalised if you are not able to regurgitate what was taught in the 3 hour exam.

Well the first quiz was done and dusted. We knew our grades 3 hours after the paper since it was all multiple choice question. I found myself second guessing quite a few questions and there was those where I just felt - if only i spent more time analysing that slide!!

I'm also glad this is over, now it is time to move on to the next assignment that is due.

Visit to the pig farm

I didn't really have much expectations going to the pig farm for the first time. As a city kid, my nearest contact to pigs are really pork that I bought from the market (fresh market and from the butcher mind you!) or in the sealed packets that you get from the supermarket.

What exactly were we supposed to expect to do in a piggery was not something I dwelled on. That and the fact that it has been quite a packed week in school, I was more than happy to ensure that I made it on time to the farm rather than overthink what I was going to do on the farm.

On the farm

The professor and the farm managers started off giving us a lecture on the types of pigs on the farm, the breeds that we breed today vs what was originally introduced by the European settlers in the country. The differences on the breeds of pigs and how the industry have evolved over the years was also introduced to us.

Well moving on from the academia of things, we all went out to take a look at the sows on the farm. What we were presented with were 6 different sows with numbers painted on them and we were given a description of the fat scores and we needed to score the sows. The importance of being able to recognise the fat score will make a difference to how much you would feed your pigs.

We were also given a small demonstration on how to herd the pigs, you basically use a wooden board to block the head of the pig and try and guide the pig to where you want them to be. As the saying goes, stubborn as a pig, to get the pigs moving along, you may have to smack them on the side, push them along but bear in mind their skins are quite thick so you aren't really hurting them (obviously some common sense needs to be employed, not asking you to take a whip and smack the shit off the pigs). After which when the pigs go along the direction you want them, you give them a nice back rub or a scratch behind the years.

Pigs are surprisingly affectionate, they do enjoy getting rubs and scratches from the humans. Additionally there is a hierarchy within the group. The lead sow is more dominant and would push out other sows to get to the food sources.

Next, we were brought to a small shed to practice our herding skills on the piglets. This is the real hands on part where I went in to the sty and try to herd the piglets of our selected colour (they had a washable paint colour on their backs) and we had to get all 5 of them in & out plus we also need to guess their individual weight.

We left for another shed were we were introduced to the boars in the piggery which were used for breeding and we all had a nice discussion on the cost of boars, the benefits of artificial insemination and since this was a teaching farm, while they will perform artificial insemination, the boars are kept on the farm as a teaching point for students.

Next to the boars was a room where the sows and their 1-2 week old piglets were kept (now say it with me - awwwwwwwww) we all managed to learn how to pick up the piglets and obviously take a selfie.

Overall it was a good day on the farm, we definite learnt more on piggeries  ;)

First Dissection Class

Today was the very first dissection practical of the programme (first one of many more to come as I'm reassured by my seniors). It seemed simple enough, what we are expected to do is dissect a locust, a fish, a squid and a rat to compare their gas exchange systems, reproductive systems and digestive systems. We are each given one locust each to start off and are told to cut up the 'shell' (as I call it) and try to look at the insides of the insect.

 To be honest, despite the diagrams given and a picture in the practical manual, it was still a bit foreign to me. I looked down the microscope and had to orientate myself with the poor mangled insect (yep I didn't do a good job cutting that 'shell' off) and try to match the diagram to the actual insect. After 30 min of prodding, pulling, checking out my friends' insects and what they have discovered, I begin to understand the creature more. What I had was a female locus with a rather obvious set of ovaries or spermatheca (this organ was under debate by the demonstrators during the practical and needs a bit more research to confirm) with no obvious signs of fat but once I recognised the features, there was so much to look at and understand from this one tiny creature. Isn't it interesting to observe from behind the lens and see what they have inside?

 Next came the squid which we dissected as a group. In my opinion, it wasn't as fascinating as (1) I've done the tearing out of the guts from the squid many times before (calamari anyone?) and I also watched a video on youtube prior to class, so I knew what was going on. The best part of this prac was when the demonstrator injected coloured dye into the squid and you could see where the digestion tract lead up to.

 The fish dissection wasn't that interesting either, well (1) we were dissecting the rat on the other side while the others dissected up the fish (2) again, if you are used to cooking at home, the fish guts isn't something you haven't seen before.


 The best was the rat which was quite a large specimen. We had a female rat who wasn't pregnant (there was a group with a pregnant one and we saw the foetus under the microscope - way cool on that!) and her organs were quite easily identifiable. I also did some preparation by watching the same dissection on youtube prior to class. I felt it was more helpful as it definitely made me know what I was doing and I was not just poking around in the dark.

 This is possibly the only dissection practical on animals and insect for this semester but it definitely makes learning much more interesting. Of course it does help nowadays with so much information on the internet to go and watch a few videos on related topics.