Cow poop

The second week of vet school has come to a close, and I have survived it again.  I've realized that the stories I want to tell all deal with my animal handling class, not only because it is the most interactive and hands-on course, but also because it reminds me why I'm going through the hard work of my other courses.  Plus, I think for non-vet people, these animal anecdotes are probably the most interesting.

This isn't to say that funny and interesting things don't happen in my other courses.  In physiology, a course where we have several instructors teaching various units, we have had an instructor the last two weeks who is typically witty and funny.  On Wednesday he was on quite a role, making wisecrack after witty remark, such as (while attempting to say the word "glycerol"), "Glitterol...I mean glycerol.  Little girls just love their glitterol."  Okay, so maybe you had to be there.  But believe me, the hand gestures and tone of voice made it hilarious.  I've also determined that looking at things through microscopes doesn't necessarily have to be dull.  On Thursday, we were having to look at slides and identify the type of stain used on them.  Some of the slides were actually kind of beautiful, in an abstract way.  I wouldn't have minded blowing a couple of them up and hanging them on my walls.

Alright, now for the stories about actual animals.  On Tuesday my half of the animal handling class (we're divided in half, and one group does lab A on Tuesday while the other does lab B, then we switch on Friday) went to a small family swine operation.  It was interesting, as I previously knew nothing about pigs, but not very interactive.  Today, however, was awesome.  After getting a tour of the college dairy, and briefed about various economic issues affecting the dairy industry, we broke into three groups to learn different skills, rotating between three stations.  At the first station, one of the ambulatory service vets taught us how to catch a dairy calf and then tie a halter out of twine or rope around its head.  After we mastered that, we learned how to "flank" a [relatively small] calf by grabbing its flank in one hand, a fold of neck skin in the other, and then lifting up while pushing up and out with your knee against the calf's side.  If you do these moves simultaneously and quickly, you can essentially flip the calf on its side and then kneel with one knee on its neck to immobilize it.  At first I worried about hurting the calf, but we learned how to do it properly, and if you do it correctly it doesn't hurt them at all.  Then we learned how to "cast" a calf (or any size cow/bull for that matter).  You tie a non-slip not loop around their neck, them make a loop around their chest, and one just in front of their hips.  These loops are all from one continuous piece of rope.  Then you just get behind them and pull back, and they just collapse down onto their legs in a sternal position.  The dairy calves are super cute with their big doe eyes, and I really enjoyed working with them.

At the second station, we learned the very basics of doing a physical exam on cattle.  This included sticking our arms up their rectums (rectal palpation).  We didn't learn how to really palpate, but just got a feel for it, and checked their manure for any abnormalities.

Lastly, at the third station we learned how to put pre-made rope halters on adult cows, how to "tail jack" them, where the tail vein is located, and practiced auscultating (listening with a stethoscope to their heart, lungs, and rumen) again.

Overall, it was a great day and I learned that I rather like dairy cattle.