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WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
17
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
In the first two years it is lambing, mucking
out stables and milking. After this our
adventures continue in earnest with 26 weeks
of placement with vet practices to be
completed before graduation. While being
perpetually covered in faeces from a variety
of species certainly wouldn’t warm the hearts
of many, this is the state you will usually find
your average vet student in!
I myself am just after a ten minute hose down
after getting gloriously splattered while trying
to aid a new calf who hadn’t yet figured out
where his sustenance comes from. To the
outsider I’m sure it would have been amusing
to behold; a suckler cow in a head gate
finishing her nuts all too quickly while a young
one (me) tries to hold a large, lazy calf up,
open his mouth and squirt some milk into it,
while he struggles to get as far away from me
as possible. It is a feat requiring not only two
hands but also some clever knee work, not
quite an Olympic achievement but not far off.
To what do I owe this pleasure/punishment
?
The family holiday, from which I am mercilessly
excluded as someone has to manage the
homestead and keep the home fires burning.
It is made all the more exciting by the fact
that this is our main calving period, hence
providing me with a wonderful opportunity to
gain hands on experience and improve my
skills, or so they remind me when I question
my aforementioned exclusion. Undeniably
there was experience galore gained but
more than that I gained an overwhelming
appreciation for how hard my father and
farmers work. It is a totally different story
when you’re shouldering the responsibility for
making sure you have live calves and healthy
mothers at the end of the day.
Calving
Chaos
STUDENT DIARY
Eva Kenny
, Cork, Republic of Ireland
Second year student at The University of Nottingham,
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
Holidays.
For most
students they mark the
start of freedom; long
days uninterrupted by
coursework, punctuated
by some part time work
to fund a growing social
life and time to embark
on an endless array of
adventures. For vet
students a slightly
different promise of
adventure lingers in
the air.
It certainly was a summer of new experiences
one of which was starting my placements
with vets. Fortunately I was allowed to get
fully involved and see as much as possible,
helping to banish my exam-induced
semi-comatose state. But alas, when holidays
are this jam packed they are never long
enough. Already third year beckons, and
with it the challenge of completing a research
project. I am happy to report mine focuses
on one of my favourite topics - cattle. But until
then I am rounding up my summer with my
first trip to the city of London!
One of my new arrivals