Even though I am learning and taking classes at Witter they do not bring on the same anxiety my other classes on campus do. Instead of sitting among a hundred students in a high stress environment, feverishly taking notes, and barely absorbing any information, I get to learn by doing. By actually interacting, caring for, and milking the cows I have learned more than I ever could have if I just sat in lecture and was told to memorize information that was only to be forgotten after the exam. The things that I've learned from working at Witter were committed to memory pretty quickly and will stay with me forever because I was learning from my own experiences not just from a book.
Hi all! My name is Dana Agger and I'm a sophomore animal science major at UMaine. Like most science majors, the university likes to keep me pretty busy. It feels like I always have somewhere to be whether it is at the farm milking cows or on campus attending lectures. Running from Witter Farm to the University of Maine campus feels like going back and forth between two totally different worlds. As soon as I turn onto Witter's long driveway there's reassurance in the familiar smell of hay and manure and a certain calm that hangs in the atmosphere. For the time being I forget my lengthy list of "to-dos" and just focus on what the cows need. Witter Farm, as I'm sure is also true for many animal science students, acts as a temporary escape from hectic college life, especially this week while midterms are taking place, and allows me to recharge my brain. There's something really therapeutic in the beats of the pulsator, scratchy cow tongues, wobbly calves, and watching the sun come up while out doing heat watch.
Even though I am learning and taking classes at Witter they do not bring on the same anxiety my other classes on campus do. Instead of sitting among a hundred students in a high stress environment, feverishly taking notes, and barely absorbing any information, I get to learn by doing. By actually interacting, caring for, and milking the cows I have learned more than I ever could have if I just sat in lecture and was told to memorize information that was only to be forgotten after the exam. The things that I've learned from working at Witter were committed to memory pretty quickly and will stay with me forever because I was learning from my own experiences not just from a book.
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Hello! This is Sonja and I’m a part of the UMADCOWS at UMaine. This week I am the production herdsperson and I get to tell you a little something about our lovely bovine ladies here at Witter. I would like to talk a little bit about the digestive system of the cows. Cows are ruminants, which means they have more than one stomach compartment. Humans are “monogastrics”, which means “one-stomached.” This means that cows digest their food differently than we do, and here is how their stomachs work. If a cow lived in the wild they would be hunted by predators, so in order for them to get all the nutrients they need for the day they have to eat as much as they can in a short amount of time. This is where the different parts of the stomach are important. The four compartments of the cow’s stomach are called the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen is where that food is stored at first and it starts to get soft. At this point cows have to regurgitate, or bring the food back up from their rumen into their mouth, and chew it so it is in smaller pieces. This food that is regurgitated is called “cud” and when you see a cow slowly chewing, you are probably seeing them chew their cud. The food is then swallowed again and the bacteria in the other compartments breaks the food down even more. You can tell that a cow feels safe and comfortable when they are chewing their cud because that means that they don’t think that they are in danger from any predators. Here is a picture of our very own Rissi with a big bulge in her cheek that can only be cud! This means she is comfortable and happy.
It is important for our ladies to always have food available so they can stay healthy and produce as much milk as possible. Having food available also makes it so their stomachs are always working they way they are supposed to and it keeps the bacteria levels balanced so they can live long, healthy, happy lives! Little Jasper here is just learning to drink his milk out of a bucket but soon enough he will have his own cud to chew! |
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