My name is Courtney King, I am a senior at the University of Maine majoring in Animal and Veterinary Sciences. I am not only writing this blog as part of a class, but to inform everyone that the Witter Farm is so much more than a farm but also serves as a research facility. The Witter Farm is a students oyster, and as a senior I can confidently say my best learning experiences have happened here on the Witter Farm.
Currently, I am working on a tick project under the professor Dr. Causey at the Witter Farm. This project involves researching the impacts of deer hunting regulations on ticks and the prevention of tick borne illnesses in Maine. While the Witter Farm offers hands on work and learning opportunities for students with the livestock, it is also the home many wildlife species like deer. Hunting deer with guns is banned on Marsh Island and Mount Desert Island. For this project I manually collected ticks with dragging a cloth around the Witter Farm, Whistle Pig Farm, Highmoore Farm, and East Ridge Stables. A total of 35 ticks were collected and sent to the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension for identification and tested for Lyme disease. Fortunately, the Witter Farm takes great precaution with ticks by mowing pathways, having dirt paddocks, fencing, and the use of tick repellent on the horses. Although deer are seen daily at the Witter Farm, no ticks were found by the livestock but were found on the walking path. Results are to still be concluded as this project is still in the works, but pictures of where I dragged for ticks and where they were found are included below.
Thank you professors and staff at the Witter Farm for these amazing four years!