Hi! My name is Abby, and I am a fourth year Animal and Veterinary Science major. To take a detour from our bovine friends, I wanted to talk about something avian! It’s a known fact among students that we see a lot of pigeons here at Witter farm. We all know the rules about keeping the nets down in front of the doors to keep them out of the barn, and it definitely feels like they are plotting their way in sometimes. Watching from the roofs or the power lines to wait for that split second to make their way inside. While they can be a bit of a pest and it feels like they are constantly watching you, some of them are pretty cool to look at. With so many pigeons who have made themselves home at the farm we’ve seen some pretty cool color patterns emerge. Such as this beauty in the pictures below!
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Hi there! My name is Jocelyn and I am a second year Pre-vet student here at UMaine. We have had a lot of calves born on the farm lately, some of which are beef cows. However, we do not have any beef cow moms here, so how is that possible?
Embryo transfer! Because the Witter Center maintains a strict biosecurity system, it makes it difficult to bring new animals into the farm. So when we wanted to start a beef herd here, the best option was embryo transfers. This would allow us to bring in new genetics, without needing to bring in new animals. So, how does this work? An embryo from an angus cow is fertilized by a Hereford bull to create “Baldy” cattle, which gets its name from their typical “bald” faces. These calves are typically black with a white face. Once the embryo is fertilized, it is flushed out and put into one of our Holstein girls. The embryo grows in the uterus of our cow, and she calves out just as she would if it were biologically her calf. The embryos are also pre-sexed, so we know if the calf will be a heifer (female) or bull (male). It is a pretty interesting process! Hi there! My name is Sydney and I’m a second-year Animal Science major. Before taking UMADCOWS, I didn’t have any experience with cows outside of yelling “MOOO” out the window whenever I drove by cows. This class has given me and many other students important hands-on learning that we otherwise wouldn’t receive in a conventional classroom.
Today I’m going to talk about the importance of weaning calves to ensure they are given the very best chance to succeed later in life. Weaning is the process of moving a young mammal off its mother’s milk. When calves are born their rumens aren’t fully developed and need to be gradually accustomed to digesting feed. The type of food a calf receives when it’s young is very important. You are what you eat! And this is certainly the case for dairy cows. By introducing calves to calf starter feed early in life, they are able to munch on it little by little, even while they’re still drinking milk. Calf starter contains a lot of starch, which is great for the rumen and encourages beneficial starch-eating bacteria to grow and flourish. Once the calf begins to eat starter feed, it will take about 2-3 weeks for the rumen to have enough beneficial bacteria to be able to properly digest grain. Once a calf is able to eat 1-2 pounds of starter per day for a few days in a row, it can safely be weaned! Many farms will wean their calves anywhere from 6-9 weeks old, but it’s up to what the farm thinks is best for the calf. After a calf is weaned, it will usually experience a slight drop in weight, but it will quickly put the weight back on by eating tons of feed, hay, and water. Making sure calves are weaned properly will lead to happier, healthier cows and plenty of delicious milk! Hi there! My name is Carmen Alonso and I am a second-year student in the Animal and Veterinary Science major with a concentration in Pre-Vet. This is my first semester milking cows and I really love it, I have learned so much!
Recently, I got to help with the cows getting their hooves trimmed, which if you've never seen before, can be a pretty funny sight. Josh Russel is the hoof trimmer that does the cows at Witter. First, he had us walk the cows into a chute, then he pressed a button and the cows were gently lifted and tilted so that the trimmer could easily access and trim the hooves. He started by picking the hooves and making sure they were clean, then he went in with the electric hoof trimmer and shaped them so that they were even. This entire process took only minutes and once he was done the cows were returned to the ground and back to their stalls to happily munch on some food. The cows at Witter start getting their hooves trimmed as soon as they are old enough to fit in the chute and twice a year after that. Overall it was a great experience. Hello, my name is Yasmin Yagiz, and I am a third year animal veterinary science major at UMaine. I have learned a lot about the process about milking cows being a part of UMADCOWS. One of the most important steps is to use pre- dip and post- dip. Pre- dip is used to clean the udder prior to milking the cow. It ensures the sanitation of the milk, which is important since we sell the milk commercially. After the cow has been milked, it is important to follow up with post- dip. This dip protects the cow from getting infections after being milked. As I was told during my training, dip is cheaper than cows. We are always very generous when applying these dips, because a healthy cow is a happy cow.
Hi, my name is Olivia Durkee and I am a Junior at the University of Maine. This is my first semester milking cows, and I am absolutely loving it! During my week of being the youngstock on call herdsperson, I was responsible for weighing the baby steers. During one of my first milkings, I inquired about why the boys were fed waste milk and the girls were fed milk replacer. I found out that this is because the waste milk is higher energy than the milk replacer, so it is ideal for having the boys grow stronger. The girls are fed milk replacer because it is more consistent in its components, and it limits the risk of biosecurity issues. This is especially important for the girls because one day they are going to be the ones in the milking parlor producing milk.
Hi everyone! My name is Catherine, and I am a third year AVS student. This will be my second semester milking because I just can’t get enough cow cuddles.
This semester we only have two cows who are supposed to give birth, and one of them, the lovely Rae, decided to surprise us on Wednesday by giving birth a week early. Her calf ended up being a healthy bull who we named Rasputin. Calving goes quick once the cow starts pushing. We got a text from our TA Cam around 10:40am saying to go to the farm if we want to help with the calving, and by 11:20am Rasputin was on the ground. Once Rasputin was born a whole gang of dedicated students swooped in to dry him off and clear his airway, the former being especially important since it is so cold out. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing pandemic no one can come visit this cute baby for the foreseeable future, so enjoy some baby pictures instead! The livetstock industry is one of the most controversial topics when talking about food which makes it very easy for misinformation to spread. One of the questions related to animal agriculture that I have noticed is discussed more than others is, “Why are Dairy Calves Separated from their Mothers at Birth?”. Well, there are two main reasons for this: one is for their safety and the other for their health. After the calf is born, the mother has a brief moment of love and affection for her newborn, however, once this period is over, the mother becomes anxious and starts to look for her herd mates which puts the baby in danger as this can lead to the calf being stepped on. The main reason farmers will separate a calf from its mother is because they are born with no active immune system. This way, we can frequently and effectively monitor them when they are in their individual hutch. This makes it easier for farmers to make sure the calf is healthy and getting the nutrients that are crucially needed!!
Overall, if the calf is not removed away from her mother it might be a danger to her calf by the following; ● Could be stepped on and injured ● Not enough colostrum consumed ● Mother becomes anxious ● No immunity could lead to possible sickness if not monitored Once a calf is on its own some important things to consider would be: ● Tags for their name and birth date ● Colostrum ● Have essential Vitamins/electrolytes handy ● Halter and rope ● Plan a disease-control program ● Give lots a love and make sure the calf is happy!! Hi there! My name is Peyton Beady and I am a second-year student in the Animal and Veterinary Science major with a concentration in Pre-Vet. I am currently enrolled in the UMADCOWS program here at UMaine, which is an in depth program that allows students to get useful hands on experience with cows while getting your hands dirty! For this class, the students are taught the basics of how to run the dairy barn, including everything from milking cows, birthing and feeding babies, doing physicals, giving shots and SO much more. I am from Weymouth, Mass, a suburb of Boston, and I have never even seen a cow in person, nevermind had livestock experience. So basically, I was terrified of cows when I started. I was scared to even go near them, so starting out milking was pretty hard for me. But, this program really pushed me out of my comfort zone, and through each and every milking shift, the people around me, and especially the cows themselves, it became a lot easier to work with and around the cows, and it turned into something that I wasn't nervous to go to anymore. The Witter Center creates a positive atmosphere for the students to be able to grow in their own respective way, from the helpful staff to their evident emphasis around the cows’ wellbeing, making working with the cows that much easier.
When I heard we would be milking cows for 4 hours on end each shift, I was a bit apprehensive. I was very apprehensive, however, after learning that milking shifts are either at 3:45 AM or at 2:45 PM (starting milking at 4:30 AM/PM in order to get a 12 hour interval for the cows). The milking process seems like a lot to learn at first (dip, strip, dip, wait 30-90 seconds, wipe down, attach unit, milk until udder feels done, unattach, post dip, next cow), but once you get into it, it becomes sort of second nature and a pattern that is easy to follow. After getting used to the milking process, being around the cows, and the times of the shift, it turned out to be something that wasn’t all that bad. You begin to learn the way each cow milks out, how each cow behaves (which is good for determining when they are in heat), and which cows might try to kick you if you try to milk them. Morning shifts fly by, as you don't even realize it as you are milking all the cows, pushing feed up (so that they always have readily available food) , feeding babies and so on. A bonus is that you get to see pretty stellar sunrises accompanied by about 30 of your closest cow friends every morning you milk. I’d never imagined that I would be semi-okay with waking up at 3:00AM to hang out with cows, but I guess that is the luxury of being in this program. I have come to realize through working with them a bunch that cows are really just grass puppies, as personable and sweet as dogs are, only with about 1700 more pounds to love :) P.s.- they love to give kisses too! Hello everyone! My name is Elaina Cobb and I am a second year student in the Pre-Veterinary program here at UMaine. The things I have experienced here in this program are unlike anything I have ever imagined for myself. Before this program I had absolutely no experience with livestock, so you could only imagine how incredibly nervous and quite terrified about working with animals that weigh close to or over a ton I was.
During my first year when I was learning the ins and outs of how my next four years were going to go, I learned that I would have the opportunity to be a part of the birthing process of a calf. I was ecstatic. And what feels like a flash of light later, it's October 13th of 2020 and baby Ducky was making her way into our world! After receiving a call at around 8pm and rushing to the farm from dinner I made it just in time to see her come out. I had been watching her mother, Damsel, like a hawk since I had noticed her showing signs of labor at 4 am the Friday before. As soon as Ducky hit the ground it was all hands on deck to dry her off and make sure she was breathing properly. Ducky is an exceptionally adorable baby and fits her name perfectly. Fluffy, very curious, wobbly and heart melting, she won us over immediately. She came out as a perfect copy of her momma! We had to make sure she received her colostrum as soon as she could, unfortunately her mother, Damsel, was not able to produce her colostrum with as much nutrients and density that is needed to kickstart a healthy calf. Luckily, we were prepared for this moment and had back up colostrum on standby from other mothers whose colostrum was at the correct levels. Ducky very carefully and very unsteadily stood up for the first time for her first bottle of the colostrum and ate it all like a pro! Now just over a week later she is the spunkiest little girl. She continues to grow into her personality and her stature and we cannot wait to see what she has in store for us. Both mama Damsel and baby Ducky will continue to be my fan favorites and steal the hearts of everyone that looks their way! |
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