Dana Tsuchida

Today was a shorter day compared to the rest of the week, but nonetheless, it was still a great experience! We visited a farm with about 30 beef cows and injected vitamins and dewormer to them. It took a while to guide the cows to the shoot, and we had to wait until the farmer to come to help us. There were about five cows at a shoot, and we had to climb up the fence to inject them by their rump. When climbing and injecting them, we had to be aware of our surroundings, especially the cow’s horns and their legs to avoid being kicked. During this activity, each student had the opportunity to inject up to five cows.

The road to the farm today was about an hour and a half ride and was very bumpy. Along with some girls, I felt a bit carsick so I was thankful that I packed some gum and motion sickness pills. Today seems to be a review day since we were going to castrate pigs again. Even though I observed many castrations on piglets during swine practicum, I rarely saw castrations done on boars. However today I was able to assist in the one of the castration done on the boars. The testes of these boars were large in size compared to the ones I was used to. Since I was able to castrate a horse early last week, castrating the boar was easier than I had expected. Nonetheless I am thankful for this opportunity! We later also watched Dr. Tesecum spay one of the dogs on the farm. Since the dog had very large ovaries, the operation took longer than usual.

We woke up at 5:00am, which was the earliest during these two weeks. We left Midas, the resort, at 5:30am to head to a farm with dairy cows in order to observe and learn how to milk a cow. The cows were all surprisingly clean, and the owner first showed a demonstration. First we cleaned the teats, hand milked it, and used a suction to milk it. With about 23 cows on the farm, everyone had the chance to milk at least 2 cows. We also bottle fed two calves, which were incredibly adorable!

After eating breakfast at Midas, we came back to the same farm. This time, we learned how to palpate the cow. It was many of our first times, but several people were AI certified. Once entering the rectum of the cow, you have to feel along the pelvic bone until there is a drop. Next you would feel around to the right to find the cervix. Even though it sounded easy and I understood each step, physically doing it was very difficult. In the first cow, I couldn’t find the cervix. However ince the second cow was pregnant, it was exciting to feel the calf inside.

Along with Ruben, we visited a farm with sheep and chicken. I didn’t have much experience with sheep, so I was looking forward to this day. Dividing into two groups of fives, we took turns holding onto the sheep and injecting them with vitamins and dewormer. Personally for me, grabbing the lambs were harder than handling the sheep because I had to pick up the lambs. Compared to other animals, finding the skin on the sheep was harder because of their thick wool. After successfully injecting all 30 sheep, Ruben showed us how to draw blood from a chicken. We all later had the opportunity to draw blood from the wing vein of a chicken.

We also visited a farm with pigs, where students assisted in castrations in piglets. Compared to the boar castration that was done last week, the castrations in piglets were faster and did not require any anesthesia.

Today was a free day with nothing planned in schedule, so we decided to go on one of the expenditures Belize offered, Actun Tunichil Muknal or ATM for short. It is a cave that is also a Maya archaeological site that contains artifacts including skeletons of human sacrifices, ceramics, and stoneware. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in the cave, so we weren’t able to document what we say and experienced. However, it was definitely worth every single dollar we paid. The tour guide was very passionate with cave exploration and described the history and rituals of the Maya people. The expenditure required physical activity, but as adrenaline was pumping in my body I had fun swimming into the cave, squeezing through small spaces between rocks, and climbing up slippery surfaces. As an art history minor, I enjoyed exploring a natural museum and seeing artifacts in their original location. We all had the greatest time in the cave, and I highly recommend people visiting there if they are ever in Belize!