Hey guys! I live in Philly, and I am looking to get some new animal experiences, possibly with LA. I currently have SA and research animal experience. I am limited as I must rely on public transportation, so no luck getting out to any farms near me. Any help would be appreciated from those of you also applying from big cities!

A neat experience I did this year was to take an AI course from Select Sires, a semen sales company. They conduct a few trainings a year in VA where you pay maybe 200?, and they have a 3 day course where you learn about anatomy, AI and Embryo transfer and of course you practice inseminating cows. The cost of the program is to "rent" the cattle, which were on their way to slaughter anyway. I had to successfully inseminate 12 cows to pass, but was able to do something like 25 because I was good at it. I am sure there is a semen company in PA you can contact to see if they have any trainings.

As for regular LA experience, I had to drive 50 mi RT out of my city all summer to get my LA experience, so I feel your pain. I've heard that you can get barn help jobs that include accommodations but I never went that route as I am more interested in cows than horses.

I had the same problem living in Saint Paul, MN. I signed up to start volunteering at our Large Animal teaching hospital as a neonatal caregiver. It was either that or find something outside the city, which isn't very cyclist friendly :).