Animal vs. Veterinary Experience

[OSJ]

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From the VMCAS about veterinary experience: "The experiences included in this section should relate to any veterinary clinical, agribusiness, health science, or research experiences that you have had with veterinarians, other health scientists, or other professionals."
Would visiting dairy farms, analyzing business, health, animal care, reproduction, production, etc records on farms with a professional in the dairy field (extension agent with a phd) count as "agribusiness" and "other professionals?"

Also from the VMCAS
"* Giving a dog a shot in an animal clinic is an example of a Veterinary Experience.
* Milking a cow on a farm is an example of an Animal Experience. "

Is giving cows shots as directed by a veterinarian who is not present but ordered the treatments, animal or veterinary experience?

Thank you!🙂

 

[silverelf]

If you weren't working with a vet at the time, I would count it as animal experience. When I owned goats and sheep, I did my own dehorning, castrating, feet trimming, worming and etc...stuff that is often done by a vet. However, since I wasn't working for a vet at the time, but instead running a farm, I counted it as animal experience.

 

[pressmom]

I would count going out with the PhD expert as veterinary experience.
I think they realize that people will come down on both sides of the fence, so they'll cut you some slack if they wouldn't do the same thing.

Also, I agree with silverelf on your other situation.

 

[sofficat]

When I owned goats and sheep, I did my own dehorning, castrating, feet trimming, worming and etc...stuff that is often done by a vet..

how did you castrate them? what procedure did you use?

 

[ckgilabert]

hi, im curious about the castration also 🙂 here at Cal poly pomona, they use the rubber bands. but with pigs and cows they use a razor blade 🙁 well, i guess both methods are a little sad.

thanks!

 

[Spartanvet4cows]

Actually the knife/emasculator method is considered less painful than the band method. Once it's done, they're in pain for a little while but I've heard the band method takes a couple days for the pain to really subside. It's much more uncomfortable. At least, that's what the vet I was working with said.

Back to the OP:
Anything you did with a PhD I would count as veterinary experience. That's what I did with my undergraduate and post-graduate research and they considered that fine.

 

[silverelf]

i banded my newborn bucks and rams...its the easiest procedure to use when you're in middle school and have a fear of knives (at least i did then). Plus, I knew exactly what was right from wrong with banding since I had to dock tails anyways (at least on the sheep)....Its a lot easier to screwup with a knife. And if you do it when they are literally newborns (i.e. within the first few days) it doesn't hurt them that badly...they are far more concerned about being dehorned. You definitely shouldn't band if the babies are more than a week old or so...I never would have done that.

 

[QTkitty]

hi, im curious about the castration also 🙂 here at Cal poly pomona, they use the rubber bands. but with pigs and cows they use a razor blade 🙁 well, i guess both methods are a little sad.

thanks!

OK so I took ovine management at CPP about 4 years ago but when we did the castrating/ tail docking we used emasculator/ burdizzos. I don't remember ever using rubber bands. When I took it Prof. Freeman was allowed to show us the "bite off the testicles" technique haha 😉. I don't think he's allowed to do that anymore... sad day..

 

[Spartanvet4cows]

Yeah, silver, we used both in my Sheep Management class. I saw a vet band a 2 year old bull once....I wasn't really a fan. I think he should have been tranquilized and a knife used. He was a bit wild (beef bull) but I think we could have done it. I agree that bands are a lot easier to use, especially for tails. I've done that on dairy calves and lambs. I don't think the band method bad, of course. I just think it needs to be used at the right time, as you said. 🙂

 

[silverelf]

It definitely needs to be done at the right time. at my undergrad school the sheep program (which i refused to become associated with, because I thought they did a really crap job) docked by banding when the babies were a few weeks old, and the poor things were in AGONY. I had to be in the barn a lot during that period for other stuff that was going on, and I felt absolutely awful for the poor babies.