After the second year of the vet school with 3 of my friends we went to Pawłowice (around 350km from Warsaw) to make our obligatory husbandry practise of 2 weeks at National Research Institute with all the farms belonging. Once we arrived, we found out that we are gonna live (literally) in a palace, not bad :)
We were divided into 2 groups of 2 people to spend one week on a pig farm and the other on dairy cows farm. With Kamil we went first to a pig farm. We didn't know that it was going to be a really busy week...
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| This is how everything starts, there are several breeding systems, here you can see hand breeding. One female is brought to a male (or vice versa) at a specific time and they are allowed to breed while the handler waits and then removes the female (or male) once breeding is complete. This method is better for management because exact breeding dates are known and the handler has more control of the animals. |
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 Pregnancy diagnose- here with Doppler test. Doppler ultra sound machines are more accurate and can be used over the whole range of the pregnancy period from 26 days to term. They are the most popular method with a 90% plus accuracy. The sounds detected in early pregnancy arise from the changes in blood flow that take place in the large arteries supplying blood to the womb. Movement of the foetus and the placenta can also be detected together with the foetal heartbeat.
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In exactly 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days a sow gives a birth to piglets. Depending on the breed and age (and many other factors) the number of piglets oscilates between 5 up to even 15. b
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| The new borns need a much higher temperature due to their high metabolism rate, one of the solution is a heating lamp. |
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| Since the moment they born, all piglets are very competetive . The weak ones have a few chances to get a colostrum and then mother's milk which is the only food they have up to 3 weeks. |
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| I was in love with aaaaall of them!!! |
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| I found them of the cutiest and smarter animals on a planet |
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| 3 first weeks of their life are filled with fun and they spend their time with a sow. Later on, they are removed to transition and finally grow-to-finish facility from where they end up.... |
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...in a slaughtery house. Very sad but a lot of people don't realize how this cycle works. If you are not able to become a vegeterian try at least to reduce your meat consumption so that seek production can be decreased.
When a week on the pig farm was over, we spent the weekend on a sheep farm, here a couple of pictures |
A second week on a dairy cows farm...
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| The modern facilities let divide the cows into age groups and also due to their reproductive status. |
Here auscultating a cow, looking for an abomasum displacement.
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And for those who think that cows have no character or personality, just take a look at this one :)
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| Feeding time- that was one of my favourite activities to drive this vehicle |
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Here collecting the blood samples
Cow parturition, another amazing experience
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| This one is about to start giving the birth |
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| Many times cows gave birth during the night, so we tried to get one time to have chance and palpate... |
The calfe is removed from its mother just after the birth. Then it is put in a cage, where spends its first days of life.
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| It receives all the vaccinations |
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To be finally sent out (if they are males).
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| What are you looking at? |
Pregnancy diagnose- here with Doppler test. Doppler ultra sound machines are more accurate and can be used over the whole range of the pregnancy period from 26 days to term. They are the most popular method with a 90% plus accuracy. The sounds detected in early pregnancy arise from the changes in blood flow that take place in the large arteries supplying blood to the womb. Movement of the foetus and the placenta can also be detected together with the foetal heartbeat. 
In exactly 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days a sow gives a birth to piglets. Depending on the breed and age (and many other factors) the number of piglets oscilates between 5 up to even 15. b
Here auscultating a cow, looking for an abomasum displacement. 
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