Being in Haiti was an experience
for all of us, no one really prepares you for what you will see or hear, but it’s
a great experience to get the opportunity to have. While we were there each one
of us took the time to talk to the agriculture students at the university,
about the practices of agriculture at home, since it’s A LOT different than it
is in Haiti. It worked out perfect, because each one of us Ag students come
from different backgrounds, our professor that went on the trip Meghan, and
Mitch have great crop farming back ground, Dalton and Kyle come from Hog
raising backgrounds. And I was kind of the odd one out, I come from a dairy cow
and goat operation.
One day while we were there we went
to look at the universities goat herd, which was one thing that I was
interested and excited to see how it compares to some in the United States. In all
reality what they have or did, doesn’t compare to operations in the U.S, it was
basically an open pasture, that didn’t have much grass, with 25 goats. The
animal science professor from the university came out to talk to us about the
goats, and he grabbed one and then started to show us what he was talking
about. On this particular goat he had, she has an infection in her ear, he was
then explaining that he was going to treat the infection with some antibiotic.
But like any person with a farm animal background, you have to be care what you
give an animal, because if that animal is pregnant that medicine you give it
could abort the baby she is carrying. With
this goat, the professor started to explain how they preg check, which is not the
most ethical thing, and something that no one in the United States would ever
think about doing to their animals. They preg check by, cutting off the goats
airways, and waiting for its 2 back legs to shake, once they begin to shake,
they let go so the goat doesn’t pass out. When they let go, if the goats pee’s
its pregnant and if it doesn’t she open. Me being from a dairy goat operation, I
didn’t believe in the science of it and told him I wouldn’t try that on the
goats at home. But whatever was Floating his Goat!
