Waking up at 4:45am to see some Aussie farms with a vet in the blazing sun
Early start back into the city
Distance: ~300km
Total Distance: 10559km
Today I was going out with a university vet! We started out at 5:30am, with 2 final year students, to go look at cows south of Sydney. We did examinations and treatments at a number of farms. The day was roasting hot but, after the wettest January in 30 years, the landscape was still green.
The reason for the early start was two fold. We had a 2 hour drive to just get to where we were needed. This was an exciting prospect for me as it allowed me to see some of the real Australia, outside of the city. We passed many townships, farms and houses. There wasn't too much wildlife in evidence. Unless you count the wombat that had been killed on the road. Big solid looking beast, the size of a large terrier but build like a boar.
The second reason for our early start was that we were checking the whole herd to see if they were pregnant. We call this "PDing" for short- pregnancy detection/determination. Thus, having been milked since early in the morning the herd had been put into a small nearby paddock to wait out arrival. Never keep a woman waiting. We needed to be there ASAP.
The herd was relatively small and I helped by moving cattle around for the vet. The sun was blazing down on us, helping my tan. I had time to take in the view of hills, wild forest, hedges, and pasture. In the distance I heard my first wild kookaburra. There were also a few more colourful birds flying around. I'll have to buy a bird book. I don't recognise any of them!
There were a number of jobs to do on a number of farms. We trimmed feet, looked at calves, cows, bulls, and abscesses. The farm equipment, sheds, and yards looked more like the UK or USA than those I'd seen in New Zealand. There was more use of TMRs, Total Mixed Ration (everything they need that the pasture won't provide), instead of NZ's unique use of its well understood, well grown pasture. The dairy cattle are bigger too. More akin to the European and American 700kg cows than the wee 550kg Kiwi Cross. The farms themselves weren't all large, but the size is growing. Many are around 300 cattle, but the size grows as some farms fail to turn a profit and are bought up, or as cooperatives are formed.
It was a great day out for me. By 2pm we were done. Time for Chicken Wizard! This little take away is the vet farm departments go to for the best lunch in town. We got Portugese style chicken burgers, delicious, succulent, and spicy. A good end to the day before I slept all the way back.
The next day I was woken up early. One of my hosts was supposed to be getting the day off, taking me to the train station later on. However her boss had been in a car crash, so she would be covering him at work. Having just been in a crash myself I'm really starting to doubt the Australians driving skills!
Back into the city I went. Much of the day was then spent in the various parks bird watching. Still haven't got a bird book, but I did recognise the Ibis, Cockatoos, and Plum-headed...something. I'll work on it for next time
No comments:
Post a Comment