As part of British Science Week, children in Housman and Dutton classes took part in Science Farm LIVE with hundreds of other schools via a live stream. We were able to answer questions and post our own questions during the session.
We learnt about A Day in the Life of a Farm Vet, starting with how the vet checks the health of a cow, including measuring its heart rate, taking its temperature and assessing how hydrated it is. Children had a go at measuring their own heart rates by taking their pulses.
We also learned about a piece of technology that cows can swallow that constantly monitors their health and tells the farmer whether the cow’s digestion is working properly, if it’s drinking enough and even if it is pregnant – a very clever bit of kit!
We were lucky enough to see a calf being born on the live stream and watched how the mother cleaned it and checked that it was alright. Being prey animals, cows instinctively want to get their calves up and moving as soon as possible.
We finished with the other end of the digestive system by looking at cow poo and finding out how many insects can be found in it (over 1,000 insects in one cow pat!). We also discovered that dung beetles are beneficial to the health of cows whilst getting food from the cow’s poo!
Hopefully the session will inspire some of our children to consider future careers in farming or as a farm vet.
