Over the course of the summer, I was involved with the feeding and maintenance of 24 large gilts and barrows to test the effectiveness of conjugated linoleic acids to promote lean gain. My specific duties included measuring feed for each feeding that occurred twice a day, inspecting the hogs for any major injuries that may have occurred and remedying them as injuries became relevant, and general maintenance of pens. The hogs also rooted up the dirt floor they were housed on. It was necessary to use a shovel to repair the holes caused by the hogs every day. Every Tuesday, the hogs were worked and processed. This included weighing the hogs, taking an ultra sound of their loin eye area and back fat, and drawing blood for further processing after the hogs were snared. I was subject to do all of these activities at any time, so I had to familiarize myself with each procedures of the assembly line.
I am extremely grateful to have participated in this project because of the number of skills I have acquired. The majority of my time was spent repairing pens with a shovel. This was extremely beneficial to me because it taught me that hard work and a continual effort certainly pays off. After each day pens were repaired, the hogs were much more pleasant to work with and seemed to cooperate much better. It also made every person working accountable for their actions every day. If one person did not show up or slack off a day, the entire team would have to work harder to compensate. Accountability also carried into the feed room as well. One must be meticulous to properly measure feed every day. If one was careless and measured feed wrong, the whole study was jeopardized. These things were the labor intensive facets of the project. We were also taught how to properly separate blood and store these samples effectively so they could be analyzed at a later date. We became familiar with a centrifuge which was used weekly to separate the blood samples into usable serum and plasma. Lab experience is an invaluable resource; this experience will help me in the scientific community of employment by being more accountable and by being fluent and precise in the laboratory. I am extremely grateful of my opportunity to work on this project and will use the experience gained in future employment positions.