Day 3

0900: Arrive at vet school. RM not here yet. The people who work down the corridor are giving me funny looks.

1000: We talk some more about the project, and look at the performance target figures I found the other day. Then we finally go up to the pig farm, so I can meet the farmer, and take all the measurements I need for my research.

Basically, the farm has one old farrowing house, and one new one. The new house is much better in design than the older one, and is easier to manage. My project involves recording the piglets' deaths in each house for comparison. It is hoped that we can find enough evidence (i.e. that more piglets die in the old house than in the new one) to put forward a case for rebuilding the old house, and making it more accessible and productive than the old design.

So we spend an hour talking to the pig farmer, then an hour running through farrowing pens measuring everything I can think of and taking photos of the pens. And the piglets, because they're cute.

Then we go to the dry sow house and take rectal swabs from three groups of sows and gilts to test for salmonella. It's really hard to hold on to the short, slippy tail of an animal weighing over 250kg with one hand, while trying to take a swab with the other, all the time being dragged around the pen by the indignant animal, and crowded by the others! It's a hard life, being a vet!

1500: Took the samples up to the bacteriology lab, where I'll start working with them tomorrow. It's like a maze in there, I know I'm going to get lost trying to find my way back there tomorrow!

1530: Can still smell pig on me somewhere, despite the fact I was wearing a hat and coveralls and wellies over my clothes. Think I'll be having a bath tonight...

1600: Family coming across to visit me for the weekend - arriving tonight!