By Madison O’Connor
Profile
Mason HS
1st Place
Division 3, News Writing
Human Interest Feature
As the rumble of the truck’s engine dies down, senior Alec Boomer and sophomore Dakota VanFleet pull on their boots and stand in front of the big, white barn. Hidden back behind the athletic fields and largely concealed by a cover of trees lies the Mason High School Agriscience Facility. Many students don’t even know it’s there.
But as Boomer and VanFleet walk up to the barn door, the deafening bleating from the sheep makes it seem impossible that anyone could overlook the place.
Going to the barn is not an unusual activity for VanFleet or Boomer. It’s where the two Zoology students care for the ewes and lambs. It’s where they go every day to fulfill their chores for the class. And when one of the ewes gave birth to lambs on New Year’s Eve, they were the ones there.
“Yeah, I ended up having to pull a lamb because it was breached, which means it was coming out backwards, so if I wasn’t there, the lamb probably would not have made it,” VanFleet said.
VanFleet, who had never helped birth an animal before, didn’t think twice when the ewe needed help birthing the lamb. She acted quickly and was able to help deliver “Lucky.”
“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” she said. “I kind of didn’t even think about it because I knew I had to get the lamb out, but when I pulled it out, it wasn’t breathing, so I had to get its heart to start, and you do that by rubbing the chest or clearing the nose by pinching and then pulling.”
Boomer, also present that New Year’s night, was able to help with the process of delivering the lambs, and it was a new experience for him too.
“I’ve worked on dairy farms and beef farms my entire life, and I was comfortable with the situation, but it was also different. I’ve never birthed lambs, I’ve only birthed calves, so it was awesome.”
In addition to the lambs born on New Year’s Eve, the first lamb was born on Christmas morning.
The lambs and ewes in the barn are looked after and cared for by the students in the Zoology and Veterinary Science class. Not only do students help birth the lambs, but they also help process the lambs through tagging their ears, banding their tails, and giving them vaccinations.
“I’ve really learned how to take care of different kinds of animals. We went over all these different types of issues that could happen when the sheep were giving birth; how to feed them; what different stuff they would need; and all these different things,” VanFleet said.
Of the ewes that had lambs, one gave birth to the barn’s first set of triplets, despite being scanned for twins.
It’s often difficult for ewes to nurse three lambs, and as a result, the mother was largely disregarding “Tiger,” one of the three lambs.
“We’ve watched him pretty closely, monitored him and all that, but it wasn’t going to go well long-term,” said science teacher Pete Barnum, who teaches the Zoology and Veterinary Science class. “Alec Boomer has that lamb now and it’ll be artificially reared. Tiger is at Alec’s house, and if everything goes well, he’ll be taking Tiger to the fair.
Working with the lambs has made an impression on Boomer. By taking the Zoology class, he has learned how to work with animals that are completely dependent on human support.
“It’s definitely had an impact on me. I understand better now that not everything can take care of itself, I’ve learned to become more helpful to things in need, and I definitely have more patience now than I had before.”
Working with the sheep also generates interest in what the Zoology students are learning in the classroom. It’s a largely unconventional way of learning, and VanFleet, who wants to become a large animal veterinarian, thinks the extensive hands-on learning puts her on the right path for her future.
“I mean, I’m definitely going to be able to apply this to my life when I’m older, because this is what I want to do, so it’s just made me more excited for when I’m older and when I get to work with animals full-time,” she said. “I love working with animals…I really like [the class] and I love the experience that you get with working with the animals. It’s better than looking at a book or seeing videos of other people doing it. You definitely learn a lot more.”
Barnum sees the effects of hands-on learning every day in his Zoology class. He believes the opportunities his students have to work with the lambs can do more than just teach them about anatomy and skeletal structure, but can actually create greater individuals and encourage personal growth.
“A lot of students have never had to care for anything, and…that can really push kids out of their comfort zones,” he said. “My philosophy is there’s no growth in your comfort zone. I actually enjoy that aspect of it a lot because I think that it, in some small way, creates better, stronger young people. That’s kind of the reason I’m a teacher, I guess. Some teachers like to teach biology, some teachers like to teach chemistry, some teachers like to teach whatever. I do this because I like to teach young people…I think they like the challenges. And all students get that in different ways; it’s just very rewarding as a teacher to see certain students really step up and really get into it. I recognize that not everyone is going to be comfortable enough to do that, but man, it’s really cool when the ones who grab on really grab on.”