A Look Back

Emily Corona
UC Davis undergraduate,  3rd year
Major: Animal Science

Memphis playing with the soft brush.

Mud, rubber boots, shovels, buckets, more mud – the typical life of an animal science major at UC Davis. I’m no different; at this point hauling wheelbarrows and stocking feed is second nature. This is what I’ve always loved about the animal science major; be it through classes or my extracurricular activities, I never fail to find myself back in the pen working with the animals. It’s no wonder I was immediately drawn to the holistic nature of the Green Care Lab and its focus on animal cognition. I was incredibly excited to explore my recently chosen specialization of animal behavior in a hands-on environment. 

I’m no stranger to your typical husbandry tasks, from trimming hooves to mucking pens. I consider myself to be fairly experienced with animal care for most livestock species. However, most of these interactions with the animals themselves were incredibly fleeting. With so many animals in one facility, it’s often difficult to truly get to know each and every one of them. The Green Care Lab is the first place I’ve been able to familiarize myself with each individual animal and their respective quirks. The sheer amount of personality every single animal at the lab has is not only adorable, but provided me with such a unique observational experience. It also made observing their own personal growth incredibly rewarding.

I previously had incredibly barebones experience working with equines, which was exclusive to my classes. It was safe to say that meeting the four mini equines at the lab was a bit intimidating, despite the fact that I tower over each of them at a solid 5 feet 3 inches. I quickly learned, however, that these minis each had so much character to love stored in their tiny frames. Memphis, one of the donkeys, was a standout in my first week at the lab. He was never afraid to run up to someone new, eager for neck scratches and pets from absolutely anyone. His personality was very apparent, and his quirks quickly came to light during grooming. Never would I have expected that Memphis wasn’t a fan of brushes, especially considering his love of attention and physical contact. However, as the quarter progressed I saw the power of positive reinforcement training and behavioral observation. In Memphis’ case, brushing needed to be gradual with lots of rewards in the form of pets. It took patience easing Memphis into progressively longer grooming sessions, but he often gave physical cues that allowed the training process to go smoothly. It was easy to tell when the brushing began to overstimulate him, as he’d start to uncomfortably shift in hopes to escape it while still getting his beloved attention. Over the course of the quarter I saw Memphis go from avoiding anyone holding a curry comb to patiently standing in place while being brushed – granted there needed to be lots of breaks and neck scratches involved.

When it came to the goats at the lab, I was well-versed. When I had previously worked with goats, they were typically older and already used to the day-to-day routine of facility life. Cal and Lily, however, were a different case. When I had first walked the goats, they were incredibly wary and spooked easily even inside their pen. They were antsy for food, but averse to being haltered. This made leashing them for walks a delicate dance to ensure they remembered the task at hand without becoming too frustrated at a lack of reward. Once out the door, they made it very short distances before deciding the outside world was too scary for them. Their two personalities became quickly apparent the braver they became on walks. Lily was the more adventurous of the two, and was a lot more patient when being haltered. She always chugged on ahead, excited to find a new patch of weeds to devour or beg for more treats. Cal, on the other hand, was a bit more timid. He always followed close behind his sister, and once Lily decided the walk was over, he was quick to agree. Cal took a lot more coaxing on his walks, and I quickly saw him gain more confidence with each trip. The promise of treats and a nice grazing session drove him far, and he’s braver than ever before now. Watching both him and Lily embrace these walks made me realize the power of positive reinforcement in livestock animals.

Cal on a walk.

Getting to know each animal at the lab, not just Memphis, Cal, and Lily, was an incredibly rewarding experience. Watching them grow and become more comfortable with both my labmates and me was fulfilling, and I learned so much from them. I enjoyed being able to explore animal behavior as a discipline in such an interactive way, watching each animal clue me in on how they’re feeling with each passing day. I’ve learned the importance of working with the animal to complete a task, be it putting on a halter or lifting their legs for picking, and that the key to training is moving at the animal’s own personal pace. Observing their behavior on this basis is key to animal welfare, a field I hope to study in the future. While I’m still figuring out my desired career path, I believe the Green Care Lab has opened the door for me to further explore animal behavior research with livestock.

Olivia enjoying a nice walk after the rain.