University of Sydney veterinary students gain practical experience at Gunnedah piggery

Sara Orpin, Andrew Sokolnikoff, Brittany Labelle and Jessica Choong left the big city to take advantage of the rare opportunity to gain valuable practical experience as part of their veterinarian degrees.

The students were up to their elbows in mud during the week, with the grounds quickly turning into a quagmire from consistent rain and the vast paddocks flooding from a break in the Namoi River’s banks.

Piggery production manager Melinda Fortier said about 40 students visit Leon’s Pork each year, living on the property and working in the sheds.

“There aren’t a lot of piggeries in NSW that allow students because of the high biosecurity,” Melinda said.

During their time at the piggery, the students assisted with numerous tasks such as cleaning, and weighing, feeding, vaccinating and pregnancy testing livestock.

“We’ve pretty much had a rundown of exactly what it’s like to run a piggery,” Andrew said.

Highlights included performing an autopsy on a recently deceased pig which is a ‘very rare experience’ according to Melinda.

“One of the things students miss out on in uni is that they get a lot of frozen organs to work with,” she said.

“We like to have students here so they can go out and learn for themselves. They get to come and be hands-on and experience all the elements. And it’s good for us because it means that we continually need to know what we’re on about, and teaching keeps us up to speed.”

Brittany said one of the best parts of the week was watching a sow give birth from beginning to end.

“Really, the whole trip has been a highlight,” fellow student Sara said.

“It’s been great to get outside and work with pigs.”

Jessica said they were able to do so much more in the piggery than they expected.

“[The staff] are big on educating others,” she said.

“It’s been really hands-on. It’s been really enjoyable. It’s been hard work but it’s been fun as well.”