Food Animal Practitioners Club – Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

The FAPC exhibit will be showcasing the differences in the gastrointestinal tracts of different species. The differences between horses, cattle, pigs and dogs will be discussed, and how these differences in the anatomy of their stomachs affect their diet. We will have pictures and diagrams for the kids to look at and touch to explain the differences.

Rumen fluid from a cow along with rumen microbes will be on display to allow the kids to see the microbes moving around in the fluid. We will discuss the importance of the microbes to the cattle’s digestive tract, and how they cannot function without them. Many people know that microbes exist in their own digestive tract, but are not aware of the importance to microbial populations in animal’s digestive tracts.

Common parasites affecting animals will also be on display. Difference species of worms, lice, and flies will be available for the kids to look at and examine. Short displays teaching how to treat these common parasites will be available so that the students can learn how to deal with a parasite if one of their pets gets this disease.

The Food Animal Practitioners Club is a club at Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine; we have a large group of veterinary students with interests in cattle, swine, sheep, goats, camelids and poultry. Every month we have a meeting with a speaker that covers topic important to animal agriculture and food animal medicine. On Tuesday of each week the club provides rounds for its members, a clinician will provide a case and the students will work through the case as a group discussing how they would treat the animal in a specific situation. Our goal as a club is to provide an opportunity to learn more about large animal welfare and husbandry while teaching about veterinary medicine.