Fast forward to my sophomore year of college. AVS 145- the first basic Animal Science course. I'd learn everything there is to know about cows, pigs, horses, goats, sheep, chickens, rats, cats and dogs- then get tested on it. A portion of this class would be spent at the University Farm where we'd have labs near the animals, but not with them yet (at least not the alive ones).
One of the more hands on labs was spent dissecting a freshly euthanized white leghorn hen. (Reader discretion is advised). We were to explore everything from the esophagus to the reproductive system. I was paired off with two girls in my class then assigned scissors, a surgical knife, and a still warm carcass. As my professor instructed us to make the first incisions, I turned to my partners to offer up first dibs ( I figured we'd all secretly want it). But they weren't looking so eager and stood back fiddling with their aprons. Some students looked like they were losing the blood in their faces. Alright, I said.. I'll do it!
The dissection really didn't bother me at all, although as soon as I got to the gizzard a heinous aroma erupted, seeping through my face mask. By this time I had lost one partner to lightheadedness so I finished up the lab with my other partner who mostly opted to take a birds eye view (ba-dum-chh). After the lab I gained some surgical skills but lost my appetite for any meal involving chicken.
Fun-fact: The chicken is the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus-rex.
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| The anatomy of a chicken |
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| Checking out the chicken nuggets |
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| My beautiful Momma and her hens! Their eggs are divine. |
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| Elsie (left- A Japanese Silkie) gets the royal treatment in our home. |
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