But in NMSU's animal science department, professors combine classroom instruction with life and death experience. Students do a good job when on duty. They're conscientious and observant and it makes a difference to overall productivity to have 600 eyes instead of six watching the flock. Adams moved around the outside pens, the white vapor of his breath rising and mingling with that of the sheep and dissipating in the frosty night. He looked for signs of labor, a ewe pawing at the ground, neck arched, straining to deliver a lamb.
Most animals give birth unassisted, but a helping hand is critical when an animal is in trouble.
Students have to make their judgments in the dusty shadows of corrals or the gloom of the barn, by the blurry beam of a flashlight, their thoughts interrupted by the bleats or bellows of distressed animals. Students must be able to identify the difference between a normal birth and one that is abnormally messy, signaling complications. They have to decide whether to wait, help with the delivery or make a call for help. You'll get to see calves born naturally, and you'll probably get to see one helped. You've got to know what to look for.