Farm Animals

Empowering Women for Better Lives for People and Animals

Monday, July 27th, 2020

Cummings School researchers study how increasing women’s access to livestock vaccines can improve animal and human health and well-being

A small-scale chicken farmer tending to her chickens, after participating in a survey exercise in Machakos County, Kenya. Here she is explaining to the interviewer some of the problems facing poultry keepers.

Cummings School Farm Donates Eggs to Food Banks

Friday, April 24th, 2020

Even without veterinary students on campus, the school’s teaching chickens remain busy, providing dozens of eggs a week to local people in need On a normal day, the Cummings School Farm in Grafton sells up… Read More

Cold Plasma Is a Hot New Tool in Veterinary Medicine

Friday, January 17th, 2020

A veterinary dermatologist at Cummings School recently began using cold plasma to treat chronic wounds and superficial skin infections in animals

veterinary dermatologist Ramón Almela in the lab demonstrating a pen-like device used to administer cold plasma skin treatments

Clinical Signs of EEE

Friday, August 30th, 2019

Reduce Mosquito Exposure on the Farm

Friday, August 30th, 2019

A viral illness primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is fatal in more than 90% of infected horses.

Grey Percheron mare showing her pretty eye with mosquito on eyebrow.

A World Without Rinderpest

Thursday, July 18th, 2019

Cummings School’s Jeffrey Mariner, who played a key role in eradicating the devastating cattle plague from the wild, weighs in on an effort to destroy laboratory samples of the virus

Backyard Chickens and the Risk of Lead Exposure

Wednesday, May 29th, 2019

Urban dwellers need to take precautions to prevent their egg layers from bringing the heavy metal into the food chain
When Teresa McGowan and her husband first bought their Somerville, Massachusetts, home in 2004, one of the first things they did was test the soil in their yard for lead. It was a recommendation from local gardeners, who knew that produce grown in contaminated soil can be dangerous.

Research has shown that lead is a potent neurotoxin, associated with reduced IQ, attention-related behavior problems, and poor academic achievement in children exposed to it through food or environmental factors.