Inside the birthing barn

With the exception of pollen creating a yellow carpet on EVERYTHING on Delmarva, the arrival of spring is a welcome time, especially on the UMES campus. For two weeks, typically the last week of March and first week of April, it’s lambing and kidding season with lambs and kids being born (and cuddled) through UMES Extension’s Small Ruminant Program.

This year in the birthing barn, which also serves as practicum for the school’s pre-vet program, nine lambs and 31 kids were ushered into the world. Some entered with a partner, as there were multiple does that had twins or triplets. One doe had tricolored triplets — one tan, one black and one white. One potential bottle baby was adopted instead by Bertha, the farm’s “oldest and nicest” ewe according to fourth-year UMES PreVet student Carlien Brown.

It was a year notable for an increased number of kids versus lambs, said E. Nelson Escobar, associate dean for extension, and associate professor and small ruminant specialist at UMES. In past years, lambs outnumbered kids.

“For more than a decade, the estrus synchronization approach that we practice has functioned well, with lambing and kidding occurring in 10 days,” Escobar said. “Another benefit of the practice is that we have a very uniform crop of lambs and kids, which facilitates feeding, vaccination, castration and other post-birth activities.”

Typically, in October, the ewes and does are synchronized using a procedure validated by Escobar and a former graduate student. Then, the first week of November, two rams and two bucks join the herd of does and ewes for 10 days. After 35 days post breeding, a blood sample is taken from the exposed females and sent to a laboratory for pregnancy confirmation (BioPRIN®), and those that are not pregnant are returned to the pasture. Prenatal care over the approximated fivemonth gestation period is overseen by UMES Extension student workers and the campus veterinarian and Pre-Vet Program advisor, Dr.

Kimberly Braxton. One month before the lambing date, the ewes and does are watched around- theclock and the lambing bucket is kept close by with all the tools needed to assist (only if needed) and help clean the little ones post birth.

When the lambs and kids are born, data such as the mother’s identification number, the number of siblings born in the litter, sex and birth weight is recorded. After five to six weeks, the newborns are “welcomed to the herd/flock” by receiving an ear tag (right for female, left for male). Students who prove they have the facility and ability to care for the babies have also been known to adopt.

The dams and their offspring are put in lambing/kidding pens, private areas in the barn, to enable them to bond and for the other ewes/ does not to interfere or interrupt. Straw bedding is replaced regularly and the mother’s nutritional care is adjusted to meet requirements. If the temperature is cool outside, the furry little bodies huddle under the glow and warmth of heating lamps. They will remain in the lambing/ kidding pens for up to 14 days, then it’s “release day!” Mothers and their babies are released from their pens to roam about the birthing barn.

“It’s quite a sight to see as all the newborns test out their legs by performing side-kick bunny hops inside the birthing barn,” Braxton said. “They will stay inside until old enough to wean and vaccinate.”

“Lambing/kidding season can be a busy and sometimes gross time on the farm. However, being up close to help Drs. Braxton and Escobar, and even the mother at times, softened my take on the subject of reproductive health,” said third-year transfer Pre-Vet student Shamia

Onley. “Assisting the mother by giving her an extra hand to help push her newborn out and having the hands-on experience was pretty cool.”

“Providing this practicum for our students is such a positive experience for both the students and myself. When they get to be directly involved in the birthing process, I can actually see the spark they have for this profession ignite! Very stoic faces of today’s young adults become literally joyful and amazed,” Braxton said. “UMES is training the next generation of minority/ underrepresented veterinarians, it’s just an honor to be a contributing part.”

What's on the menu? Bugs. Diners sample gourmet edible insect dishes at event

Describing the edible insect series of events held April 3-6 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a “unique experience” would be an understatement. The campus responded with sell-out attendance, capped at 75, to sample dishes such as cricket mac and cheese, and buggy chocolate bark with crickets and mealworms at a Family Bug Buffet and scorpion crackers at a Bug Banquet. The banquet was the culminating event to the weeklong adventure in dining and insect agriculture research. Even UMES President Heidi Anderson was game for the experience.

Celebrity Chef Joseph Yoon of Brooklyn Bugs of New York worked side by side with Paul Suplee, a senior lecturer in UMES’ Culinary Arts Program, creating “delicious dishes” with protein-packed ingredients: edible insects. Fan favorites were the cricket bread with black ant butter and the deviled buggy eggs featuring grasshoppers and black ants.

“I love that we were able to share the tremendous potential and innovation of insect agriculture to address food security, sustainability and workforce activation,” Yoon said. “I was even out in the community and someone recognized me and was like, ‘Aren’t you that chef for the edible insect events?’ It was very cool.”

Yoon connected with Ebony Jenkins, a doctoral student in food and agricultural sciences, while taping a PBS-NOVA project. This led him to the university to help highlight her work under the mentorship of Simon Zebelo, an associate professor of entomology and plant biology.

When asked about the concept of entomophagy, the consumption of insects as a source of nutrition, Zebelo taps his finger to his temple. “It’s all in here,” he said simply.

Although it may seem off-putting for people in the U.S., over 2 billion people around the world currently consume insects as a protein source, Zebelo said. Proponents like himself tout it as “economical, environmentally friendly and the future of food.”

“The presentation (of the dishes) was phenomenal — everything was so beautiful you couldn’t resist trying it. Once you took a bite, it was all surprisingly delicious,” said Carrie Samis, manager for Main Street Princess Anne, who attended the 12-course Bug Banquet with a friend.

“Everyone anxiously awaited the arrival of each new dish. The tempura cicada and the guacamole with ants were favorites at our table. I’m so grateful UMES provided such a unique opportunity to expand our palates and our understanding of entomophagy. I certainly look forward to more culinary events in Princess Anne!”

“The cooperation we received from so many different departments to make our residency such a success was phenomenal,” Yoon said.