Jordan Thomas
Author: Jordan Thomas | Major: Animal Science | Semester: Fall 2024
Urine For More Than You Expected
My name is Jordan Thomas. I am in the Dale Bumpers College, majoring in animal science with minors in entomology and biology. My mentor is Dr. Ken Coffey in the animal science department and I began my research in the Fall of 2024.
There is a fungus that lives inside of the tall fescue plant that produces compounds that are toxic to grazing animals called ergot alkaloids. When animals eat these compounds it causes their blood vessels to constrict. They do not grow as well, and in extreme cases their tail, ears, and feet can necrose and fall off. The USDA estimates that the United States beef industry alone loses two billion dollars every year to losses in production from fescue toxicosis. My research project is focused on mitigating that loss by using red clover.
When choosing a mentor, I approached several different professors and spoke to them about their research interests and what research their graduate and undergraduate students are currently doing. Animal nutrition may not be considered a cutting-edge field, but without it we would not have animals at all. My mentor, Dr. Ken Coffey, told me up front before I decided to work on his project that the work was not going to be glamorous. I did believe him, but I had little idea what I was actually getting myself into.
My thesis focuses on the effect that red clover supplementation has on diet selection in sheep, and what I imagined I would be doing was collecting what the sheep ate and did not eat each day and weighing it as well as taking samples. However, in reality it was so much more. In our experiment, the sheep have to be fed at the same time every day. We chose 8:00 AM, which means that the people that are cleaning out what they did not eat yesterday arrive at 6:00 AM. After collecting what they didn’t eat–called orts–we begin collecting the urine and feces. Although my thesis will not include data from these samples, our PhD student’s dissertation will, so I got to help him collect these samples. By far my favorite part of the sampling is at the end of each experimental period we do blood samples. When I was talking to the PhD student and he told me we were doing blood samples I asked who was doing them, he replied “you” and I asked from which vein and he said “jugular.” Since we are finished with sampling, next I will get to head to the lab and analyze the samples that we have collected.
My research required mental strength and sacrifice. I was at the barn at 6:00 AM until I went to work or class most days during both experimental periods. Our two experimental periods went through Thanksgiving, finals week, and winter break.
My mentor played a big role in our second collection period. He had hired students to work to feed and collect samples. These student were a big help and are appreciated. However, since the experimental periods went through holidays and breaks our students could not always be there. During our second collection period, only the PhD student and myself were left, so Dr. Coffey helped us with cleaning and getting samples every day that he could. On the days that I spent 5 hours at the barn and 7 hours at work I felt like I could explode, but it taught me that I can do hard things. This research has also given me a deeper appreciation for anyone that has completed a PhD. As a pre-medical student I also have hard days and long hours ahead of me, and this research has helped me realize that I can do it.