Hole-y Cow!

On Monday my Seminar in Environmental Issues class took a field trip to the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in Truro.  I can now say that I've stuck my hand in a cow's rumen.  As I picked the blue plastic glove out of the box and placed it on my hand I wondered, "How exactly does one access the rumen?"  Luckily, my hand did not have to penetrate any unpleasant bodily access points.  Instead, these cows bizarrely had large holes in their abdomens that could be opened by pulling out a plastic stopper.  The holes didn't seem to bother the cows at all; they kept about their business, eating and defecating as cows like to do.  The rumen had been sutured to the cow's outer skin and the inside edge of the hole had healed around a plastic portal.  This portal could be opened, allowing you to literally reach inside of the living cow.  I put my hand in the rumen and plucked out some of the cow's half-digested breakfast. I tried to be considerate, placing the food back in the rumen once I finished inspecting it.  After all, how would you feel if someone reached in and stole your breakfast?