Brooke Berlin will be in her third year of college in the fall. She attended UW-Platteville for two years, but is now part of an articulation program through them and will be transferring, this fall, to Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin for two years. Her credits will transfer back to UW-Platteville and Brooke will have a degree in Animal Science and be a Certified Vet Tech! Since she had been a little girl, though, becoming a veterinarian had been a dream. With that dream still in mind, Brooke explained her reason for applying at MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc.
“I wanted to be sure I had enough experience that if I wanted to apply to Vet school someday, I could. I have already had experience with cattle, dogs, and cats. I was looking for something a little bit unique and had always heard about “the pheasants” in Janesville. I did a little research and looked on the website to see if there were any open positions and saw the Research Assistant Technician position. I immediately contacted Sarah Pope, MacFarlane Pheasants’ General Manager. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to get some research experience with another species.”
Brooke was hired on as an intern working with Kate Rollette in the Research Department and tells us she has learned a great deal. She did not have any experience with birds before coming to MacFarlane Pheasants. She said she has learned many facts about birds, but probably the most important skill is bird handling. Brooke has helped in the hatchery sexing birds, candling eggs, setting eggs, and transferring eggs. At the hen barn Brooke learned about feeding, feed conversion, weighing, semen collection, and insemination.
Brooke has enjoyed the atmosphere at MacFarlane. She said, “People are so helpful and willing to help me learn as much as possible.” Brooke would like to thank Kate Rollette, Research Manager, and Keagan Strange, Hatchery Manager for always being willing to answer questions and help her learn as much as possible.
Brooke also appreciates all she learned from spending summers on her grandparent’s farm and her parents for showing her the value of hard work and dedication and for giving her a love for animals. Brooke was an active member of FFA all through high school and has had an excellent education so far at UW-Platteville. We expect great successes in her future. There is no better preparation for success than education and experience!
