Save for the gluttonous beef bulls, powering toward factory fitness, the swishing of my wet gear as I enter the yard at feeding time is enough to draw each and every animal onto their feet. Scenes of argy-bargy at the feeding faces follow, as competition heightens for the best spot. But, in a straw-bedded corner, one beast doesn’t stir. The feeding barriers that enclose her pen have been removed, it’s a strange sight.
Ten days before her due-date it was evident that she was losing condition. It seemed that twins were imminent. But, D-day came and went. In the hullabaloo of a week that saw nine calves arrive with relative ease, no pass was put on her failure to calve down. One week after her due date she began to calve. Initially, things progressed as normal. The hooves were quite thick, nothing we or the cow; an ‘experienced’ Simmental cross couldn’t handle. Or so we thought. The pull became quite difficult, quite quickly.
“The tongue isn’t moving at all…”
Was the battle lost before it had even started?
It took an almighty effort to get him out. He was a monster with a freakish back-end, who looked to have been dead for some time. Unfortunately, the cow’s calving bed followed. The pull had caused a uterine prolapse. Cue the vet, who was out within 20 minutes to right the situation. After stitching up and giving her a shot he was on his way, not before warning us that she would be doing well to stand again.
He wasn’t wrong. One week later and the best she’s managed is a shuffle across the pen. She seems content, chewing the cud and sitting normally. But, this is a bad sign; indicating that she isn’t feeling any pain. In the last few days we’ve introduced a hip-lifter to stimulate her back legs.
There has been a tiny improvement, but we’ve been advised to get her outdoors. That wasn’t possible in the wet week gone by, but should happen in the coming days. Whether she stands unaided again remains to be seen. It was our first calf born dead in five years. Amazingly, her twin, bred to the same bull calved with minimal assistance the following day.
The only other problem this week has been a cow that, for whatever reason, cannot keep her back quarters clean. The dirt puts the calf off and her milk is backing up. Twice this week she’s had to be brought in and cleaned off. Given that she’s two-thirds Limousin, one-third Charolais; it’s surprising just how much milk she’s producing.
Maybe she heard about the quotas lifting?
Save for the gluttonous beef bulls, powering toward factory fitness, the swishing of my wet gear as I enter the yard at feeding time is enough to draw each and every animal onto their feet. Scenes of argy-bargy at the feeding faces follow, as competition heightens for the best spot. But, in a straw-bedded corner, one beast doesn’t stir. The feeding barriers that enclose her pen have been removed, it’s a strange sight.
Ten days before her due-date it was evident that she was losing condition. It seemed that twins were imminent. But, D-day came and went. In the hullabaloo of a week that saw nine calves arrive with relative ease, no pass was put on her failure to calve down. One week after her due date she began to calve. Initially, things progressed as normal. The hooves were quite thick, nothing we or the cow; an ‘experienced’ Simmental cross couldn’t handle. Or so we thought. The pull became quite difficult, quite quickly.
“The tongue isn’t moving at all…”
Was the battle lost before it had even started?
It took an almighty effort to get him out. He was a monster with a freakish back-end, who looked to have been dead for some time. Unfortunately, the cow’s calving bed followed. The pull had caused a uterine prolapse. Cue the vet, who was out within 20 minutes to right the situation. After stitching up and giving her a shot he was on his way, not before warning us that she would be doing well to stand again.
He wasn’t wrong. One week later and the best she’s managed is a shuffle across the pen. She seems content, chewing the cud and sitting normally. But, this is a bad sign; indicating that she isn’t feeling any pain. In the last few days we’ve introduced a hip-lifter to stimulate her back legs.
There has been a tiny improvement, but we’ve been advised to get her outdoors. That wasn’t possible in the wet week gone by, but should happen in the coming days. Whether she stands unaided again remains to be seen. It was our first calf born dead in five years. Amazingly, her twin, bred to the same bull calved with minimal assistance the following day.
The only other problem this week has been a cow that, for whatever reason, cannot keep her back quarters clean. The dirt puts the calf off and her milk is backing up. Twice this week she’s had to be brought in and cleaned off. Given that she’s two-thirds Limousin, one-third Charolais; it’s surprising just how much milk she’s producing.
Maybe she heard about the quotas lifting?
SHARING OPTIONS