'Tis the Season
Yep... that's right. It happens every year about this time. All the girls are out there just waiting for the time when that little package arrives. Sometimes it's a midnight surprise, other times early in the morning, but it can happen almost any time of the day.
To the more seasoned, it's no big deal, but to the young it can come as quite a surprise. And sometimes, even with the best planning, things go awry. That's where I come in. I'm in charge of aiding in the delivery, and making sure that things go as well as possible. Today was one of those days.
Today we were out feeding our cattle like we usually do and we happened to see one off in the distance who was definately in labor. What? You thought I was involved in something like Valentines day? Get real.
Anyway... there she was with her tail in the air, and a couple of feet sticking out of the place where feet usually stick out when this sort of thing occurs. So we went home and ate lunch, giving her plenty of time to complete her task. After a couple hours, we came back to check on her progress, and there she was, feet still sticking out. Not a lot of progress and that can mean only one thing. Trouble. So we take a closer look and can tell that she's a first timer. The other glaring oddity is that the feet were upside down, which means even more trouble. Because that means that the calf was backwards, also known as breech.
The biggest trouble with a breech birth, is that things aren't designed to work like that. I've been told that the calf only starts to breathe once the umbilical cord is severed. Usually, they come out head first, so when the cord tears they already have access to the air outside. When they're breech, their head is still inside the body cavity when the cord tears. Unfortunately, that means they can inhale a bunch of amniotic fluid and drown.
Well to make a short story long... we went out and got the heifer, brought her up to the corral, and then I went elbow deep in her to get ahold of the feet, put the OB chains on 'em, and pulled the little sucker out as fast as I could with the calf puller.
The good news? The little guy came out alive, and last I saw them, both mother and baby calf were still alive. The rest is yet to be determined.
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Hey PinTA! Did your mother happen to visit Albequerque by any chance?
To the more seasoned, it's no big deal, but to the young it can come as quite a surprise. And sometimes, even with the best planning, things go awry. That's where I come in. I'm in charge of aiding in the delivery, and making sure that things go as well as possible. Today was one of those days.
Today we were out feeding our cattle like we usually do and we happened to see one off in the distance who was definately in labor. What? You thought I was involved in something like Valentines day? Get real.
Anyway... there she was with her tail in the air, and a couple of feet sticking out of the place where feet usually stick out when this sort of thing occurs. So we went home and ate lunch, giving her plenty of time to complete her task. After a couple hours, we came back to check on her progress, and there she was, feet still sticking out. Not a lot of progress and that can mean only one thing. Trouble. So we take a closer look and can tell that she's a first timer. The other glaring oddity is that the feet were upside down, which means even more trouble. Because that means that the calf was backwards, also known as breech.
The biggest trouble with a breech birth, is that things aren't designed to work like that. I've been told that the calf only starts to breathe once the umbilical cord is severed. Usually, they come out head first, so when the cord tears they already have access to the air outside. When they're breech, their head is still inside the body cavity when the cord tears. Unfortunately, that means they can inhale a bunch of amniotic fluid and drown.
Well to make a short story long... we went out and got the heifer, brought her up to the corral, and then I went elbow deep in her to get ahold of the feet, put the OB chains on 'em, and pulled the little sucker out as fast as I could with the calf puller.
The good news? The little guy came out alive, and last I saw them, both mother and baby calf were still alive. The rest is yet to be determined.
------------------------------------------------------------
Hey PinTA! Did your mother happen to visit Albequerque by any chance?
posted by LL at 3:52 PM
8 Comments:
Well at least it wasnt as bad as last year with the prolapse.
Still a lot of time left...
*insert sarcasm here* Oh, LL you romantic guy you! If that isn't just the best Valentines story ever...;P
Wha? You'd hate for me to step out of character, wouldn't you? :ewink:
There's nothing quite like being elbow deep in a cow, which is why I leave my rubber gloves at home. And there's nothing quite as disgusting as a prolapse, which is why I'm going to think about something else until after lunch.
Hey PinTA! Did your mother happen to visit Albequerque by any chance?
That would require her leaving the house, so no.
Are you sure you didn't get this story from watching City Slickers?
Oh. My. God. You're Jack Palance!
"That would require her leaving the house, so no. "
I guess that means you followed the link, right?
"Oh. My. God. You're Jack Palance!"
Ummm... no. He's got big bucks, I'm just an ordinary average *spit* *twang* guy.
" There's nothing quite like being elbow deep in a cow,"
A truer statement you've never posted.
"And there's nothing quite as disgusting as a prolapse,"
Oh no... there's much worse than that. I'll have to save that for another post though (let the drama build and all that jazz)
Word Ver: ostro -- Finally something that actually looks like a word.
Have you ever read "All Creatures Great and Small"? The book starts with a birth like that, with a young vet up to his elbows in cow or horse (I forget which). Great read.
I think the doctor used a calf puller on me. Just like my parents, using a vet to save a little money.
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