I read on Homesteading Today about a calf that was born weighing 229 pounds. Now, I've seen a couple of Holstein-Brown Swiss-cross calves that might have weighed near 90, and they were HUGE. I decided to share this article with my friends on Tractor Tales. Someone asked if it's possible to do a C-section on cows. I answered yes, but the cost was probably prohibitive. A farmer got in on the discussion and said that, in Wyoming, it only costs $150 to $200 for a C-section. Amazing. I passed this info along to Cliff, and we agreed that obviously it wouldn't be that hard for the vet: You just make the right cut, pull the calf out, and sew up the cow.
Cliff said, "I've done it; only I never had to sew up the cow."
Oh yeah. I'd forgotten about that.
You see, Cliff worked for years at a country butcher shop.
Sometimes a cow would come through that was obviously very pregnant. Now, the calf inside was going to die when mom was butchered. So, Cliff would do the C-section after killing the cow, cut off the dead cow's udder, let the calf nurse colostrum from it, and bring the baby home.
It was (and I'm sure it still is) against the law to do this. Federal law strictly forbade it, I'm not sure why. You folks won't tell on Cliff, will you? It's been over thirty years now.
Anyhow, I'd bottle raise the babies. Some were so premature that their teeth weren't through and their hooves were soft... but they thrived anyway. I'm sure I must have lost one or two along the line, but I don't remember those. I do recall the several I raised successfully. The first one, a little Angus, I named Bam-Bam. We kept him in a pen with a baby pig, and they were best buddies. Somewhere I have a picture of the pig curled up with the calf, with it's head on the calf's belly.
Years later, when I was raising bull calves on the bottle, I got one that was one born two months premature. We knew this because the dairyman used artificial insemination to breed his cows, and he knew the exact date this baby should have been born. The normal gestation period for a cow is nine months, the same as humans. This baby barely made it past seven months, and yet it did just fine.
This entry is going nowhere: Pay no attention to me; I'm just strolling down memory lane once again. It just amazes me that something born so early can live.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
What it looked like when we went for our morning walk
Oh, and it was 19 degrees. Not wind chill... actual degrees.
Friday, March 2, 2007
Here's your video of Secret
Secret with the horses
You'll hear a lot of wind noise on this video, because the wind is horrible here today. All the horses, even Blue, decided to mind their manners this time, although I was prepared to whack them with the end of the lead rope if need be. Horses wouldn't be so bad to chase cows if the cows would stand still and let them sniff. But what usually happens is this: horses approach cows, cows move away fearfully, horses pick up speed because they want to check out the cows close-up and personal, cows run, and then the chase is on, with the horses winning because they are much faster and more graceful. In the process of running from the horses, cows can be injured in all kinds of ways (they aren't the brightest creatures on the planet). You can't feed horses and cows their hay together, either; the horses will usually chase the cows away from the food.
I'll be putting a different Secret video over at "Just Me".
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Are you ready for another Chonda video?
When you hear this lady talk about her mom, she is talking about one of the dearest friends I've known.
Attention!!!!
Don't you folks worry, I will NOT put Secret at risk. I may just get Sassy and Libby (the two female horses who really showed no animosity toward her) in the closest pen, and let Secret interact with the two of them. All of them are ladies, you know. Gentle folk.
It seems, in a small town, that deaths really do come in clusters. My mom always said if you have to attend one funeral, there will be two more, because they come in threes.
My friend Carol called to inform me that a neighbor of hers, a lady I had once known from the local Baptist Church, and with whom I had worked at a nearby orchard, hung herself yesterday. Glenda lost a son in an automobile accident several years ago, and never really recovered from the tragedy of losing her youngest. Very upsetting, coming right on the heels of a couple of other local deaths that hit close to home.
God have mercy on the families of the deceased.
It seems, in a small town, that deaths really do come in clusters. My mom always said if you have to attend one funeral, there will be two more, because they come in threes.
My friend Carol called to inform me that a neighbor of hers, a lady I had once known from the local Baptist Church, and with whom I had worked at a nearby orchard, hung herself yesterday. Glenda lost a son in an automobile accident several years ago, and never really recovered from the tragedy of losing her youngest. Very upsetting, coming right on the heels of a couple of other local deaths that hit close to home.
God have mercy on the families of the deceased.
I realize my (Secret's) public awaits
I have seen, in my comments, a request for a video of Secret meeting with the horses. Once the weather permits and the mud dries, I'll try and meet your demands (with pleasure, I might add). In some ways, I hate to post videos, because my readers who are on dial-up can't enjoy them. But I'd say we're about due for some live action. So, in the future, look for videos of: Secret being fed her bottle; Secret being led on a halter; and Secret meeting (once again) the horses. It's actually a bit risky to take her to the horses, because they can get downright vicious. Well, at least Blue can. And a horse can wheel and kick pretty darned fast.
But we'll make every effort to do it safely.
But we'll make every effort to do it safely.
A visit to the doctor
I've had a cold for weeks, it seems. In fact I was lamenting the fact that I'd had one way back on January 7, in my Blogger journal. I was still whining on February 18. At times I would think I was getting better, then I'd start going through the tissues again.
So I finally gave up and went to the doctor today. I told the nurse-practitioner I was fairly certain I had a sinus infection and, after hearing about my symptoms and checking me over briefly, she agreed.
She asked if I preferred any certain antibiotic, and I told her, "No, just as long as it's on my 'cheap list'."
"Oh, we can do that," she said. "I'll give you the Dr. G. Special: strong doses of Amoxicillin."
So I'm taking two 500 MG capsules in the morning, and two at night, for ten days. Plus, I have a refill if needed.
Listen, if that doesn't fix me in ten days time, I'll just live with the snot. I hate taking antibiotics. They make me grumpy.
So I finally gave up and went to the doctor today. I told the nurse-practitioner I was fairly certain I had a sinus infection and, after hearing about my symptoms and checking me over briefly, she agreed.
She asked if I preferred any certain antibiotic, and I told her, "No, just as long as it's on my 'cheap list'."
"Oh, we can do that," she said. "I'll give you the Dr. G. Special: strong doses of Amoxicillin."
So I'm taking two 500 MG capsules in the morning, and two at night, for ten days. Plus, I have a refill if needed.
Listen, if that doesn't fix me in ten days time, I'll just live with the snot. I hate taking antibiotics. They make me grumpy.
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