What a day we had yesterday. I had a doctor's appointment in the AM and then did some essential shopping. (With five dogs, one does NOT want to run out of dog food too often.) By the time I got home I was way behind on my daily chores, so I got right at the laundry and dishwashing. I had no more than comfortably gotten started when Erin, a favorite young heifer of mine, walked across the pasture, obviously trying to deliver a calf. (My kitchen window overlooks that field.)Behind her were four other heifers, in an amorous mood, and making her life miserable. They would not let her lie down to have her baby.

I went right out and hollered at them, which stopped them for a bit. However, nobody was around but me, so there wasn't much meaningful that I could do to keep them away from her. I sat on a dog house roof with binoculars and kept a close eye on things anyhow. After a while the kids came home and Ralph came in from the field. He fed the rest of the heifers to get their minds off trouble. Then he and I brought poor Erin down and put her in the cow barn. We are kind of crowded right now, with a lot of calves scattered around the barn, so there weren't any empty stalls. We turned Mango out to use her stall, but another heifer, Wichita, pulled her head out of her stanchion. Erin seemed to want to go there, so we let her. Wichita and Mango went outside with a couple of other heifers.

The guys started cleaning stables and I monitored Erin's calving progress. The long and short of that was that she didn't make any. She was exhausted from being pestered by the heifers on the hill and she was just plain too tired to push that baby out.

I decided to pull it. We like to give young animals plenty of time for calving, since it is better for both mother and baby to take their time. However, this baby looked as if it had a head the size of a watermelon and feet the size of footballs, and Erin had had enough. I grabbed a leg in each hand and pulled gently whenever Erin pushed. Alan kept asking to help, but I didn't want to hurry things, and my strength alone was just about enough force for the task. As the baby's head was delivered at least a gallon of fluid gushed out of her lungs so I guess it was a good thing I didn't wait to intervene. Then the hips engaged in Erin's pelvis and sort of locked in place. Alan's help was welcome then. Although Erin was pooped and the calf much stressed by its delayed entry into the world, by a half an hour later mother was standing and licking her baby, which was also on its feet and quite vigorous. The baby's head wasn't really big at all, just swollen from the prolonged labor. She is a milking shorthorn cross and we normally sell those. However, Ralph likes her so I guess she will stay. I started milking with a feeling of great relief. I really like Erin and I would have hated to lose her.

Then we noticed that Wichita had vanished.
Terrific.... full dark, gates all open because the guys were taking tractors through, and a 1300 hundred pound, almost pure white, beast just up and disappears like a puff of smoke.

It took us until nearly nine to find her. Alan and I drove the car to see if she got down to the road, then teams of two took off to hunt whenever there was a break in the chores. Finally she was discovered, calmly munching grass in the cow pasture. We figure that Mango chased her up there.

Alls well that ends well, but it is a good thing that days like that don't come around too often.