On a dairy farm it goes on all year to some extent, but since we graze our cows in summer, we have a lot of our calves between the end of one year and spring of the next. It has begun.
It is a dangerous time...the whole having babies and being born business is fraught with many hazards. We do our best to keep them safe, and that includes checking the barn late at night, early in the morning, middle of the day....seems like all the time. Things happen though and sometimes not for the best.
We moved a heifer indoors to calve last night, and I got up about two hours before I wanted to so I could check her. She is fine so far, but I suspect that within a few hours she will have her first baby. Lots of trips to the barn today I guess.
Good luck with your midwifery! Hope all the little ones are girls!
ReplyDeleteYou had me on the edge of my seat thinking that something had already not gone well.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day! ;-)
Hope everything goes well and you have a little one during the decent hours of the day!
ReplyDeleteDo you use a smaller breed of bull on the first calf heifers? Like a Jersey?
ReplyDeleteI hope all goes well & that the little ones come during waking hours. (If you're going to dream, dream BIG.)
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
Have done my fair share of all-nighters in the calving barn, so you have my sympathy. I hope all ends well, even if the initial road is bumpy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and hope you get a little shuteye, at least!
ReplyDeleteJoated, thanks! We are hoping!
ReplyDeleteJune, well, yeah, we have had some trouble, but it is pretty much inevitable, sadly, that you will
Lisa, thanks, we are still waiting on Grace
JB, we have used black angus, and Jersey often in the past, but now we are sold on milking shorthorn for calving ease in the heifers. They don't have a lot more trouble than with the Jersey crosses and the calves are a lot more valuable.
Rev. Paul, thank you!
Wil, thanks, the boss is doing some of the checks for me, for which I am very grateful. I have gotten awful fond of a good night's sleep lately. lol
Jeffro, thanks, we were in the barn fairly late last night and the boss did the early morning check, so me and some Nyquil got a good night's sleep.
All, sorry I am being so slow to answer comments and get posts out. We are just so darned busy...
You are a good cow midwife...I know some of the dairies around here just let it happen. I'm too concerned with our range cows...we've had a prolapse, a breech, and other things to to just wait and see.
ReplyDeleteIn the dairy business I would be even more worried.
Linda
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Linda, sorry to hear you have been having problems like that. It happens sometimes and all you can do is struggle through it.
ReplyDelete