# Calf due any minute



## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

My coming 8 year old Jersey is about to freshen any day with her sixth calf. I was sure hoping for this week during the warm spell; it reached &#8211;40 some places here about last week. 

Her udder is full and her ampersand is swollen something fierce. Herself, and kids, and the Grand-Darlings like to watch the calf to be kick at the cow&#8217;s belly, a belly seemly dragging the ground. 

There&#8217;s only another day or 2 window in the weather and then we head into the yearly Northern Minnesota two month, deep freeze. A fellow stopped in last week to show me a calf that had been born on straw, in a closed barn, licked fluffy dry, and froze hard as flint before morning.


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## bettie (Dec 5, 2004)

Hi, I am waiting for my cow to have her calf also.I don't think she is in any hurry,but I am ready to pull my hair out!


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Our second calf five year old, Mistie, (very frustrating as she milked for almost two years straight her first lactation) finally calved about 3 days overdue this morning with a beautiful Jersey bull calf. All dad had to see was how pretty it was to know it was a bull. *sigh*
Also had a set of twin buckling kids born this morning to Liliana.  Busy day full of males...

We generally don't lose calves if they are born in the barn during wintertime. A year ago on the 26th I went out to bring in Amity who due the first of Jan and she had already calved. never did find out what the calf was because when I found it the animals had already gotten to it and the telltale indictor(s) was gone. :no: 
Guess I can't complain about Ohio weather too much. It is cold but Minnesota is definitely worse.....though being up on a hilltop we get some pretty cold wind and the snow loves to drift...lol

Here is hoping she calves before the cold and you get a heifer.
Hope you cow calves soon as well Bettie.

We do not have anymore due until Jan 21 (my cow and a first calf heifer) and then two more on the 26th.

However, I will be pacing the floors pulling out my hair with the four remaining does to kid in the next two weeks. :haha:


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Hi to all of you,
May I ask a silly question?  I calve twice a year - spring and autumn. We have a very mild climate in comparison to you but even then can find it hard work getting my autumn calvers through the winter. And yet here you are calving in what must be virtually the middle of your winter with snow, little feed and a high risk of losing the calf - and kids.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not castigating, I'm just interested. Farming over there is so much different to what it is here.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Ronney said:


> Hi to all of you,
> May I ask a silly question?  I calve twice a year - spring and autumn. We have a very mild climate in comparison to you but even then can find it hard work getting my autumn calvers through the winter. And yet here you are calving in what must be virtually the middle of your winter with snow, little feed and a high risk of losing the calf - and kids.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I'm not castigating, I'm just interested. Farming over there is so much different to what it is here.
> ...


 We don't like having a lot of animals, especially first calf heifers in the barn during wintertime because it is so much more work to keep them fed, clean and milked....but some of our animals just end up calving at that point. My cow, Adeleine is five years old. She calved the first time in August I believe. The next time was January 25th a year later with a dead bull calf, last year she calved on January 25th again with a bull calf and she is due January 26th this coming year. She is the last of my line so we breed her back quick in the hopes of getting a heifer before she dies.
Our heifers took a while to start coming in but they are doing wonderfully. Our only issue is we can fit 23 (we have 21 right now) cows in our barn....27 if we take out the space for a maternity pen and the space for the goats. This means we are trying to find space right now for the four coming in in a month. Animals will be dried up long before they are due to go dry but these are generally cows that have been milking past their 305.
However, since we calve out all year round we constantly are having new fresheners coming in and taking up the slack on the cows going dry. So we have a fairly consistent average production. However, we would prefer the majority calve in mid summer (pretty sure it is summer) when prices are higher.
Oh yes and we keep our milking cows in the barn during the middle of wintertime, so they keep the barn fairly toasty (a whole 40 degrees F) and keep the pipes from freezing and breaking so badly.

The thing about the goats is the ones we have are seasonal breeders. They started cycling in September and they generally cycle as late as March but that is pushing it. They have a five month gestation and so December isn't uncommon. Trust me, I do not like them kidding in the middle of winter. Three years ago we lost five of the seventeen kids born because they froze. Now we try and make space in the barn and bring them in for kidding time. We were trying to keep the bucks seperated until mid October to give us late March babies which is perfect timing....but our bucks had other ideas.  
Interestingly enough most people find that the kids born int he winter thrive better than the ones born in early spring..and since most breed their does the next fall the earlier they are born the older they are when first bred.

Probably more than you were looking for, huh? Of course we are a commercial dairy ..I think commercial would be the right phrase.


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Hi, Ronnie,
We milked until 2003 so, my information is outdated.

Here in the Midwest we freshened cows year round. They tended to group themselves into early spring and early fall, though. (I think the hot humid summers affected conceptions during that time of year)

The cows often gave birth in a box stall in a lean-to in the barn, then moved them into a pen in the warmest part of the barn -- the lowest level of what we call a bank barn. There is an earthen hill leading up to the front of the upper level but the cow stable was all in the lower level.

It does not get as cold here as it does in Minnesota! We did have some wool blankets to put over the new borns if needed. But definitely moved them.

The most important thing was to get them in somewhere dry and draft-free. We need ventilation, but not drafts. It's a balancing act in some of the old barns.

I *think* Haggis is in a different situation because I think he wants to leave the cow and calf together? We raised them on bottles and put the dams in the milking string.

Happy New Year!
ann


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Ronney, feed usually isn't a problem in our cold climates and most of us are set up for our circumstances. I'm up in Alberta and it can get mighty cold in the winter and we see a lot of January/February calving but it has to be done right and it is a lot of work. I've had the odd calf at this time of year and they do survive but there are pitfalls. We prefer to calve later on grass but even that has drawbacks because of those late storms. I don't personally feel that you get much extra growth or development with early calving in our climate and tend to think that it takes everything those little guys have to just stay warm but that's just my personal observation and opinion.


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## Jim in MO (May 10, 2002)

Hey Haggis how's your girl doing?

I've always had the best luck with early fall calves but this year our Jersey is due late March.

Jim in MO


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

No news yet.

I bought this Jersey as bred and due January 7 from a fellow in south Central Wisconsin. He has a "banK" barn that never gets below 40 degrees in the coldest winter. He brings his cows in to calve and then after a few days separates them.

Accordng to the vet, my next calves won't be due until April and June. 

I intend to separate the cow and calf to get her back on a twice daily milking routine. After 3 or 4 days, I'll feed the calf on a bottle near its dame and while she is being milked. I figure that I can put a heat lamp near the calf for a few days and keep it in the milk room, out of the drafts and wind.

My barn is open to the South and sits in the middle of the windiest field east of Kitty Hawk.


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Dairy trivia ... all this talk about barns and freshening in the winter got me to thinking ... when FIL was a boy and they put in the milking stable, the cows faced in, facing a double row of mangers with an aisle down the middle. To make it easier to feed in the winter. Because they brought the cows in and tied them there ALL WINTER.  FIL said by spring they could hardly walk. They might have had them spaced out more than we did, using it only as a milking area. But ... wow. I guess it's the same idea as tie stalls but still ...

Good luck with the fresh cow, Haggis! Hope it's a heifer!

Ann


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

cloverfarm said:


> Dairy trivia ... all this talk about barns and freshening in the winter got me to thinking ... when FIL was a boy and they put in the milking stable, the cows faced in, facing a double row of mangers with an aisle down the middle. To make it easier to feed in the winter. Because they brought the cows in and tied them there ALL WINTER.  FIL said by spring they could hardly walk. They might have had them spaced out more than we did, using it only as a milking area. But ... wow. I guess it's the same idea as tie stalls but still ...
> 
> Good luck with the fresh cow, Haggis! Hope it's a heifer!
> 
> Ann


 Our cows face away from each other with a backwalk down the middle. They are kept in for most of the winter in their stanchions. Boy, you should see those old cows prance down the back walk when they are allowed out for the first time in weeks.. :haha: 
We don't like a full barn in the winter because it is harder for them to lay down and get up. Our platforms are five feet long and a good thing too. Our cows are a lot bigger than when it was built and they told my grandfather he was crazy for making them so big.
I don't think our cows have ever stayed in the barn for more than four weeks at a time...and that is pushing it. We let them out when we are able to but are very careful because it is hilly adn ice and hills don't mix well for cows.


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

FIL was the most interested in the cows when he was younger, and most innovative ( um, to a point :haha so they changed how they housed the cows. They added on ... loose housing to the south, a lean-to to the east, made a concrete cow lot with wind breaks on the north side. I think the cows were more comfortable that way.

I agree cows have gotten bigger. The stanchions were not centered in the cow stable (I have no idea why!) but one side was narrower than the other. So there was a heifer side and a cow side. The difference was especially noticeable once switching between Guernseys and Holsteins.

It was a very modern barn in about 1950. DH and FIL added on when DH graduated from high school -- added a couple more stanchions. I guess they got a pipeline in the 1970s.

When we got self-lockign stanchions, DH's Grandpa said it made farming just too easy!

Happy New Year!
Ann


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

cloverfarm said:


> FIL was the most interested in the cows when he was younger, and most innovative ( um, to a point :haha so they changed how they housed the cows. They added on ... loose housing to the south, a lean-to to the east, made a concrete cow lot with wind breaks on the north side. I think the cows were more comfortable that way.
> 
> I agree cows have gotten bigger. The stanchions were not centered in the cow stable (I have no idea why!) but one side was narrower than the other. So there was a heifer side and a cow side. The difference was especially noticeable once switching between Guernseys and Holsteins.
> 
> ...


 We were figuring on a free stall type area for the lowetr produing animals and the cows going dry. We need some cows in the barn to keep the pipes from freezing and they tend to do fairly well production wise.

Heh, we still don't have pipelines. We have a stanchion barn and the bucket system. The inspector is always impressed with how clean our equipment is...but boy does he dislike our stanchion barn! Keeps hoping we will close down.  
One side of our barn has larger stalls for the cows...there are 12 stalls on one side and 11 on the other. The end stalls are also larger and where the older cows end up.
I'm sure it all made sense when they were being built...  

A happy new year to you as well!


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Yesterday mornig when I went out to milk I looked at my soon to calve cow. I thought she had dropped her calf; she apeared so thin. I even spent a bit of time scanning around the paddock for the calf. This morning she still looks thinner but on close scrutiny I could see some calf movement.

I'm hoping the little "heifer" is just lining herself up for the final push.


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Haggis said:


> Yesterday mornig when I went out to milk I looked at my soon to calve cow. I thought she had dropped her calf; she apeared so thin. I even spent a bit of time scanning around the paddock for the calf. This morning she still looks thinner but on close scrutiny I could see some calf movement.
> 
> I'm hoping the little "heifer" is just lining herself up for the final push.


Certainly sounds like it! How are the tendons doing?


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Her tail is sunk in, I haven't seen anything as swollen as her ampersand since the Army, she is fidgety, but still taking her feed with gusto.

I'm a nervous wreck and I don't think she feels any sympathy for me at all.


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## JanO (Jun 17, 2003)

Haggis said:


> I'm a nervous wreck and I don't think she feels any sympathy for me at all.


 :haha: You can bet that sympathy for you is the last thing she's feeling. Sounds like she's getting closer. You just might have a new "hiefer" today, or tomorrow. 

Keep us posted.
Jan


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## Shagbarkmtcatle (Nov 1, 2004)

Hey Haggis, we got your calf. She was born at 10:30 am this morning. Nice little Angus heifer. Her name is Happy. It is over 60 degrees today. It was a nice way to start off the new year. How is yours doing?

Laura Lynn


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

My eldest daughterr tells me that a cows ampersand will change color just before she has her calf, and a color change has taken place. She seems to be pushing a bit but her water has not broken.

Congrats on the new heifer; may she live to have a dozen more just like her, and you be there to see them all reach old age.

It's 21 here without the wind chill and there is a blizzard in progress.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Good Lord Haggis, you can keep your winters. Just about the coldest we get where we are is 40 and I think I'm doing it hard :haha: Any sign of that calf yet?

Thank you to all who replied to my question. Although I know that the States, Europe and the UK barn their stock during the winter, I don't think that I had thought through that calving in some cases has to carry on 12 months of the year, and that in some part of the States spring temperatures are still lower than our winter temperatures. I enjoy reading your posts but wish I could actually see the buildings and farms that you have as sometimes I have no idea what your talking about. 

Comparative to us, you must have huge capital expenditure, on going winter feed costs and your farming must also be much more labour intensive than ours.

Roseanne, no it wasn't more than I was looking for and I didn't realise you were dairying commercially. I take it your 365 days of the year?

Happy New Year to all of you and I really enjoy this site.

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## petefarms (Oct 17, 2004)

just had our 5 year old jersey cow freshen the day after christmas. it was 10 above with a bitter north wind, we live across the road from the st. lawrence river in upstate ny with canada on the other wide, although our winters aren't quite a severe as in minnesota's. maybe you can try to bank the stable or calving pen with bales of hay, plastic sheeting or whatever you have on hand. our barn was cold enough to freeze water that night. the calf was there when i went to do morning chores at 5am. i do try to check as often as possible, hourly or whatever my time allows. hope this helps. i try to keep the barn free of drafts.


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

Ronnie,

The northern part of the USA is like you say. The southernmost part is like your temperatures.

I'm a little below half way, in Virginia. I have Dexter cattle and they don't go in the barn at all. Not even in our coldest times.

They live and birth outdoors.

Genebo
Paradise Farm




Ronney said:


> Good Lord Haggis, you can keep your winters. Just about the coldest we get where we are is 40 and I think I'm doing it hard :haha: Any sign of that calf yet?
> 
> Thank you to all who replied to my question. Although I know that the States, Europe and the UK barn their stock during the winter, I don't think that I had thought through that calving in some cases has to carry on 12 months of the year, and that in some part of the States spring temperatures are still lower than our winter temperatures. I enjoy reading your posts but wish I could actually see the buildings and farms that you have as sometimes I have no idea what your talking about.
> 
> ...


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

OK, Haggis ... what's up?

Ann

PS -- Ronnie, we have friends from church that just returned to their native NZ. (He was an engineer at a local firm and they had visa issues. At any rate ...) When they came, the timing meant two winters in a row for them. Now that they are home -- two summers in a row! Hope they enjoy the change!


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

I give up. 

She refuses to calve, but is morphing into some hitherto unknown beast with a massively ballooning udder and a baboon's nether-region. Her tail is carried at half mast or to one side of her ampersand, and she cannot lay down long without discovering that she had rather lay elsewhere.

The creature inhabiting her great mid-section is still squirming and kicking. I assume that eventually something from the _X-Files _ will burst from her rib cage howling hideously and escape into the vast moorlands to the South of my barn.


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## farmerdan (Aug 17, 2004)

Haggis, Is this your first calving experience? Just let the cow be. She knows when she is ready. Your fidgeting and fussing is probably more upsetting to her than her fidgeting and fussing to you! Our weather isn't too much different than yours in Minnesota. Just make sure she has a dry and draft free area to calve. Give her 5 - 10 gallons of warm weather after she calves and she'll clean her baby up properly. Just be patient. If she needs help, you'll definately be able to tell. In all my years of farming I found that letting the cow do her own thing was better than trying to intervene. What is she bred to? Keep us posted!


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

A watched pot never boils.....

And a cow or goat will not calve or kid until you give up and go to sleep  :haha: ...which is where I am headed, as my three does to kid have kept me up the last couple of nights.....

My father woke up when mistie was calving...of course, she was at the barn and he at the house..he met the new calf half an hour after waking up. After a while you get a sense of these things and can simply feel when something is happening..


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

This is my first cow to calve but I have been around cattle much of my life. Both Grandfathers kept cattle and I lived and worked between their two farms as a teenager and a young man. I worked for a year as a sharecropper on a farm that ran several hundred head of beef cattle and it was part of my job to watch the cattle and help the cows when needed; 99% of the time I was alone.

But, this is _my_ first cow to calve. I don't bother her, I just cast an impatient eye in her direction.

Remember too, in my defense that I've watched and waited all Spring, Summer, and Fall for my bought as bred herd of Milking Devons to calve and not one did. Due dates came and went and nothing, then the abortions started. Their all gone now, except one bred heifer and two open heifers.

Yeah, I'm a nervous wreck, but I'm not bothering the ol' gal.

It was -16 at 9 a.m. this morning.


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## Christina R. (Apr 22, 2004)

What ia an ampersand? I tried finding information on google, but didn't come up with something on the first few hits.


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## evermoor (Nov 20, 2004)

Christina R. said:


> What ia an ampersand? I tried finding information on google, but didn't come up with something on the first few hits.


I don't think you would like to know. Not being as creative as the dear worried Haggis I would only guess it a a private part specifically allocatted to the female gender.

Haggis What you need is a blizzard or Ice storm like we having here. Cows just love to calve during the worst weather. Seeing how minus weather is normal for your neck of the woods. Our Jersey had a little girl on Friday 40 degrees, and the Ayrshire had a dead heifer on Saturday,25 degrees and ice, milk fever on Sunday, 25 and rain, and seems to be doing okay for now, 20 and sleeting on and off.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Christina R. said:


> What ia an ampersand? I tried finding information on google, but didn't come up with something on the first few hits.


Many years ago I was reading some stuff written about or by Davy Crockett, and in it he meantioned shooting some varmint or another in his or her ampersand. I didn't know what it was either, so I hunted it down and it seems to fit for the area under the tail of most beasts; "&". 

I've never looked at the "&" symbol quite the same way since.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Haggis, when dealing with pregnant women, the ligaments soften a few days before she gives birth. That means that no matter WHAT position she gets in, she is just not comfortable. Her center of balance has changed, her back aches, and nothing feels right.

Unlike you, I have no experience with cattle. But, when you mentioned how restless your cow was, always changing position, it sort of rang a bell.

I hope it's a heifer!


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

Haggis, Is the minute about up yet? Will you be passing out cigars?


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Anything? Did she freshen yet?


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

It seems that minutes last a long time here at Wollf Cairn Moor.

Nothing yet, but she ought to have exploded by now.

Her ampersand looks more like an appendage and is fluttering in the slightest breeze, her belly and udder are near to dragging the ground, and she won't let her tail down much past half-mast.

Herself says what some of you folks have been saying, "When her water breaks, then take an interest." She went on to say that was the way I was with her and the bairns as they came along.


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## bettie (Dec 5, 2004)

Haggis, How is your cow doing? I am still waiting for my calf.


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## Valmai (Sep 29, 2004)

Christina R Thank you for having the courage to ask that question. I had sort of guessed it was the vulva but didnt want to look stoopid by asking :haha:  .
As it turns out when you asked it it didnt sound stupid afterall.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

It was -16 at 10:30 a.m. this morning, having warmed quite a bit since earlier when my Jersey "Dingle Berry" refused to let me touch her udder this morning. It appears that cold hands and nearly frostbit udders do not mix.

My soon to be mother Jersey has six inch long mucous icicles havng from her ampersand and clinging to her tail.

I fear I shall die an old man before this old gal gives up her calf.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Haggis, our Dolly (6 yo Jersey) had mucus strands off and on for a week!! Do you have any tubes CPMK ready in case of milk fever?? You may not need them, but if you do, there won't be time to get them.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> Haggis, our Dolly (6 yo Jersey) had mucus strands off and on for a week!! Do you have any tubes CPMK ready in case of milk fever?? You may not need them, but if you do, there won't be time to get them.


Thanks for the tip! I do not but will call the vet and the feed store and see if I can round some up. She does not have a history of Milk Fever, but things do change.

The "Mother To Be" has for the last 7 months hurried to the fence to be petted or scratchd behind her ears when anyone came near. Today she is off in a corner alone, won't even let the other cows near her, and has no interest in being petted, scratched or even looked at from afar. She just stands there shifting her weight on her hind feet from side to side.


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

Haggis, You should have a calf to bring in out of the weather by dark.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Yep, I should say it's on the way  Look forward to the update after all this waiting.  

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## JeffNY (Dec 13, 2004)

Someone commented to leave her be, IMO keep a close eye, no matter how many you have had. We had had our share of animals born, and it pays to keep a close eye on them. I have been in the same boat haggis. We had a Jersey and her udder was huge, tight, umcomfy, etc. We kept watching and wonder, when the hell will that pressure let up. You do get concerned, well not long after, approx 2-3 days she had her calf. The udder was huge, and she did fine when we stuck two calves on her. The udder went down, she was comfy. We also have a hereford, and her udder last year was massive, big for a hereford. She was uncomfy, but managed, herefords are tricky buggers. Jerseys tend to show a visible "drop" while a hereford doesn't as much. Our one cow Aquarius had a calf at 14 months, one of those accidental things. We were watching her and noticed she had a huge hay gut, we did not expect a calf. Her poondendum (its what I call it) was getting swollen, we still just shrugged it off. We had NO idea. Well one day, my father says "A cow is calving". We ran down, and went ***? It was a total surprise, never expected this, we got the calf out, called the vet, he cleaned her, gave her a shot. We got her up, but man that was a shocker. This heifer was a big as her mother at a year, if not bigger. Since then, she has had 4 calves. Her first we still have and has had two, with the 3rd coming this spring. It is amazing how jerseys can pass a calf like that, atleast something with a Jersey genetics in it. Our one Jersey passed a 80lb calf once, not a problem. She did it standing.. My mother drove in, she didn't calf. Literally 5 minutes later, my mother went down and there was a calf. Talk about quick!


But your cow will pop, they always get you wondering, as long as the calf is healthy, and kicking. Have you considered twins?



Jeff


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## farmmaid (Jan 13, 2003)

We have a camera hook-up to the barn. We can watch and listen without bothering them. They are @ $300 for the wireless, just set and plug them in...worth EVERY penny!...Joan


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Before I went to bed last night I went out to check on Our Lady of Perpetual Labor and she came over to the fence to have her head scratched. She still had the mucousicles hanging from her but no calf.

At 4:30 this morning she was white with frost (it was -42 in the barn) but no calf. 

When I went back out to milk it was -32 but no calf, and as I write the mother to be is chewing her cud and catching some rays.

I'm beginning to think her ampersand is frozen shut!


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## OD (May 25, 2004)

Well, what calf with any sense at all would come out when it's -42. It would have to be crazy!!!! It will probably wait till April.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Some folks say we reached -50 here about, but all I know is it was chilly out.

My poor old Jersey is just laying in a stall leaking all manner of mucousicles and fresh makings hanging from her nether regions. Sometimes she lays her head back on her side and closes her eyes, and sometimes she just looks off into space with the "thousand yard stare." God love her old heart.

I fed the girls some fresh hay and Lucy is generally the foremost trencher mate among this little group group of five, but she didn't even get up to look at what I was serving. 

It's only supposed to get down to a about 1 degree tonight, so at least it will be warmer. 

I've been around quite a number of calvings in my time but they were 20 or more years ago and someone else's cows. This time it is nerve racking.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Holy doodle Haggis, am I correct to understand that you are at 50 degrees below zero  I thought it gets cold up here but we don't often see -40. I'd be hanging onto that poor little baby too if I were her. I've successfully calved out cows at approximately -25C and thought that was a poor idea that I'd rather not explore again but never that cold.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

The National Weather folks up at Embarass, Minnesota just 20 miles from here had -44, but a lot of the lower areas will have 5 to 10 degrees below them on a regular basis. As I remember my physics classes from college -40F and -40C are one and the same. Some chilly for sure. My little 3 month and a bit old Jersey heifer was snow white with frost this morning; in the barn!

At 4:30 this evening there was about a three fot long rubbery bit of mucous hanging to well below Our Lady of Perpetual Pregnancy's hocks, but now she's up and eating again.

Now the weather prophets are saying we'll have -2 tonight. The calf will be in for a ride and a half if I miss it during the night.


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## JeffNY (Dec 13, 2004)

She might be waiting, they can and will hold off. Our Jersey did this, and calved at the right moment. They are funny animals.



Jeff


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## Valmai (Sep 29, 2004)

Sheeesh Now *I'm* getting anxious


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## vtfarma (May 6, 2003)

This is why we control when ours breed. We keep the bull away until July - August. Then they are pregnant over the winter and deliver April to June. They have fresh grass for them and the calves. There is no sight better than a calf kicking up its heals in the spring. Even then we had our first calf born here below freezing the end of April. Got to love the north country. (Oh - we are in Vermont)

Any calf yet?


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

I'm wondering ... I'm sorry if I missed some of the details earlier and this has been discussed earlier.

Is she really bagged up? Was she really a heavy milker in the past? Is she really far past her due date?

I wonder if she is sort of borderline into milk fever and/or Ketosis and her body doesn't have th calcium to give her muscles the oomph to get teh job done.

Have you checked her ears when she's inside -- do they feel unusually cold? (Colder than you wouild expect at -50 ...)

What does her breath smell like? If it smells weirdly changed could she be going into ketosis?

Do you have some milk fever drench? Energy drench? (We got these from our vet)

Hope she freshens soon for you.
Ann


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Any news this morning??


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

No news.  

She was off her feed for a while yesterday evening and then by the time I milked she was back on top of the feed pile. She is still taking her feed well this morning but no calf.

Her udder is full to bursting and she has all of the signs of being in labor but nothing is continuing to happen.

Her actual slated due date is today but I could have sworn she would already be leading the little tyke around.

She is slick and fiddle fit so I don't believe there's anything holding her back except just doing it.

The weather is to warm a bit over the next few days, maybe as someone has described she is waiting for the warm break in the weather?


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## MRSSTEAK (Nov 12, 2004)

I have a Black Angus, (Daisy) and with her first calf she also unmentionables coming from her unmentionable for a good week. I know what your going through, she was MY first cow too. I think my Hubby was getting jealous because I was spending more time in the barn than I was with him. That was 5 years ago. This spring will be calf #6. She has had a calf every year since and it never fails, it's always in the middle of the night. I don't worry so much any more, she has never had a problem and we use the same bull every year. I usually just wake up and there's a new baby in the field. But then mine are calving in May and June so I don't need to worry abouth the cold weather. Keep a close eye on her, it will be any time now. Are you getting up at night to check her? I did with mine.  Good luck and let us know when we should celebrate!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Did you get some CPMK?? Our Dolly (a Jersey) never had problems with milk fever, but about a week prior to dropping her calf, she got real wobbly and started staggering around. DH kind of poo-poo'd my concern over ketosis and milk fever, but didn't say a word after she started staggering and we dosed her up with some CPMK and she stopped staggering. It was still another danged week though!!
She's just waiting for the warm spell.


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Official due date today? On an 8 year old Jersey? No problem then. Older cows tend to go past their due date regardless of whether it is a heifer or bull. They also tend to have larger calves than a first time freshener..which is probably why they go over..more time for baby to develop inside.
Hopefully she is waiting for a break in the weather.


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## GoldenWood Farm (May 31, 2003)

LOL now I am getting anxious!! And I don't even own cows! I am a goatie person. I happened to come across the thread when I was bored(nothing to read on the goatie forum) so I saw this and was like "hey that looks interesting". So now here I am :haha: . Any news Haggis? I am kind of in the same boat as I am waiting for my boer doe to kid(he due date is like in 3-4 days but she looks ready to POP! Hope you get a huge beautiful hefier for all the long wait!

MotherClucker
*anxiously awaiting haggis's calf :no: :haha:  *


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

To borrow from a well known book, "Nothing persists in happening."

She, at times, appears to be in labor or just noses through her manger for some blade of dried grass superior, in ways known only to her, to all of the other blades of dried grass from the same bale.

Sometime she chews her cud calmly and contemplates the "Big Bang" theory as opposed to the "creation" theory, and tiring of that she tries to solve the riddle of the Gordian Knot without the use Alexander's opposable thumb and a sword or axe. She seems to think the Gordian Knot may have been similar to Pieranski's knot, but without a chance to study them both closely and at length, she is uncertain. She then returns to the water tank for another drink; she finds that she has been very thirsty today.

I have beaten trail through the snow to the barn that has now become hard as flint.


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## GoldenWood Farm (May 31, 2003)

Heeheehee...
Sounds like she's got you on your toes :haha: . I can't talk though since I my self am waiting for my boer doe to kid...]

MotherClucker


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Haggis -- I don't know if you a church-goer or not -- but odds are she will freshen right about when you should be out the door to church (or brunch with the family or the chiropractor's or where-ever else you should be!)

Ours seemed to choose 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning ... or some midnight when the in-laws were vacationing and we were extra busy ...

In the spirit of extreme helpfulness (as DH's cousin said when he offered to book the well-known Windsor bar-band "The Love Cows" for our wedding reception ...)

Ann


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## evermoor (Nov 20, 2004)

Haggis, Nothing like impatiently awaiting a new arrival. At least this gives you time to second guess everything ,double check supplies, and practice the fine art of sleep deprivation. Do you happen to have some frozen colostrum or powdered replacement stuff in case the mother to be has a problem with her milk or worse?? I always consider it a safety measure since often our cows don;t have enough for a calf the first go. We will also pre milk any cow that is leeking or getting a lot of edema, this eases the transition and help with the impatient waiting .


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Dear old Lucy leaking mucous and looking a mite "slobbery" around her business is now laying down and from time to time straining a bit.

In between these "contractions" she continues her thoughts on the Gordian Knot. If I may make so bold as to speak on her behalf, she seems to be at odds with the more modern interpretation of Alexander thinking "out of the box" in his cutting of the knot to untie it. It is her humble opinion that Alexander nullified the riddle by destroying the challenge. Alexander, she recons, solved the riddle of untying the Gordian Knot in the same way a farmer might solve the riddle of repairing a sagging barn roof by burning down the barn.

Then it's back to pushing a bit and wondering why I spend so much time staring at her backside (Herself is starting to wonder too!).

The other five bovines sharing the barn paddock, the five Peafowl, 12 Embden geese, 2 barn cats, and numerous refrugee chickens at large from their coop show no interest in Lucy's progress. I tried explaining the situation to them but was interupted by a young man asking permission to coyote hunt on the back 60. After some strange looks from him when he inquired as to whom I was talking, I have decided to cease these "out loud" conversations with the livestock; at least until I have checked about the barn for visitors.


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

Haggis, Are you sure that cow is bred?


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## vtfarma (May 6, 2003)

any news yet? _Our_ first cow to calve was pregnant for a good 15 months ... no not really it just seemed that way!


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## Jena (Aug 13, 2003)

If your cow is up and down, up and down and obviously straining you should have a calf within an hour or two. If there is no sign of progress (no legs starting to come out, etc) call the vet as there is a problem.

If you are not sure if the cow is really in labor, ask a woman to look at her. Labor is labor and us females know when we see it!

Jena


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## farmmaid (Jan 13, 2003)

I know your weather has been cold. Does she have a good dry stall with lots of straw to calf in. She may be waiting on the weather and a protected area might help her "decide"...Joan


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Maybe if I had went out to the barn at 3:30 instead of 4:00 this morning I could have saved the little guy. Herself made me bring him into the house to warm him, but his eyes had already turned to glass and he wasn't shivering.

Herself cried, but I told her it was about -15 in the barn and the wet hair on the calf would have frozen the moment it was born. Hypothermia would have set in even before he was out of the birth canal.

The after-birth has not yet passed but the vet says not to worry for another day or two. He also said that milking her a bit might trigger its expulsion.

I milked her out as much she would let me, but she wouldn't let her milk down, so I got less than a gallon; and she's a heavy milker.

I knew when I bought her and the fellow said she was due the 7th of January that it would be hit or miss to save the calf, but these things happen. I could second guess myself for the next 20 years and it wouldn't change a thing; the little guy had the odds stacked against him from the moment of conception.

Note to self on this one; breed to calve during the short Northern Minnesota summer: June, July, and August.

So it goes at Wolf Cairn Moor,
Haggis


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Haggis, I'm sorry it ended poorly for you, that's one of the drawbacks of buying bred cows from others. You always seem to get stuck with their dumb ideas or mistakes, if breeding her to calve now was a mistake, they could have spent a few dollars and aborted rather than that kind of mess. I sure hope your luck improves cause I know you've had a hard year.


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your loss. And this will sound insensitive but isn't meant to be, but at least it was a bull and not a heifer.
To help her clean, offer her lots and lots of warm water. The milking does trigger contractions and that is why milking helps, too.


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## Hopeful (Oct 6, 2004)

Haggis, I am so sorry. Me and the kidlets have been following this story since the first post. Not sure how I am going to tell them. Better luck next time.

Liz


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Lucy, the Jersey cow who had the calf, is naturally beside herself. She sniffs the spot where the calf was born and then comes to me mooing as if wanting me to fix everything and give her calf back to her. 

I know that animals are not human and I know their understanding of the world around them may not extend much beyond a knowledge of where to find feed and water, or how to get out of the wind, but there are times, special times, when they appear to have a much better grasp of their personal affairs than a husbandman would prefer.

These situations tear at the heart strings for weeks and sometimes for years into the future. This little calf's life was short and full of suffering, but he has taken some part of Herself and me with him in his departure. We waited all of these months for his arrival and weren't able to save him when he came.

Such are the tradgedies of homestead living. Maybe this is why homesteaders have such a deep affection for their wards. They aren't just animals, they are part of our extended families bondng to us, feeding us, entertaining us, and drawing us into their worlds for better and for worse. 

Thank you to everyone shown an interest and concern in this event. I have really needed and appreciated the support.


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## Christina R. (Apr 22, 2004)

Hello Haggis,

My computer at home is fried, so when I was checking on the posts Fri., befroe I left school, I was going to jot you a note saying I couldn't wait until Monday came around and could read all about your little one's arrival. Here it is Monday and no arrival. These gals are lucky we love 'em so much. Then again, I guess it was a good thing no one was pushing me to have my kids on a certain day (especially the one that was FOUR WEEKS LATE!!!!!!). My fingers are crossed that you have a break in the cold, a daytime delivery, and a heifer for all the wait. Blessings to you!!!


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Well, shoot. ... sigh ...

ann


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## dosthouhavemilk (Oct 29, 2004)

Haggis said:


> Lucy, the Jersey cow who had the calf, is naturally beside herself. She sniffs the spot where the calf was born and then comes to me mooing as if wanting me to fix everything and give her calf back to her.
> 
> I know that animals are not human and I know their understanding of the world around them may not extend much beyond a knowledge of where to find feed and water, or how to get out of the wind, but there are times, special times, when they appear to have a much better grasp of their personal affairs than a husbandman would prefer.
> 
> ...


They really do understand things more than most people give them credit for. When Frosh calved the first time she had a dead bull calf. We went down to bring her up and she did not want to leave it at all. It took forever to get her up to the barn.
Then Adeliene (older sister) calved a couple years ago in a snow storm, early. I went down to bring her up and was crushed to see she had calved early. She is the last in my line of animals. She took me to where her calf was and I searched adn searched for it but could not find it anywhere. She kept looking at me expectantly, hoping I would uncover it and bring it back to her. No such luck. Inches of snow had fallen since she had had it and it was covered. I found it later. It was a bull calf, who looks as though he was born dead. It was horrible seeing her looking at me and wanting me to find it and bring it back to her.

They can definitely tear at our heartstrings and sometimes you just have to harden your heart in order to move on with those you still have. Rejoice, she is still here and help her to move on.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

So very sorry to hear of your loss, Haggis. It's never, ever easy. 

Offer Lucy some warmed, watered down molasses and continue milking her. Save that precious colostrum - you never know when one of your family or one of the animals will need that special nourishing.


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## herefordman (Aug 24, 2004)

Sorry to hear that Haggis, it really bites when the anticipation is dashed like that, I know when ours are ready to calve I have trouble staying away from them, and just can't wait for the little ones to show up.
It does take a chunk out of you when you lose one.
You've had a tough year, hopefully things will take a better turn, good luck.


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## evermoor (Nov 20, 2004)

So sorry to hear of your lose. Things things always seem to happen when you least want them too. A couple years ago a beef cow at had a calf late one cold winter night. Since I was working night and milking very late/early I came upon this poor ,little calf. We put her in the tub warmed her up gave her colostrum with a syringe. She lived in the basement for a long time. Eventually she would lose the tip of her nose, ears, tails, and hooves were deformed. She never did walk normally and went around on her front knees. We did raise her for a couple of years and are eating her. I feel guilt for this, because even though we saved her( even just to eat her later) the quality of the life pains me. I'm not sure if this makes sense but maybe I should have not found her ???


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Lucy's after-birth delivered about 1:30 this afternoon in the exact spot where her calf had been born. She isn't bawling for her calf as much as this morning, and she is eating her hay very well.

Lucy came 'round to the milk shed after I had milked Dorsey and waited her turn. She still kicked a bit when I took hold of her teats, and she didn't let her milk down very well, but she did come to be milked, and she did stand. I milked out all she gave and gave her a ration of dairy feed in trade.

God love her old heart.


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## JeffNY (Dec 13, 2004)

Well, its your choice but, GET A CALF! Find a youngen from a farm, work with her, and she will take to it. Jerseys make awesome mothers, we did the same thing to our Jersey. Got a holstein steer, and she took to it after a couple weeks. In fact, she mooed for the darn thing when they got seperated. We had a hereford loose its calf, came out, and was dead. We had to articulate its head to get the calf back in, and then pull it out. We went down, bought two calves. One was a Jersey Heifer, the other a Jersey bull calf, and stuck them on her. She kicked, but we worked with her, and she took to the heifer over time. She had enough milk to supply two hungry beaslys. The heifer we still have, and will be calving late August into September. It wont hurt her, and will be a bonus calf for you. Get after a heifer IMO, will be worth the time and effort.


But I was going to say "it might be a bull calf". I figured that because we had some do this, and take forever before they calf. They look ready, act etc. Then don't calve! Well it seems the late ones tend to be bulls, atleast from what ive seen. The heifers seem to come faster. With horses, the males take longer to develop. But, there is a possibility, unless you did see it alive when it came out. It might have been a still born. That can and does happen, and happened to us once. Hereford calved, was a still born. It was warm and wet, but dead on delivery. As the saying goes $h1t happens!



Jeff


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## Valmai (Sep 29, 2004)

Haggis I am really sorry to hear about the wee bull calf not making it. At least the Lady is in good health. And yes they do understand more than many people give them credit for. According to 'folk lore' over here a bull calf tends to take about 10 days more to 'cook' than a heifer.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

Bad luck Haggis, I think anybody who own cows knows the disappointment of losing a calf. 

On the plus side it sounds as though you have an awesome milker - it's such a boon when they come in on their own to be milked. Give her another 4 or 5 days for her milk to come in and you'll be complaining about having sore hands  Did you buy that milking machine?

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## Jena (Aug 13, 2003)

I have a friend in Alberta, Canada who calves in Jan/Feb. She has to immediately get to the calves and put them in a warmer or they will die. They sit in the warmer until they are dry, then they are fine.

One trick is to feed your cows in the evening starting at least 6 weeks prior to calving. Feed them at 5 or so in the evening and they will all calve during daylight hours. She told me this and I have found it to be true. Too late to help this time, but perhaps it will be of value to someone else. I practice this just to make life easier during calving.

I don't think there is anything sadder than a momma cow with a dead baby. They are so pathetic in how they moo over it and seem to beg you to do something. Animals know more than we want to give them credit for. Once I sold a horse. I hauled her off. When I came back the other horses came running to the fence calling for her. They knew she should be in the trailer, but she wasn't. I had always thought the horse being hauled called first to cause them to come over, but she was gone. It made me sad that I sold their friend 

Jena


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## Christina R. (Apr 22, 2004)

Haggis, I am so sorry for your loss. Not all the messages must have pulled up yesterday or I would have seen that it had already happened. My heart is with you and hope that you are doubley blessed in the future to help with the hole in your heart now.


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## farmerdan (Aug 17, 2004)

Haggis,

Sorry to hear about your loss. Give Lucy a good neck scratching for me. Regards to you and yours!

Dan


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## fourwinds (Dec 4, 2004)

Haggis, I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope Lucy's feeling herself soon!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Jena, I'm also up in Alberta (maybe we're neighbors) and if a person is calving in winter it can't be done without hotboxes (homemade or prefab) and a selection of vet essentials. We always feed in the evening and we've never had a moonlight baby but it's something that has to be done all along or at least long enough to establish a pattern but you can't start the week before delivery. I prefer to calve a bit later on grass but it's not uncommon to have springs storms that foil that plan and then it's back to hotboxes or blankets warmed in the dryer.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

I milked out Dorsey this morning as usual, and Lucy stood outside the milk room waiting her turn, and as soon as she entered the stanchion she started pouring milk from all four faucets. I kind of felt like I was just in the way trying to milk her. She still kicks a bit, but just at her teats when I start milking one or the other, not at me.

I fed and watered the chickens, cattle, rabbits, and other varmints. My son and I went and got a load of firewood to saw and split. (My firewood guy didn't bring my firewood this past summer, so we're spending every Tuesday or Thursday getting a load of firewood worked up.)

My son and I laid out a quarter of beef to to thaw and work into hamburger. It took all day to thaw even enough to cut up. I did the evening milking and came back to finish cutting up the beef about 9 p.m., and with the last cut I boned out the top of my thumb! Herself turned pale, got weak in the knees and started to go down, so now I've got her in one arm and trying keep from dripping blood all over the kitchen. 

I kind of looks like my thumb has a hound dog's ear hanging from it. :haha: 

She wanted me to go to the Hospital ER, but I'm a big fan of Duct Tape. In this case Duct tape wouldn't work; it wouldn't even stick, and it's hard to keep the hound's ear centered while the tape it pulling at it. I guess I hit a vein or something because it's really leaking in a big way. 

I finally wrapped it pretty tight in some strips of an old tee-shirt and put Duct Tape on that. It was still going pretty good this morning so we went to the drug store and got some antiseptic, gauze, and some better tape. As I write it's still leaking but the Doc says it's too late to stitch it so just keep it clean and apply pressure to stop the blood.

It was pretty tough to milk this morning with one hand and trying to keep the other hand clean, but we got it done. Kind of like me typing now; doing both with a limp.

I was counting the days until the milking machine came in; now I'm counting the minutes.

Such is life at Wolf Cairn Moor, there is always something exciting in the works.

Haggis


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

"I milked out Dorsey this morning as usual,"

Should read "yesterday morning";sorry.


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## cloverfarm (Jun 1, 2004)

Haggis -- Playtex gloves are wonderful things. You might try a pair, especially with the mangled hand.

Be careful out there ... DH's uncle spent a week in teh hospital with blood poisoning from a hand injury.

Ann


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## genebo (Sep 12, 2004)

Haggis,

I used super glue to hold my hand together when I cut it so deep. It worked great and came off right when it should.

I think the doctors use it a lot now.

Genebo
Paradise Farm


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

Super glue it and hide it in a latex glove; both good ideas. When it stop bleeding I'll glue it shut and be good as new.

Thanks a heap!


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## Christina R. (Apr 22, 2004)

My daughter, who works as a nurse in intensive care, said she'd super glue it (in the hospital they use glorified, sterile super glue). It may scar, but it's probably not your first scar  Wish I could be there milking for you (which says a lot knowing you are at -degrees in temp.). Glad to hear Lucy is making the milking easy.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

Oh jeez Haggis, what rotten luck! First the calf and now your hand.  

I am just coming in here at the end of your story, but wanted to offer my condolences.

We lose quite a few winter-born calves on the farm where I work and I always do the same thing (second-guess whether they would have made it if I had just gotten there a half-hour earlier).

A lot of the time, even if they do survive, they get pneumonia within a week or two and we lose them to that.  

I know it's customary to breed back around 60 days, but with your brutal winters, perhaps you should wait an extra couple months? Just a thought ...

Hope that hand feels better soon. OUCH!!!


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

AAAGGGHHH...

HAggis, I hope that your hand heals real soon.

When my husband was a kid, he worked at a meat cutters. They all wore gloves made out of fine chain mail. A good meat cutter rarely needs it, but I have it on good authority that even a great meat cutter needs it once or twice.


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## Haggis (Mar 11, 2004)

The thumb is doing alright as long as I stay inside the house. The meat and skin that were cut loose freeze within a few minutes outside; and I all but live outside. My new milking machine's intake filter freezes too at the temps we've been having. The vapor off of the hot milk travels trough the vacuum line to the filter then freezes and clogs it.

It is some aggrevating: can't milk with both hands due to the cut thumb, my good hand freezes numb and useless in the cold air when milking by hand, and the new machine won't work very long due to the freezing filter.  

They had -54 this morning in Embarass, just 20 miles away, but one of our milk customers had -56 just 5 miles from here. We don't have a thermometer around here; it would freeze me to death to look at it.

I'm not sure what to do about breeding for year round milk out of two cows. I suppose one could aim for April and September calves? Dorsey's due to freshen again in April but then I wouldn't be able to breed my just freshened Lucy again until December after she's already dry, and that just won't due.


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## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

Haggis, you don't have to wait 'til they're dry to breed them back!

60-90 days is the industry standard. 

In your case, I'd leave Lucy open 'til the end of June. Breeding her then will give you a late March-early April calf. 

If Dorsey freshens on schedule, you could breed her back at the same time (unless you're trying to space them out for year-round milk production!). Handy if you're doing A.I. and using shots to bring them into heat at the same time.


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