fairfarmhand Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 It's official. I am a farmer. For the first time in the 10 years that we've been farming, I had to reach my hand inside a birthing cow and reposition a calf. After I got over the ick factor, it was pretty cool! He was a BIG calf and his front legs were flexed rather than extended, meaning that his elbows hung up on mom's pelvis. I repositioned his legs and my dh got home just in time to help pull him. It's a good thing, because I would never have had the strength to pull him out myself. He weighed about 75-80 lbs. The coolest part was when I found his head in the birth canal, he sucked on my fingers. It made me happy because I knew then that I was working to save a live calf, rather than a dead one. His mama is a Jersey and he is a Jersey/Angus cross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Did you know that the inside of a cow is HOT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Way cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I grew up on a cattle farm. I had to pull a calf when I was 14? or so. Mom was a heifer that was having a hard time, and I was the only one home. I hooked up the chains and pulled and cried and pulled some more, then voila a calf was born. Alive and well. Awww. I miss calving so much. Thanks for the pic and the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I didn't realize the babies were so big!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 He's so cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 I didn't realize the babies were so big!!! That's a good sized calf for a beef momma. For my little Jersey it was ridiculous. My dh was astonished that he was so big. For a comparison, this cow's last calf was about 60 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Well done! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Congrats!! I was always being sent in to reposition calves when I was a teenager. I have long arms and strong hands so I was well suited for the job. As for the size, we had a Jersey last year who had a 110lb calf. We lost the calf though, it was just too massive. Glad you little fella is healthy and bouncing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 That's a good sized calf for a beef momma. For my little Jersey it was ridiculous. My dh was astonished that he was so big. For a comparison, this cow's last calf was about 60 lbs. I have learned so much about farming & animals, between here & the tutorial (in fact, one of your friend's has been part of my education). Some people like to really talk about these things during lunch in the teacher's lunch room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodiesmom Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Oh! Be still my beating heart!!! I want to be a farmer someday....I miss my 4-H roots. :-( Absolutely amazing! Thank you for sharing your little piece of Heaven. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 What a wonderful story!! You must be feeling so empowered. The pic is darling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alef Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Ahhh :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Congrats!! I was always being sent in to reposition calves when I was a teenager. I have long arms and strong hands so I was well suited for the job. As for the size, we had a Jersey last year who had a 110lb calf. We lost the calf though, it was just too massive. Glad you little fella is healthy and bouncing. wow! Poor cow! Did momma survive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 wow! Poor cow! Did momma survive? She did. We kept her around for that year as a nurse cow and then let her go though. She only had three working quarters by that point. We had picked her up from a dairy as a dry cow. Wasn't careful about it and realized quickly afterwards that she had dry mastitis. She lost a quarter over that, bad enough that it mostly sloughed off. The vet had said to get rid of her as soon as we found out she had dry mastitis but I wanted the calf, so I resorted to a lot of old methods my grandpa had taught me and she came through it all amazingly well. The vet had been sure we were going to lose three quarters so only one was a big win. But after losing the calf, we just put her down. I had worked too much with her to stomach sending her to market. She is buried at the far end of the property and went happily munching on her sweet feed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 That's really cool, esp. the part about the calf sucking your fingers while he was still inside. I grew up in dairy country, and my dad's best friend is a farmer. Dad got to help his friend deliver unexpected twin calves--apparently it's not unusual for one to die if the farmer doesn't have an extra person on hand, so it made his friend's day to have both calves make it. Watching a cow calve is really special. I always enjoyed the few times I got to play farm girl at a friend's house, and I remember watching a friend's mom help deliver a calf one time when I was there. My college roommate wanted to be a vet (her dad and grandfather were vets), but she became a nurse instead (figured it would be an easier career/school path to work around a family). Her dream was to put her arm into the back end of a cow, and she eventually got there. She used a retired calf puller (a custom design of her grandfather's) as a pair of bookends in our dorm room. It was quite the conversation piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Life! It's beautiful. We once got to experience chicks hatch and that was the highlight of our hobby farming. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 What a gorgeous baby!!! :) The amazing thing s I learn on this forum! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Oh my, thanks for sharing. Too cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Baby calves are so cute! I love watching them run and bounce through the pasture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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