The "Convincing" Process of Grafting a Calf.......

We have had two sets of twins this year. Both mommas took both twins.  (yes, sometimes a momma cow will walk away from one of the twins)  A momma cow can raise twins but it's pretty hard on her, unless she's a milk cow (meaning she has tons of milk, which neither of these cows did). It's also hard on the babies.  Neither will get the nutrition they really need. We've handled twins in different ways in the past, depending on the situation. We've let a momma raise both twins because she seemed to have lots of milk (I sure felt sorry for her by the end of summer. She was skin and bones),  we've supplemented twins with a bottle (which was a pain in the rear end),  and we've taken one twin off and made it a bottle fed baby (real cows milk is always better then the replacer milk).  The ideal situation is to graft one twin on to a different momma, one that has lost her calf. (which I guess really isn't ideal, since that means you lost a calf)  Anyways..... This year we have lost two babies, so we were able to put a twin from each set on a different momma. The first grafting went very smoothly. The new momma accepted her new baby right away. They are doing great. The 2nd grafting is not going as smoothly. We are now into day 6 (or maybe its day 10. These days seem to be running together) and bitch mom still does not like the new baby.  She has "braclets" (they are really called hobbles) on her back legs so she can't kick him. But she sure can head butt him!  (I tried to video it, but, of course, she wouldn't do it while I was recording)  Of the twins, my Farmer picked the bigger, stronger calf to graft on. Good choice. He is more aggressive, so he just keeps going at it no matter how much she butts him.
I have mixed emotions as we are doing this grafting process.  I watched these twins for three weeks. They were always together. Eating, sleeping; they were so cute. Then we split then up. Gave one a new mom that is not nice to him. He went from having a loving, caring momma to having a bitch mom. Poor guy.  His twin and real momma, however, are happy and don't even seem to miss the little guy.

Once the gate was opened, momma and twin leave and don't look back.

Its seems sad and maybe even a bit mean, but in the long run, both calves and cows will be happier and do better. But for now, we still have to work on bitch mom and continue to convince her that she loves her new baby. And she will. LOVE him that is. My Farmer will "convince" her.

My Farmer "convincing" bitch mom and talking on the phone. (Multi tasking)

On the first day of this "convincing" process, my Farmer had to stand inside the corral with a "big stick", mostly to "look intimidating" to bitch mom, while baby ate.  She may have been a tad bit more upset this first day because of her new "bracelets" that my Farmer had just put on her.  (I'm thinking maybe she isn't a leather type girl?  Maybe she wanted studded jewels on her "bracelets".  Who knows.)  Anyways...... She wouldn't let the baby eat unless we were standing in the corral.  (well, I would stand outside, of course)  Baby learned real quick that as soon as his Farmer showed up, it was time to eat.  We don't have to stand inside the corral all the time now.  We just kind of hang around, and when she head butts him, we yell at her and she stops.  Most of the time, anyhow.  All I can say is, she better get a mind adjustment soon though.  This is getting real old, doing it three times a day.
Once we are done with the "convincing" process, and she realizes that he is her calf and she's his loving and caring momma, her whole attitude will change.  Now, she could care less if we are around the baby.  When she decides she Loves him, she will not even let us close to her best ever baby. She will have become his best ever protector! (I'm hoping anyways)  Cuz that's how it is. Ya just gotta get the "convincing" process done. 
And that's what we do.  It's all part of  Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is......

Baby and Bitch Mom.

UPDATE!!!     My Farmer has taken bitch mom's "bracelets" off!  She still doesn't completely love him yet (shes still in denial), but we're getting close!

Being Sick vs Being Brave

Being sick is never fun. Especially if you are the boss. Lucky for me, I am not the boss. When I'm sick, depending on the time of year, and depending on how sick I am, usually, I am fortunate enough to not have to work. My Farmer handles everything just fine without me. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad. Kind of means he really doesn't need me. But yet I know different. Haha.
So yes, a few days ago, I got the day off. I spent half the day in bed and half the day on the couch, with a little running to the "throne" in between. So much fun. But hey, I got out of farm work, house work, and cooking. So it's classified as a day off. Now my Farmer has it. Since he took care of me and did all the chores himself when I was sick, I am trying to do the same for him. I start out by saying.... no worries, I got this handled. However, as the day goes on, I know the truth......I really  DON'T have this!  I depend on HIM! His job his hard!  Mine is easy. I just follow him around and help if and when needed. I don't like being in charge and doing it all. Luckily he filled the feeders for the steers and heifers yesterday, so that doesn't need done. The wagon's even already loaded with tonights hay for the cows so I'm also happy about that. Its almost like he knew he would be taking the day off. Uhmmmm.
The reason I am blogging right now, is I am trying to get my courage up to go out and doctor two new babies that were born this morning. New mommas scare me, as I have stated numerous times. I was successful at getting the new calf that we put in the corral last night to drink a bottle. Just because I was able to get momma into a different part of the corral and lock her away from the baby. Then I'm brave. There's a gate between us. Yet when it comes to doctoring a baby out in the open field, where the momma literally sniffs or blows snot on your back or in your face, as you are sitting on her baby giving him his shots and putting a tag his ear, I am NOT brave. My job usually is to sit back and laughs and take the pictures as they do this to my Farmer. He just ignores them or swats them away. This is what a brave person does. Again, not me. Well, I suppose I have wasted enough time.  My Farmer is still to sick to move and no one else has appeared out of the blue to go take care of the new calves, so I best get on my brave act and go try. There's a really good chance that momma is gonna be really nice and let me take care of the baby with no issues. More then likely, that's how it will be. However, there are those few mommas who are snotty. If she's one of them, then her baby will just have to wait for their Farmer to do it.  And if he gets sick because she didn't let me give him his vaccinations, then thats her fault not mine.  Cuz I am NOT as BRAVE. But maybe some day. Everyday I do get braver, just a little bit. Cuz that's what happens when you are Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is.....

Sunday Drive Rescue........

Our conversation after breakfast,  (I know, I know.  Don't be so shocked. I do do this once ever so often. And yes, it did surprise my Farmer too.  But after all, it was Sunday.  Can't a girl make her Farmer breakfast without everyone wondering why?  Okay fine.......so I needed to butter him up a bit. No big deal. You'll learn why.)  Anyways, back to our conversation.......

My Farmer >  I'm gonna take the pickup and go drive around and check on things.

Me >  I'll ride with you. 

My Farmer >  Ok.  Get ready.

As I'm getting ready, I decide to make me a cup of tea to go.

My Farmer >  Are you making a cup of tea?

Me > Yes, why?

My Farmer >  Do you think this is a frickin' Sunday drive or something?

Me > Uhhh. Duh!  We ARE driving in the pickup and it IS Sunday!

My Farmer >  O.K. Fine.  He says through a grin as he walks out the door. 

Gotta love my Farmer.  😃
Then as we are driving down the road, he learns why I fixed him a nice big hot breakfast.

Me >  Would we have time to go get my 4-wheeler unstuck?

Yep, when I was doing my midnight cow check, I went through some snow that was a little to deep.  You know; in the dark it is really hard to tell how deep that crap is.  Anyways, long story short, of course this happened at the far end of the field, so I had to walk back.  I was not a very happy person.  Now remember when I talked about being brave checking the cows in the middle of the night because I was on an ATV.  Well I remembered that last night! as I headed back through the field, without my ATV, on foot, in the pitch black night, with a flash light that was almost dead, and a small headlamp on my head.  As the cows started getting a little restless, I realized that they could only see the headlamp coming at them and it might have been freaking them out a bit.  I started freaking out a bit! I am sooo not brave without my ATV.  So I jumped over the fence and walk the rest of the way to the barn on the road.  Waaaay less scary there. 
I am not driving through any snowbanks tonight and I am making sure my flashlight is fulling charged.  You should always learn from your mistakes, when you are Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is............

Crap, Bam, Plop, He's Out......

I did it!  Another first!  I pulled my first baby calf all by myself! With my bare hands! Well, I did have some gloves on and momma cow did helped, a little.   Here's the (long) story.......

At our "just before dark" check, we found a cow that was starting into labor but still a ways off. She had wandered away from the rest of the herd and found a small bare knob. Bare ground is good. However it was a very small "isle", surrounded by snow, and had a creek close by. Bad place to have a calf. Deep snow all around, no level ground, and a creek less than 10 feet away are 3 strikes again a new born calf trying to get up after he is born. My Farmer and his most trustworthy and helpful furry companion, Cooper, after some persuasion, got her off of her "high and dry" knob and we pushed her back to the feedlot to a better spot to calve.  Figuring all is right for the evening, back home we go so my Farmer can get some sleep before his 3am check, figuring I will wake him if needed on my watch. When I go back out to check things, I find that the cow has returned to the knob. She is standing up there on her "high and dry" knob like she is King Queen of the Hill and very proud. It actually strikes me as kind of funny. She still has not calved.  There is no way I can get her off the knob and to a better spot by myself, (remember I may talk big, but really I am a tad bit afraid of the cows, especially the ones in labor.  They tend to have an attitude.)  I decided to give her some time and hope for the best, and check on her again in a bit.  When I go back out, I find her laying down, still on the knob. She has pushed the calf's head and front legs out. However, she can't push anymore because her head and back are down hill and with the calf part way out, she is pretty much immobile. Another reason the knob was not a good place to calve.  (But she wouldn't listen to her Farmer now would she.)  She's in trouble and needs help. I phone my Farmer, but it goes to voice mail. Dang it! I should have put his phone by his head!  Ok...this calf needs to come out NOW. His head and tongue is swollen so I know he's been there for awhile. Crap! What do I do?  I hear my Farmer's voice in my head say "well just grab a hold of his legs and pull".  Now I have seen him do this many times, and I have been there to help pull.  It's always a tough pull for him, so how am I gonna do it by myself?  Now, my fear factor is setting in. Can I do this and can the cow get at me. With the position she is in, there is no way she can hurt me so I've got to try.  I grab ahold of his legs and pull.  He's a slippery, slimy, BIG, little guy and he's pretty stuck!   I'm not strong enough to pull him.  Double dang. I continue to pull and will him out, starting to get frustrated,(and I guess I was very much panicking at this point, as I will point out later) and then momma pushes!   And BAM!  He comes out half way! Holy shit! Then my phone rings. It's my Farmer. And calmly he says "Whats up Shirl?" I can't believe he's so calm! I have a crisis here!  Calmly, I'm sure, I tell him I need help. The cow is down on her back and she can't push the calf out.  He's on his way, he says. Well he better frickin' hurry!
I know I have to finish getting the calf out. I can do this I tell myself. So I pull some more, yelling at momma to push and yelling at baby to come and then PLOP! Just like that he plops out. Yes!!! We did it!  I clean out his month and nostrils. He's breathing and alive. Hallelujah! What an adrenaline rush! I can not get momma up but my Farmer gets her up when he (finally) arrives. (I shouldnt be so hard on my Farmer.  He really did come to my rescue in good time.)
Both momma and baby are alive. So awesome. If I would have waited another hour, the story would have been different. They both would have died. Yep, I saved the day...well night.....I did have a little help....but I'm still CLAIMING IT!
After we got back to the house, my Farmer checked his voice mail. Evidently, when I called him I forgot to hang up and you can hear me yelling or "willing" the baby to come out.  Sounds like maybe I was in a bit of a panic mode. This little "recording" really was funny.  He suggested that I put it on my blog.  Really?!?!  I don't want to embarress myself.  Its ok to laugh at him but not me. 😉
My Farmer took the pair to the corral to keep on eye on them.  Here are some pictures.  You can still see the mud on the side of momma cow, and the baby's head and front legs are still a bit swollen.   Momma and baby are both doing fine.

The other wonderful thing to come out of this situation..........I get a new pair of gloves!  There is no way I am putting those gloves back on.  Way to gross!  And if you know me, you know that new gloves make me very, very happy.  And that really is... Livin' the life, the Farm Life that is.........

Not Fun when it's Cold.....

Well, my midnight cow check duty is not fun anymore. Tonight, the moon is just under full, the sky is clear, the stars are shining, but it's frickin cold! Its suppose to be 15 degrees! Ugh. I really want to just crawl into my nice warm bed and go to sleep, but these are the nights that it is most important for me to do my part and check the cows. There is usually nothing going on when I go out, but you just never know when I might find something in trouble. If a calf is born when it's this cold, we have to make sure he gets up and eats. If it's too cold and if the momma is not aggressive enough at licking him, the calf could just lay there and freeze to death. And thats never good.
There was a new baby calf born this evening just before dark. He had gotten up and eaten from his momma, but he was still pretty wet. I will look for him and make sure his momma picked a warm place to bed him down.
 Well, it's almost time for me to go check things. I believe I will be putting on my insulated coveralls tonight and my warm fur hat. And I'll be driving the pickup over. That warm pickup, with the heated seats, waiting for me, after riding around on the 4-wheeler, through the cows, in 15 degrees temperature, will be mighty nice.  Yep, thats Livin' the Life, the Farm Life that is.......