Yesterday was…. Interesting

So remember the calf that was born on Sunday morning?  He was born in the far corner of one of the fields in the forest atop a lot of underbrush.  We moved him into the safety of the barn which was interesting (as Belle and Shasta both attempted to block Aba’s move as he carried the baby towards the safety of shelter).  We got him in nice and safe, Belle quickly settled down, and he had a lot of difficulty standing ( but he could) and wouldn’t eat.  The day went by with out him eating.  We called the vet in the late afternoon and he said we needed to milk the colostrum out of her and feed it to him with a bottle.  Aba went to visit our neighboring dairy farm to get a bottle and called in for reinforcements, as Mamma belle did not want us anywhere near her or her baby at this point.  After dinner we headed out.

Aba tied Belle into her milking stanchion, he and a friend braced her, as she was trying like hell to get loose, and another friend had the duty of holding a rope tied to her back foot to keep her from kicking me in the face.  I began to milk, without a milking stool.  I crouched  near to her, I milked with one hand, then with 2.  I milked out 2 1/2 quarts of colostrum and filled the bottle.  As the boys were restraining Belle, we grabbed the baby, hoisted it over the wall to the other ( now animal run) part of the barn, and began to feed him.

He didn’t get the whole suckling thing.  The hole in the nipple was so big ( meant for a dairy cow) the milk came streaming out.  In the end we got him to drink, I got covered with milk, and we spilled a quart or so on me and the ground  (good thing he only needed 1!).  We put him back with Belle, and left, hoping that was enough and he would get the picture.

Yesterday morning Aba and I were hopeful, he had made it through the night.  We went and checked, he was alive, but still not nursing.  Belle really wanted him to come outside, he couldn’t he was to weak.  Aba picked him up and put him outside thinking that it may help.  Belle licked him, she nudged him, she mooed.  He went to nurse and she kicked.  I watched from afar for an hour.   He tried 3 times, she kicked 3 times.  He tried to follow her, but was weak and stumbled through the electric fence 4 times ( I would retrieve him then back off).  Aba returned as I had just retrieved him from the wrong side of the fence for the fourth time. I told Aba to take him back inside, so we did.  With Aba and our farm hands help we tied belle up again and I milked out a quart.  I fed it to him, he ate it all, again soaking my lap in the process.  But still didn’t get the whole suckling thing.  We left them alone.  Satisfied he had eaten something.  By this time it was late enough to call the extension office.

After a long call with our ag. extension officer where she told me I could figure it out, it isn’t much different than my kids, it is just a 4 legged baby, we had a plan and a gist of what needed to happen.  First I needed a bottle with a smaller nipple.  Second if he stayed on a bottle he would need to be fed 3 -4 times a day, and third he needed to learn how to suckle (and instructions on how to do this).  So I was prepared.   She was a bit worried he hadn’t pooped yet, and that after 2 bottles suckling still wasn’t coming naturally, but had hope.

So after lunch I headed out with my new bottle.  I told Aba just to let me go on my own, I really felt Belle would be more comfortable with just me and not all kinds of strangers around.  After all she had let me go in the stall and sit with her and her calf as they were laying down early in the morn, and pet both of them.  So I headed out.  She gave me no trouble at all.  I milked out another 2 1/2 quarts.  as the baby slept in his stall.  No kicking no fussing, she didn’t try to knock over the bucket or get agitated when a chicken came to gobble her oats ( she normally does not tolerate that!).  I loaded up the huge bottle and attempted to start feeding, happy at my success with milking.

The calf had another idea.  I backed him up against the wall so he could not slide out behind me, I lifted his nose and put the bottle in his mouth.  He held it properly, gave a few sucks and then just stood there.  Belle watched for a minute or so and then head butted the bottle out of his mouth.  Great.  I tried again, again she head butted the bottle out of his mouth.  After about 6 rounds of this I called up Aba on the walkie talkie and requested assistance.  As I did, I released the calf and stood up only to realize my skirt was wet.  Hmm, did I spill milk on myself???  Did he pee on me???  I looked down and realized, no he had his first bowel movement on the inside of my skirt.  Great!!!  As Aba appeared I greeted him

” I have good news and bad news”  ”The good news is he pooed.  The bad news is he pooed in my skirt”.  Aba looked at me, quizzically.  I showed him as I removed the offending piece of clothing.  I walked out of the stall as I explained what was going on with the whole bottle thing.  AS I was doing this belle walked into the stall and he began to nurse.  Hallelujah!  He had figured it out.  He suckled and swallowed.  He continued for several minutes, so we were done.  He had learned to eat mission accomplished.

I felt good as I headed back to the house from the barn with my skirt in my hand, hopeful that neither our farmhand nor our contractor would meet me on the road in my short shorts with a pitcher and a bottle full of yellow milk.  Now the only question is, can we drink this milk?  or not?

The milk is currently sitting in my fridge awaiting a call back from the extension office to see what I am to do with it, because frankly I don’t want to feed my kids cow colostrum!!!

* As I told my mom the story of skype last night, her only question was “why on earth was I milking the cow in a skirt???”  YOu want to know why?  All the rest of my farm pants were covered with mud, manure, or milk. And were in the wash.

~ by Robin on July 21, 2009.