randiliana
Well-known member
B C's post in the other thread got me going, had this happen to me last year.
DH was gone for a bit, but was to be back later in the evening. There was a heifer starting to calve when he left. No big deal, I've watched a lot of heifers over the years. Went out a bit later, and things were progressing well, I would have to come out in an hour or so to make sure things were still good. Meanwhile darkness was settling in. By the time I next went out to check it was pitch black, one of those nights where you would be hard pressed to see your hand in front of your face. No moon to speak of.
I finally find her, and she is cast against the windbreak, in that hollow where the bedding ends. Calf is part way out, and here I am with no way to roll her over, her back is right up tight to the windbreak, :? and I am certainly not strong enough to pull her around, even if I did have a rope.
Well, first things first, I grab the calf's legs, and get that part of the situation under control, drag him out of the way, so if mama starts thrashing he won't get hurt. Now, back to mama. I figure that I will spook her a bit and see what happens, maybe she'll be able to thrash herself around enough to get up. Well, once baby is out, she is no longer so round, and as soon as I walk over to her head, she jumps right up (great!!) :lol: ....and then she runs off :roll: , at this point she's not interested in the reason she was cast at all. So, I go around her, bring her back by baby and she just keeps on trucking. So rather than mess with this any longer, and as she is heading in the direction of the barn and corrals, I keep her going. Get her in with no problems. Now I grab our wheelbarrow (it is one of those huge 10 cubic foot ones with 2 wheels) and head back down for baby.
Meanwhile, I am starting to wonder where DH is, he is supposed to be back anytime. But so far there is no sign of him. Get the wheelbarrow down to the calf, set my light and stick on the ground, the light pointing in the general direction of the wheelbarrow so I can see where to deposit this little bundle of joy. That is if I can ever lift him high enough to put him in it. So, here I am, in my freshly washed coveralls no less, with a slimy, slippery newborn, trying to lift him high enough to get him in the wheelbarrow. Now, I am starting to curse
DH, cause this is NOT an easy task. I'm getting my clean coveralls all slimy, and the calf is not co-opeating. So I finally get his front end hoisted up over the rim of the wheelbarrow, and have him around the barrel, and a hand hoisting his rump too. And just as I am giving that mighty heave to hopefully get him in there, DH walks up behind :evil: me in the dark (I never did here the car come into the yard) and says to me "Need some help". Needless to say, :shock: I jumped (as much as I could while holding a 90 lb calf) lost my grip on said slimy thing and dropped him on his head. If I'd had my stick in my hand rather than that slimy calf, things may have ended with more than a few choice words being said!!
Of course, now that I was all slimed up, and once my heart rate dropped a bit, I now had DH to help me hoist the calf into the wheelbarrow. Me on the front end, him on the back end and it didn't take too much effort. Amazing how much easier things are with help. So we gave the calf a ride up into the barn where mama was waiting, dropped him in the stall with her, and now that she couldn't run away from him, and had a chance to settle down a bit, she took right to him :heart: ....
DH was gone for a bit, but was to be back later in the evening. There was a heifer starting to calve when he left. No big deal, I've watched a lot of heifers over the years. Went out a bit later, and things were progressing well, I would have to come out in an hour or so to make sure things were still good. Meanwhile darkness was settling in. By the time I next went out to check it was pitch black, one of those nights where you would be hard pressed to see your hand in front of your face. No moon to speak of.
I finally find her, and she is cast against the windbreak, in that hollow where the bedding ends. Calf is part way out, and here I am with no way to roll her over, her back is right up tight to the windbreak, :? and I am certainly not strong enough to pull her around, even if I did have a rope.
Well, first things first, I grab the calf's legs, and get that part of the situation under control, drag him out of the way, so if mama starts thrashing he won't get hurt. Now, back to mama. I figure that I will spook her a bit and see what happens, maybe she'll be able to thrash herself around enough to get up. Well, once baby is out, she is no longer so round, and as soon as I walk over to her head, she jumps right up (great!!) :lol: ....and then she runs off :roll: , at this point she's not interested in the reason she was cast at all. So, I go around her, bring her back by baby and she just keeps on trucking. So rather than mess with this any longer, and as she is heading in the direction of the barn and corrals, I keep her going. Get her in with no problems. Now I grab our wheelbarrow (it is one of those huge 10 cubic foot ones with 2 wheels) and head back down for baby.
Meanwhile, I am starting to wonder where DH is, he is supposed to be back anytime. But so far there is no sign of him. Get the wheelbarrow down to the calf, set my light and stick on the ground, the light pointing in the general direction of the wheelbarrow so I can see where to deposit this little bundle of joy. That is if I can ever lift him high enough to put him in it. So, here I am, in my freshly washed coveralls no less, with a slimy, slippery newborn, trying to lift him high enough to get him in the wheelbarrow. Now, I am starting to curse
DH, cause this is NOT an easy task. I'm getting my clean coveralls all slimy, and the calf is not co-opeating. So I finally get his front end hoisted up over the rim of the wheelbarrow, and have him around the barrel, and a hand hoisting his rump too. And just as I am giving that mighty heave to hopefully get him in there, DH walks up behind :evil: me in the dark (I never did here the car come into the yard) and says to me "Need some help". Needless to say, :shock: I jumped (as much as I could while holding a 90 lb calf) lost my grip on said slimy thing and dropped him on his head. If I'd had my stick in my hand rather than that slimy calf, things may have ended with more than a few choice words being said!!Of course, now that I was all slimed up, and once my heart rate dropped a bit, I now had DH to help me hoist the calf into the wheelbarrow. Me on the front end, him on the back end and it didn't take too much effort. Amazing how much easier things are with help. So we gave the calf a ride up into the barn where mama was waiting, dropped him in the stall with her, and now that she couldn't run away from him, and had a chance to settle down a bit, she took right to him :heart: ....
