A hard calving

Son T and I came home from a meeting tonight to see the cowshed lights on. That only meant one thing - Farmerboy was calving a cow, with the assistance of son C.

WARNING - if you are squeamish, don't read on.

Farmerboy and C had been trying to calve this cow for about 30 minutes when T and I arrived at the shed. The calf was up side down, with its head twisted. We decided to call in the vet, as no progress was being made.

R arrived, and after examination, she said that the calf was dead, and the neck was so twisted and unable to be moved, that the best option was to saw the head of the calf off while still inside the cow. She gave the poor cow an epidural, and another injection to relax her uterus, then set up the wire around the neck. The bar you see in the photo, is inserted into the womb to protect the cow from any accidental damage.

Farmerboy did the sawing, while R ensured that everything kept in place inside the womb. Once the head was free, she then pulled the calf out using a pulley, and then removed the head. She then injected the cow with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and a bag of magnesium and calcium.

Luckily the cow got up, and we put her in the paddock for the night.

We are very fortunate to have such an awesome Vet working in our community. The skill and effort she put into this calving was amazing.

We've only just got in - it's 10.05pm. It was an amazing experience to watch (although some of you probably wouldn't think so). All in the days work of a dairy farmer.