Post by sdmilkmaid on Aug 5, 2016 17:56:32 GMT -5
This is a story I wrote some 9 years ago, and yes, it is 100% TRUE. (at least as true as my sleep deprived brain could remember the facts.) Enjoy!
A Tail of a Heifer
I was pretty sure 539 was starting to calve, and I didn’t want to have to get her in the barn after it got dark, so Abby and I got her in when we milked at about 8:00 or 8:30PM. At 9:30 or so I told Mom I wanted to leave 539 alone for a good hour to relax, then go check on her. At 11:00 I went out and checked her: nothing was showing, but I saw her strain a couple times. At midnight, still nothing, but I was tired and getting impatient, so I got her in the head gate and went in for a feel. As I was pushing my hand in, she pushed the amniotic sac out and it broke. I felt around and found two feet, no wait, three feet, and one nose… “Uh, oh,” I thought, “not good. These two feet feel like hind feet and this one feels like a front foot. There must be twins in there, both trying to come at once, but one backwards and one forwards.” I went to the house to talk to Mom and she agreed with me that since the water had just broken, I could leave 539 be for another hour, and maybe she would get the calves sorted out.
I still had not gone to bed, so as I waited for time to pass I dozed a little sitting in a chair. I knew if I laid down it would take an earthquake to wake me.
Accordingly, at 1:00 AM, I went and checked her again. Nothing had changed, so I decided it was time to pull a calf – or two…
Martha had told me when she went to bed, “Wake me if you need help.” So I did.
I tried to push the “backwards” feet back in, so there would be room to find the other front foot, get it straightened out, and pull the forwards calf. But the uterine contractions of a cow are much stronger than I am, so it didn’t work. Nothing budged. I debated whether to call Matthew, who lives 13 miles away, our neighbor Orv, who only lives 1 mile away, or call Dr. Frusher and haul her 3 miles into town for a c-section. I hated to call anybody at 2:00 in the morning, when all sensible folks should be asleep. I knew Orv was lambing, and already short on sleep, but so was Matthew, because he was calving heifers. I decided to call Matthew first. He said he would come and asked if he should bring Danelle’s friend Jasmine along. Jasmine had wanted to see a calf born. I said, “Sure, if she really wants to come.” While we were waiting for them Martha went to check ewes, and I laid down on the couch, but I had too much adrenaline to sleep. Matthew and Jasmine came, and Jasmine brought her camera. In my now dead tired state I couldn’t quite fathom why anyone would want to take pictures of a calf getting pulled, or worse, a c-section.
Anyway, back to the cow in the barn. Matthew felt around in her, and found the other foot… and another head. All four feet – that we could feel – were front feet. So both calves were facing the right direction, but why were two feet turned bottoms up? Matthew put the straps on two feet that he thought were connected to the same head, but when we put the puller on, and pulled, nothing happened, except the heifer went down. After we got 539 back on her feet, I felt in her again. I wasn’t sure Matthew had the correct feet, but I couldn’t figure out anything different. Matthew said, “I don’t know. I’m sorry, but maybe you’d better just call Doc and we’ll take her to town – if he’s not out in the country already.”
So, while Matthew and Martha hitched up the trailer, I called Doc and woke him up and he said he would meet us at the clinic. I also told Mom, “We’re taking the heifer to town.” Mom said, “OK” but she was asleep and didn’t remember talking to me.
I think we got to town at about 3:00, but my memory is fuzzy.
Doc tried to pull a calf and got the same result as Matthew: absolutely nothing. (Yes, Jasmine was still with us, and still taking pictures.
Doc said, “Well, I think it’s time to get out the knife. Nobody’s going to faint on me, are they?”
Matthew said, “Jasmine better not, she wants to go into internal medicine!”
Doc did a c-section, and with Matthew’s help, got ahold of two really-truly hind feet, and proceeded to pull the calf out through the incision. First the feet, then legs, rump, “Oh, it’s got two tails!” body, and then it was all the way out. We could finally see what our hands couldn’t quite tell us. Not one calf, nor two, but Siamese twins, with 2 heads, 4 front legs, 2 hind legs, and 2 tails. Matthew turned to Jasmine and said, “You just got in on the ultimate calving experience. You’ll never see anything like this again.”
The calf was dead: it wouldn’t have lived anyway.
Doc sewed 539 back up, and we put her and the calf in the trailer. Doc asked, “Are you good to go?” I said, “Yeah, except for driving home.” (I could have let Martha drive.
As we drove home we could see it getting light in the East. We unloaded 539 and put her in the barn. I tumbled into bed at 6:00 and slept for a few hours.
The calf is currently in a taxidermist’s freezer. Mom doesn’t want it around, which is understandable, but it would be neat to have it stuffed as a rarity. I also want to see the skeleton and interior organs.
A Tail of a Heifer
I was pretty sure 539 was starting to calve, and I didn’t want to have to get her in the barn after it got dark, so Abby and I got her in when we milked at about 8:00 or 8:30PM. At 9:30 or so I told Mom I wanted to leave 539 alone for a good hour to relax, then go check on her. At 11:00 I went out and checked her: nothing was showing, but I saw her strain a couple times. At midnight, still nothing, but I was tired and getting impatient, so I got her in the head gate and went in for a feel. As I was pushing my hand in, she pushed the amniotic sac out and it broke. I felt around and found two feet, no wait, three feet, and one nose… “Uh, oh,” I thought, “not good. These two feet feel like hind feet and this one feels like a front foot. There must be twins in there, both trying to come at once, but one backwards and one forwards.” I went to the house to talk to Mom and she agreed with me that since the water had just broken, I could leave 539 be for another hour, and maybe she would get the calves sorted out.
I still had not gone to bed, so as I waited for time to pass I dozed a little sitting in a chair. I knew if I laid down it would take an earthquake to wake me.
Accordingly, at 1:00 AM, I went and checked her again. Nothing had changed, so I decided it was time to pull a calf – or two…
Martha had told me when she went to bed, “Wake me if you need help.” So I did.
I tried to push the “backwards” feet back in, so there would be room to find the other front foot, get it straightened out, and pull the forwards calf. But the uterine contractions of a cow are much stronger than I am, so it didn’t work. Nothing budged. I debated whether to call Matthew, who lives 13 miles away, our neighbor Orv, who only lives 1 mile away, or call Dr. Frusher and haul her 3 miles into town for a c-section. I hated to call anybody at 2:00 in the morning, when all sensible folks should be asleep. I knew Orv was lambing, and already short on sleep, but so was Matthew, because he was calving heifers. I decided to call Matthew first. He said he would come and asked if he should bring Danelle’s friend Jasmine along. Jasmine had wanted to see a calf born. I said, “Sure, if she really wants to come.” While we were waiting for them Martha went to check ewes, and I laid down on the couch, but I had too much adrenaline to sleep. Matthew and Jasmine came, and Jasmine brought her camera. In my now dead tired state I couldn’t quite fathom why anyone would want to take pictures of a calf getting pulled, or worse, a c-section.
Anyway, back to the cow in the barn. Matthew felt around in her, and found the other foot… and another head. All four feet – that we could feel – were front feet. So both calves were facing the right direction, but why were two feet turned bottoms up? Matthew put the straps on two feet that he thought were connected to the same head, but when we put the puller on, and pulled, nothing happened, except the heifer went down. After we got 539 back on her feet, I felt in her again. I wasn’t sure Matthew had the correct feet, but I couldn’t figure out anything different. Matthew said, “I don’t know. I’m sorry, but maybe you’d better just call Doc and we’ll take her to town – if he’s not out in the country already.”
So, while Matthew and Martha hitched up the trailer, I called Doc and woke him up and he said he would meet us at the clinic. I also told Mom, “We’re taking the heifer to town.” Mom said, “OK” but she was asleep and didn’t remember talking to me.
I think we got to town at about 3:00, but my memory is fuzzy.
Doc tried to pull a calf and got the same result as Matthew: absolutely nothing. (Yes, Jasmine was still with us, and still taking pictures.
Doc said, “Well, I think it’s time to get out the knife. Nobody’s going to faint on me, are they?”
Matthew said, “Jasmine better not, she wants to go into internal medicine!”
Doc did a c-section, and with Matthew’s help, got ahold of two really-truly hind feet, and proceeded to pull the calf out through the incision. First the feet, then legs, rump, “Oh, it’s got two tails!” body, and then it was all the way out. We could finally see what our hands couldn’t quite tell us. Not one calf, nor two, but Siamese twins, with 2 heads, 4 front legs, 2 hind legs, and 2 tails. Matthew turned to Jasmine and said, “You just got in on the ultimate calving experience. You’ll never see anything like this again.”
The calf was dead: it wouldn’t have lived anyway.
Doc sewed 539 back up, and we put her and the calf in the trailer. Doc asked, “Are you good to go?” I said, “Yeah, except for driving home.” (I could have let Martha drive.
As we drove home we could see it getting light in the East. We unloaded 539 and put her in the barn. I tumbled into bed at 6:00 and slept for a few hours.
The calf is currently in a taxidermist’s freezer. Mom doesn’t want it around, which is understandable, but it would be neat to have it stuffed as a rarity. I also want to see the skeleton and interior organs.