A calving story

[Keren]

Just got back from beef week at Melbourne Royal Show.

A welsh black cow calved while at the show.

This was her third calf.

Anyway, so they have these pens that you can put sick/calving animals in, as opposed to the stalls where they have to stay tied up. She was in one of these pens and I was up in that area helping the kids get ready for the handlers comp. A friend happened to walk past and look in at the cow, and the stewards saw her and said, right, you are now in charge of this cow you have to stay and watch her and let us know what is happening. She didnt even know the owner ?? anyway. So she is standing there keeping an eye on the cow, I ended up there as well watching this cow. She wasnt really comfortable calving in the middle of the show so we were keeping people well away, and watching through a crack in the solid wall of the pen, because everytime we looked over the top she got very upset. Well, she got two front feet out and enough of the tongue and nose for us to know it was positioned right ... and then she stopped. No progress after that. We let the owner know after about half an hour ... anyway long story short it was 2 hours without progress before he decided something had better be done :shock: . So it turns out he was only looking after her at the show, he wasnt the owner, so he calls the owner, and the owner says we are not allowed to pull the calf, we have to get the vet. So it is another half an hour before the vet gets there. Anyway, while we are waiting for the vet, not only does the bloke looking after her turn up with five or six people who all immediately start hanging off the side of the pens :shock: and talking very loudly, obviously stressing her very much (she didnt sit down and strain once after they got there) he then goes in there, puts the halter on her and ties her head up high while waiting for the vet, so she couldnt sit down :x (she did try once). Honestly, where are the brains???

Anyway, it all had a happy ending because the heifer calf was alive and doing well. But the thing is - the same cow calved at the show last year and the calf had to be pulled and I think her first calf was also. For starters, why did they bring a calving cow to the show in the first place? And secondly, why has she still got her head if she doesnt calve by herself? It was a big calf, but she is a big cow and had plenty of room, it was positioned correctly and she should have been able to have it. Whether it was just because she was at the show ... I dont know.

Anyway, happy ending after it all, thats the main thing.

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

I'm glad everything turned ok for the cow & calf, however I can't believe that the owner would let a cow that was so clost to calving enter a show, especially if they had a way to travel. If it were my cow she wouldn't have been there or if she was than I would have been there myself. I also think tying the cow up at all was wrong but I can understand them not wanting anyone but a vet to pull the calf.
I have seen one of our dairy cows that was calving once stop pushing when she thought there was something that could have harmed the calf, it was our kelpie running around the paddock this cow just got up walked off & started eating again as though nothing was wrong & there was no calf.

 

[msscamp]

Perhaps you can show me where is it written that brains, or even commen sense, are a requirement to owning cattle?

 

[KNERSIE]

Perhaps you can show me where is it written that brains, or even commen sense, are a requirement to owning cattle?

I sometimes wonder whether the opposite isn't a requirement :lol:

 

[Keren]

Perhaps you can show me where is it written that brains, or even commen sense, are a requirement to owning cattle?

:nod:

Too true.

My list of problems with this situation:

1) I have a problem with them bringing a point of calving cow to the show. Firstly, no judge will place up a 'dry' cow (you know what I mean) to get a ribbon. Secondly, its not fair on the cow to have to calve at a show. Even if they were completely selfish and only thought about themselves, not about the cow at all, I would have thought the first point would have excluded her from the show.

2) I have a problem with them joining her to calve at the show two years in a row. :?: WHY WOULD YOU??

3) I have a problem with the caretaker waiting so long to intervene. They say once the feet show, there should be progress, even if only a little, every half hour. We were lucky in this case that she wasnt doing a lot of pushing, so obviously the cord hadnt broken and we still had a live calf after all that time. But still.

4) I have a problem with them hanging on the pen and obviously disturbing her.

5) I have a problem with the caretaker tying her high while we waited for the vet, surely the vet would have been happy to wait for a minute while he caught her, once the vet had arrived.

6) Ordinarily, I wouldnt have a problem with the owner only wanting the vet to pull the calf. However, the caretaker pulls all their calves on the property. For some reason, he wasnt allowed to do this one. It didnt annoy me so much as confuse me.

Anyway ... I'm just venting.