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Meet Fanci

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T O P I C R E V I E W
maryjane	Posted - Feb 11 2015 : 5:10:52 PM But first, a bit of background on this series of photos Karina grabbed just as I was leaving for town today. I've been wanting to show Fanci's size in comparison to mine so the two of us waded through the muck and manure (essence of farmgirl d' parfum for going to town). As we walked around the corner to my girls "bedroom," here's the pastoral scene we found. Sally O'Mally in front, Rosetta in the back standing, Eliza Belle peeking out over Sally's back and ... FANCI (such a loving and gentle creature she'd sit in my lap and cuddle if she could). Everyone who works here (including my cows) knows all about our most important tool, the camera. Sometimes we have to tell my grandgirls things like, "Just smile normal." Sally saw the camera and ... decided to show you her Audrey Hepburn neck (she's hoping you're the one thinking about a possible adoption). Next, Fanci didn't want to get up so I knelt down to whisper "I love you" in her ear. She put her head down and said, "I'll feeling shy right now (but very loved)." I promised her a snack if she'd get up and pose with me. But first, "She's this l-o-n-g." And her head is this big. And she's this tall (I was NOT crouching but standing tall 5'3"). And Fanci's udderly gorgeous 8 gallon udder. Fanci is an American Jersey Cattle Association registered cow who came from a dairy in Washington where apparently they like 'em big, soft, gentle, and cuddle-y.
15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Caren	Posted - Jan 21 2016 : 11:49:23 AM Thank you for sharing, we all benefit from your dairy cow culture wisdom.
CloversMum	Posted - Jan 21 2016 : 11:32:16 AM Sounds like all is working out very well for everyone, human and cow, involved. Thank you for posting an update.
Sydney2015	Posted - Jan 21 2016 : 09:12:13 AM Good to hear Fanci is doing good.
NellieBelle	Posted - Jan 20 2016 : 2:22:09 PM Good to hear MaryJane. Nice she has such attentive and caring individuals to care for her. Thank you.
maryjane	Posted - Jan 20 2016 : 11:57:01 AM I called WSU this morning to check on Fanci. I was told that one of the vet students, Beau, had been assigned to her and that he'd been told this morning to give her "oodles of routine kisses" because apparently, she's being verbal, even though they've all been "pampering her with apples." I reminded them she's probably missing her calf. "Oh, that explains it." I told them that once he's weaned, she'll be her usual quiet self. Although her moo is more a low moan than a moo and not very loud at all. It was wonderful to hear them speak of her in terms of "sweetheart" and "adorable" and to see how concerned with her happiness they are. I'm thinking I was slated for be her interim foster parent and her greater good wasn't to be a milk cow but a donor cow. Finnegan has mooed several times this morning but not much at all. I watched him seriously mow down on some Chaffhaye and get playful with Sweet William.
farmlife	Posted - Jan 20 2016 : 08:47:07 AM That must have been so hard for you to decide! I'm so grateful to you for reminding all of us that if it is not working it is okay to let go and find the situation that is a better fit for both you and the animal.
CloversMum	Posted - Jan 19 2016 : 8:29:11 PM I always appreciate how you handle all the tough decisions: with grace, decisiveness, and love for your animals. You run a farm and Fanci wasn't turning into your one-cow dairy; however, you found the best possible situation for her and she'll enjoy being pampered for the rest of her days. I appreciate your ability to make those tough decisions ... thank you for the example you set for the rest of us. Hugs to you! Sweet William and Finnegan are just so cozy! Great cow-panions.
NellieBelle	Posted - Jan 19 2016 : 5:37:54 PM Hoping the best for Fanci. I will miss her and I know it couldn't have been easy. Perhaps we will still get some updates on her from time to time. Like Cindy said, Finnegan and Sweet William are adorable, and beautiful.
txbikergirl	Posted - Jan 19 2016 : 5:18:04 PM wow mary jane, i know the goodbye was painful for you despite what great care she will be getting. you truly made a selfless decision here. fanci will be treated so well. i look forward to hearing about the next step in your journey. and those little ones in the last photos, just adorable beyond belief.
maryjane	Posted - Jan 19 2016 : 4:52:10 PM I made the decision to donate Fanci to the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. I took her over today and signed all the necessary paperwork. It was good to see how excited Dr. Parish was to have a Jersey of her size rather than the Holsteins that are in such abundance in our area. By the time I left, there were four students fawning over her. Dr. Parish intends to have her serve as their donor cow, which means she’ll get top-notch care. Being a donor cow means they’ll put a port in her side where they can easily take a dip of flora and fauna from her rumen in order to nurse sick cows back to health. He thought she had the perfect body type for such an endeavor. Fanci was giving us only three quarts of milk/day, sometimes half a gallon. Miss Daisy, who is a fraction of Fanci’s size, consistently gives us 2 to 2.5 gallons. Whether due to prior care or her age or both, she just wasn’t up to the task of producing milk. I learned a great deal from Fanci, starting with the hormone treatments she needed in order to get pregnant, to my first ever case of dry mastitis that I learned to treat. I also don’t think she’d ever had to deal with winter. Because of her size and stiff joints, she moved very slowly and methodically everywhere she went. She was fairly miserable the last couple weeks of her pregnancy so I was relieved when her delivery went okay and I’m pleased with the bull she gave us, but I’d already made the decision not to get her pregnant again. Initially, she was a very attentive mother but lately she hasn’t been at all attentive for whatever reason. My hope was to let her nurse a calf for the first time and then I would milk her for a few years. I accomplished the first, but not the later. She’s in good hands and because she’s such a gentle cow, there will be lots of hands on training in other areas of vet care. I mentioned as I was leaving that she was in need of a hoof trim. One of the vets said, “It’s already on my list.” She’ll love all the attention she going to receive, not to mention air conditioning and the absence of biting flies in the summer months. Also, I was reassured in my decision to donate her that if Finnegan is eating timothy hay, Chaffhaye, and grain, his rumen has been populated with the necessary bacteria it needs in order to derive adequate nutrition from his food at this point in time. Besides, he and Sweet William are peas in a pod and almost inseparable. I’m pretty sure big brother will take good care of him.
Sydney2015	Posted - Feb 15 2015 : 7:15:10 PM Fanci, I forgot to mention you were big! Very tall!
Ron	Posted - Feb 15 2015 : 1:38:31 PM Well now that's a cow. A one animal dairy. I think She might be bigger than Harriet. ( alias Henrietta )
farmlife	Posted - Feb 15 2015 : 11:52:56 AM She is beautiful! I so hope she has a Sampson baby. Can you imagine?
Sydney2015	Posted - Feb 11 2015 : 7:49:04 PM Fanci! I didn't know you were so beautiful!
NellieBelle	Posted - Feb 11 2015 : 5:50:44 PM Wow! Fanci is quite the plus size. Just a little more to love. What a "big" sweetheart. You are almost visible MaryJane. And "Audrey Hepburn" Sally O'Mally will be sold if she keeps posing like that. LOL.