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Lacy Lou's C-section

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maryjane

7074 Posts

Posted - Aug 24 2016 : 1:35:55 PM

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~

NellieBelle

11217 Posts

Posted - Aug 24 2016 : 3:03:49 PM

Great chronological, photographic tutorial of Lacy Lou's C-section. Wonderful camaraderie of workers, professional and family. Last photo tells it all. :)

To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown

txbikergirl

3197 Posts

Posted - Aug 24 2016 : 3:46:02 PM

i can only imagine how emotional it was for you as the calf was presented maryjane, it made me tearing up just going through the photo collage. life at its most beautiful.

i have two favorite photos. the first is the photo prebirth where all the humans are standing there looking at lacy lou, and she is on the straw standing looking out at the humans. she was probably wondering what all the fuss was about.

the second was the calf in the new stainless feeder sink with lacy lou loving on him. another reason to have stainless in the milking parlor!

thanks for sharing. i just love how i learn something here every day. hope i never need it all, but it does help us newbies have a bit of foundation for when we think things aren't going right and to just ask for help without hesitation.

tell julie hi, she looks like she is totally in her element. i'll never forget how kind and patient she was to me.

Firefly Hollow Farm , our little farmstead. Farmgirl living in the green piney woods of East Texas on 23 acres with a few jerseys, too many chickens, a pair of pugs and my Texan hubby (aka "lover boy")

maryjane

7074 Posts

Posted - Aug 28 2016 : 1:59:29 PM

I still have to put text to the photos but Karina did such a good job, they do a pretty good job of telling what happened. Now, for an update. Leading up to yesterday, Ian's gait and stilted stiffness didn't seem right. And his left front foot turned out pretty dramatically. He tried to run and jump but something was off, so yesterday I traded my body works guy some garlic and produce for a calf session (he's not really a chiropractor even though he received training for that as well as going to medical school). Anyway, all of us here swear by his touch--I've been going to him for 4 years. It took him about 15 minutes and he completely fixed little Ian. He said that all the tugging and pulling put his back and hips out in addition to wrapping his knee tendon around the wrong side. I held Ian while Bobby pulled and yanked things back into place. He said another 100 pounds on him and some of the damage might be permanent. Immediately after, little Ian jumped up and began to twist around and chase his tail for a couple of hours. It was hilarious. He was so excited by his new limberness and his straight leg, he bounced around and frolicked in a way he hadn't yet. Thank you, Bobby!!!!

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~

farmlife

1413 Posts

Posted - Aug 28 2016 : 4:00:00 PM

That's really good to know as well. I had no idea that when doing a c-section the calf would have to come out rear legs first. Of course it makes perfect sense, especially if the front legs were already in the birth canal, but that was the most surprising thing about the pictures to me. (Newbie is showing again.) It also is perfectly reasonable that a lot of necessary force in the birthing process could cause body parts to go a little awry. So glad Bobby was able to fix it for Ian. The body is an amazing thing. Do you plan on breeding Lacy Lou again in the near future, MaryJane, or just enjoying your milking for as long as she is willing to give it to you? It may be too soon to ask that question.

txbikergirl

3197 Posts

Posted - Aug 28 2016 : 4:33:23 PM

i love this. just good ole practical adjustment for the calf, snap him back into shape and he is good to go. so common sense. so farmgirl.

maryjane

7074 Posts

Posted - Aug 28 2016 : 9:20:58 PM

Good question Keeley. I wish I had an answer. I'm still trying to figure out and get advice and ask around about his size. Plus see what he grows into. Lacy Lou's mother, Etta Jane, was small, the result of my full size Maizy and mini Milky Way. Lacy Lou's father was Samson, bred to Etta Jane. Lacy Lou was petite when she was born. Maybe Maizy's size reared it's head. That can happen. We know it happens with coloration. But none of my current bulls are minis for breeding Lacy Lou to a smaller bull. They're all mid-size, like Ian's sire, Charlie. Charlie is a bit smaller than Samson. And I really don't want smaller. If anything, I'm trying to size my herd up. Lacy Lou's legs are taller than Miss Daisy's and it makes milking much easier. And I can tell already that Maggie Moo has nice long legs. For now, I'll just enjoy milking Lacy Lou and give myself some time to think about it.

MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~

NellieBelle

11217 Posts

Posted - Aug 29 2016 : 07:45:34 AM

Nothing like a good adjustment to set things right. Thankful you have Bobby to help in times like these. I've read where pulling a calf can mess them up so it's nice to have someone who can help straighten problems out and just look at little Ian. Precious as can be.

To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown

farmlife

1413 Posts

Posted - Aug 29 2016 : 11:59:26 AM

Genetics are tricky for sure, aren't they? I was curious as to what your thoughts were. Ian's size could definitely come from Maizy's size and less of the rest of the cows contributing to genetics. Or it could be a combination of random genetics and how low Lacy Lou's udder is with all that room to grow. Or something else altogether could be weighing in. Cows don't often tell us what's going on with them. I think that's why we work so hard trying to figure things out.

maryjane

7074 Posts

Posted - Sep 19 2016 : 07:41:23 AM

It's been 28 days since Lacy Lou's C-section. At three weeks her incision still looked a tad raw in places so we left her stitches in. But a week later, it looked healed and at that point the stitches looked like they were starting to pull and damage the healthy skin so out they came. Even though they are dissolvable, it can take as long as 3 months for the outer, more tough, stitches to disappear so Connie took them out using a little pair of my sewing scissors and tweezers. Before taking them out, we cleaned the site well using a saline solution.

Here's her latest look (she's getting washed/prepped for milking in this photo but do note how well her hair is growing back):