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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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 Posted - May 20 2017 : 03:19:33 AM
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Good morning. The rain and cool weather continues. 46 degrees this morning. Nellie is the same. So it appears another day of "peaking," to see if she has any signs of labor. This will be the third day past due date. Darla went over three days also. ? This guy is at my feeder early and throughout the entire day.  Likes to chase the other birds away. Comical. Have a pleasant day and I hope this day finds Anna better and on the road to recovery. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 05:47:48 AM
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What a beautiful bird, Janet. Is it a new bird to your farm?
Isn't Sydney's news wonderful? I'm so happy for her.
And here we have thundering hooves.
Good morning everyone!
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 05:57:07 AM
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| Doesn't that just make your heart soar? Seeing those little calves actually "frolic" in play with one another. Millie was so bored in her stall yesterday that she started playing with me. I loved it. Thank goodness no one sees us, or I'm sure they would haul me away. Other than Nellie's udder is humongous, she is the same. Any word on Anna this morning? The Red Headed Woodpecker is a common bird for this area, however they are becoming fewer and fewer and a cause for concern along with so many other song birds. So, he/she is welcome. Yes, Sydney is probably on cloud 9 and I couldn't be happier for her. She will enjoy that little heifer. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 06:23:41 AM
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Frolicking calves are in a league of their own, and yes, I could watch them forever. Takes our hearts on a frolic also I suppose. So carefree, and yes, what happens in the presence of frolicking calves stays in the barn:) Last night when I went down to get started on our evening chores, little Larkspur saw me coming so he managed to crawl under one of my fruit tree barriers just to show me he could because why didn't he get stuck in there earlier that day or the day before? It's like Jasper suddenly running straight up a tree as you walk by.
Anna didn't get milked Thursday evening or Friday morning at WSU, which we think is the reason a ketone check midday yesterday was much better. She's obviously putting her energies into milk production. So they milked her last night and will check her again this morning to see if she went into the danger zone again. Based upon Tim's advice, they started looking around to see if they could find some ReaShure Choline also. As it turns out, their dairy buys feed for their calving cows that has it in it so they grabbed some for Anna and she nibbled on it. I'm so hoping FedEx comes through for her today and we can load some gelatin tabs with ReaShure and get her turned around without me having to dry her off. It's been a huge learning experience for me as well as those trying to help her. I feel like with every "set-back" I learn a great deal. But would I chose any of these lessons at any given moment? Probably not. So bring it on I suppose.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 06:47:51 AM
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| I'm amazed at how much we don't know. Yes, every situation is a learning experience. I find each of the cows different in so many ways, alike in others, but one just never knows what's coming and I suppose that's a good thing. I hope you get an encouraging report today about Anna. The cow is such an interesting animal. That's why this forum is so helpful. What one person experiences and relates to others can greatly benefit us all in information and knowledge we didn't have previous. I just was down with Nellie and she has the "look" and going back and forth, so I believe labor has started. I called Joe and informed him I would be in the barn. Our land line is out but I still have the cell. I can't do much outdoors with all this rain so I will sit with Nellie. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 07:41:09 AM
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 "The Look" the kicking of legs, the clear "egg white" mucus, Rubbing of the head, backing up, laying down , then up.... |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 09:35:44 AM
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On the edge of my seat here.
Yesterday at the girls' school, the table I was sitting at with four kids (and one other grandparent) decided they would show off their nose prowess. Let me just say that earlier that morning I watched a boy pick his nose twice and deposit it in his mouth. At any rate, there was all the usual, "Does your tongue curl this way?" "Well, if it doesn't, try wrapping it around your finger like this and maybe then it will curl." Mia's trick was to show us how she's able to "pick her nose with her tongue." (She has a long tongue.) Apparently, Larkspur shares her talent.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 09:54:39 AM
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| Kids will be kids. I'm sure you could have passed on the one demonstration you mentioned. Don't know why some kids have that habit. Anyway, I came back up from the barn. She is in Phase 1, which can last a while, but you can tell she is getting more uncomfortable. If it's a large calf it may take even longer dilating cervix. I'm hoping she doesn't have trouble. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 10:13:07 AM
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| Me too, Janet. Me too. Please Nellie, give us a healthy calf and you stay healthy, too. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 10:55:39 AM
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Paint day today.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 11:39:01 AM
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| All hands on deck. Looks like the whole family is getting involved. No progress with Nellie. So of course she has me concerned. She's acting the same, fidgeting, moving around, I even let her out of the stall so she could walk around. I came in because I just get too nervous and worry, so will leave her a bit and check on her later. Looks like Meg has shorter hair, and Stella too. :) |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 11:58:22 AM
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good morning ladies. new calves, and calves on their way. what a wonderful year thus far on hjo. janet i'll be thinking about you and your sweet worried mind today ;>
i sure hope fedex comes through for you maryjane. if nothing else, you are sharing the learning experience and for me that has made a huge difference in my growth of livestock knowledge. i knew nothing about farm animals before this journey.
if a cow is pregnant does she have discharge during the pregnancy at all? sally had discharged a couple of days ago, if i didn't know she was pregnant i would have thought she was in heat. bea was in heat for sure, and so we had three cows mounting one another and it was a circus for sure. but what do you think about sally - normal? cause for concern?
i got out milking late today.LATE. the dinasaur was upset. but lover boy and i made breakfast with bacon and french toast and it was to die for. then he did cream while i milked, so farm chores are moving ahead. now i have to attack the kitchen. the tornado has left (aka lover boy cream processing)...
we had a huge storm this morning. 1.5-2 inches of rain really fast. our storm radio went off at 5am with a severe storm alert and flash flooding alert for the county next to us (we are on the west edge of the county line). we aren't in a flood plane ourselves. we made sure to by seriously high and dry, but the radio said they were getting 3" in 45 minutes just west of us. sure enough it hit us. no damage, just a lot of wetness - which we needed.
90 degrees and seriously humid today. sweating up a storm. see y'all later. |
_(199x300)_(66x100).jpg?v 93697001) 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") |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 12:08:24 PM
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wanted to give a yogurt update. if you'll remember i made bulgarian, filmjolk and piima. of course also greek. i am left returning to greek as my eating yogurt and piima for drinking.
bulgarian was ok, just not impressive. greek is much creamier, and the bulgarian flavor was weaker. not just milder, weaker.
filmjolk did set so nicely and was one of those yogurts that the whey just doesn't separate on its own without cutting into it. but it was more custardy than creamy, and that is what made me return to greek. i like the filmjolk flavor and it was excellent with a drizzle of honey, but the greek dreamy creaminess wins.
i really like the piima. as i said before, we can make any yogurt drinkable - but i want one that desires to be shook up, mixed up, and loaded with honey and berries and not do all sort of clumpy icky things. yes, i know i can shake it up again to get the flavor - but i just wanted one that wanted to be a thinner drinkable consistency and that it would commit to it. piima is it. mild, flavorful, and drinkable consistency. a bit of honey stirred in for a drinkable breakfast on my way down to the barn is lovely.
i need to make some viili as i think it is the last culture i haven't tried out. but today i used the thursday yogurt batches to start two quarts each of piima and greek so i could hand off a quart each to my neighbor. these are all from the "heirloom yogurt" pack from cultures for health.
good day ladies! |
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") |
Edited by - txbikergirl on May 20 2017 12:10:52 PM |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 12:12:06 PM
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| oh, and absolutely NO calls/emails/texts from government. nada. this isn't indicative of anything bad or not progressing as it should... just how the system works. i am digging deep in my well of patience... deep. seriously deep. |
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") |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 12:55:02 PM
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| Stage 2 labor, Trying to breathe. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 12:58:33 PM
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Yes, I have on my calendar that sometime this week you should hear something from the agency. I hate to ask but do let us know the minute you hear anything. It's on my mind and I'm pulling for you and Patrick.
Mucous discharge is normal, especially when around others in heat. They mount and do all the usual even though they're pregnant. I'm came out and did an exam and found her still to be pregnant. He called it a false heat and said it was because the others here were in heat. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 1:13:58 PM
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No package yet. It's "out for delivery" and is supposed to arrive before 1:30, so 30 more minutes.
Janet, is Nellie having actual contractions that you can clearly see and time? On the two deliveries I needed help with, they moved into that stage with major full-body contractions 2 to 5 minutes apart but no action on the back end. Eventually Lacy Lou did that for 30 minutes so I called my vet. She came and tried to pull the calf but was able to determine that Ian's head was bigger than Lacy Lou's pelvis, hence the C-section. Keep in mind there's still time to get help if they're in the final stage of labor and nothing is happening. With Eliza Belle, I could feel "hooves" but as it turns out it was only one hoof and I made the mistake of not checking for two hooves and one of her calf's shoulders was back. Were that to happen now, I would put on a long glove and try to bring it forward based on the drawings I keep handy. Actually, I'd probably see if I could get a vet here to do it. And with both those pregnancies my intuition was spot on. I absolutely knew they were going to have problems and as you recall I had Eliza Belle loaded in the trailer but was told not to bring her over. With Lacy Lou, I had her examined the week prior because I felt she was going to have problems so I had a vet on call for her. If you're merely nervous, that's normal. I was nervous with my three recent deliveries but the feeling I had was very different than with the two I had trouble with. With the last three, I didn't even give my vet a heads up that I had calves due.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 2:34:11 PM
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| ReaShure Choline arrived a few minutes ago. I loaded several #7 gel caps with the powder and will leave shortly for WSU. I'm ever so anxious to hear from you, Janet. I'll check for news while on the road. Nellie is in good and loving hands! That we do know. |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 2:46:27 PM
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Nellie has a little, (want to guess)? Ha! Bull calf. I laughed and asked if that's all she knows how to make. .jpg?v 56464316) She was able to get as far as the feet but that was it. Joe was gone naturally, so I went to the house and got a clean 5 gallon bucket and surgical betadine wash and washed up to my elbows. Got back to the barn and behind her, and when she had a contraction I would pull, but it was like his head was to large, but I reached in carefully to make sure the head wasn't turned back. It wasn't so I continued to help when she had contractions. I put a call into a neighbor and asked if he could possibly help. In the meantime I went back to work. Reached in again with the contraction and with a couple more I got the calf and all seems well. I called the neighbor to let them know they didn't need to come, but he was good enough to stop what he was doing and came anyway. I need to bake him a pie. Then Joe shows up, (he wants a pie too.). Men and pies. So I'm going down to wait for the placenta and hopefully she won't wait all night to deliver that. I can breathe for now. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
Edited by - NellieBelle on May 20 2017 2:48:32 PM |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 2:51:34 PM
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| OMG, such relief! And ANOTHER bull. At some point, the stats just have to tip in favor of a heifer--Nellie's belly knows only bullish boys. Yes, and now the placenta wait. Congrats Janet!!!!! |
MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 5:26:38 PM
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| Thanks MaryJane. She passed the placenta at 6:30. Still has a string of something hanging. Little guy hasn't found teat yet but I took the hand held milker and milked out 2 quart. Gave him one quart early on and the second about 30 minutes later. So now it's up to him. Nellie didn't want to go to the stanchion, didn't want to leave the calf, so I will let it go for now. I washed up her back end and udder, kind of a mess. Perhaps she will be ready to leave him in the morning to be milked. I will check back on them later. I remember Ron told me, if it's a bull it will find teat. We will soon find out. Thankful you ReaSure arrived and it will bring Anna around sooner than later. Your yogurts sound so good right now Cindy. I could stand one about now, but afraid I'll have to wait. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 5:27:17 PM
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janet, you are my new hero. GO JANET GO! with a cape and a tiara you could rule the world.
and congrats on the little calf. bull or not, thats a blessing indeed.
about to sit down to a good british flick and force lover boy to enjoy it. Far from the maddening crowd. thomas hardy. i need a good british romantic period piece and this is it.
later gator. |
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") |
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maryjane
7072 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 6:12:52 PM
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I just love it when we get our calves on the ground, colostrum down, and placentas passed. Phew. What a good kind of tired to feel. And a huge sense of accomplishment, Janet. 5-star performance!!!!
Dr. Parish took my two gel tabs and demonstrated to Connie and me how to get them down. Anna is already doing much better because of the feed they started giving her that has choline in it. I should be able to bring her home Monday. Connie, myself and an intern washed her up, gave her some love and then they milked her--46#s, so she's still producing plenty of milk. And her ketones were normal tonight. It was sweet to see that Dr. Parish had cut Anna a bunch of fresh orchard grass and put it in the corner of her stall. She's still a bag of bones so I look forward to seeing if I can fatten her up now that I know what she needs from me. Well, I'm off to feed babies.
Any names yet, Janet? What kind of pies do the guys who didn't really help get? I think it should be whatever you'd like to eat:) What is your favorite kind of pie?
Meg and I are going to make some green apple chutney this year so we're happy to see our honey bees giving some love to our Granny Smith tree.
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MaryJane Butters, author of Milk Cow Kitchen ~ striving for the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain ~ |
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NellieBelle
11214 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 8:14:00 PM
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| I just came up from the barn. I milked Nellie and got 4 quart and 1 gallon bucket of colostrum. I fed little guy another quart and helped him latch on to one of Nellies teats. They are so big and stiff and when he sucks she brings her foot up. I'm sure it just because they are tender. She did fine while milking. Only got a little testy on one of the back teats. So good to hear Anna is doing better. Yes, now to get her home and plump her up a bit. I think rhubarb/custard seeing how I have the rhubarb and it's in season. My favorite is raspberry. I have to get a shower and get to bed as my mornings start in just a few hours. No name yet. Maybe it will come to me in my dreams. What a beautiful photo to view before retiring this evening. |
To laugh is human but to moo is bovine. Author Unknown |
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txbikergirl
3197 Posts
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Posted - May 20 2017 : 9:25:08 PM
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good evening ladies. glad to hear nellie and baby are doing well. get some good sleep janet, you need to bake two pies tomorrow!
best of luck to anna tonight.
have a nice evening ladies. |
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") |
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