Ever pull a calf at 2:30AM and then can’t get back to sleep?

[unclebilly]

We had a 2:30 AM commotion of mooing out in our calving pen where we have a couple cows that haven’t calved yet...

My wife went out to check the racket to discover a big calf stuck half way out of a heifer... she yelled for me and I got dressed to go help.

She grabbed the chains while I tried to pull it. It was hip locked.

The heifer got up and sorta twisted the calf as I pulled it out.

A couple straws up the calf’s nose and drag it in front of mom and the cycle of life continues...

One problem, I can’t get back to sleep now. Such is the life of a rancher.

[imaircooled]

Yes.....hurts....just be glad it wasn't your hamstring! Those really hurt!....

Hope you and the calf are doing well.

[SiberianDVM]

Reminds me of when I was a senior in Vet School. My then GF had graduated the year before and was working at a mixed animal practice about 20 miles away. We had just started dating, because she had just gotten divorced, but we had been friends for 3 years.

Anyway, we had a dinner date at her house on Saturday night, but she was on call. Naturally, just as things were getting interesting, she got a stuck calf call. Middle of winter in N GA, ground was frozen, cold as hell, dark, crappy pens. She did a great job pulling the calf, the the cow broke down the crappy chute and took off. We helped the "ranchers" look for an hour then we left.

As we both smelled to high heaven, and both had to go in early the next day, the mood was kind of broken, so I went home. Dummy.

[oldE]

Glad you had a good outcome, Billy.
Usually if the wife and I are pulling all nighters it is to care for a horse with colic. If things turn bad....well you know the rest.
Farming ain't no 9 to 5 job.

Best
Les

[Norm K]

Ya got me on that one, UB ... can't say as I have.

_

[billybek]

From years of being on call, getting a phone call at 2:30 am will still spin me up like I am going to work.
Glad everything worked out. How is the knee?

[GH85Carrera]

Wait, there is a 2:30 AM?

[flatbutt]

I once pulled a hamstring that prevented me from sleeping.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Wait, there is a 2:30 AM?

Growing up we usually bred one mare a year.

I do not remember a day time birth.

I was too young to do anything but watch.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Growing up we usually bred one mare a year.

I do not remember a day time birth.

I was too young to do anything but watch.

My parents raised two boys, and a dozen litters of English Bulldogs. They were usually born early in the morning as well.

[recycled sixtie]

Uncle B I am happy to hear that you had a good outcome albeit sleepless in Calgary.
This takes me back when I was sixteen and got my first job working on a farm in France for the summer holidays. This was in the 1960's.

A heffer or young cow got impregnated by the only bull on the farm. During the day the heffer was found in the pasture with the calf halfway out. The calf was already dead.
A Citroen Light Fifteen was driven out and ropes attached to the car and calf.

The heffer survived with awful sores on its side from lying down so long. The Count of the Chateau and farm reamed out the manager for letting the bull mix with the younger cattle. Such is life. Life goes on.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

The Count of the Chateau and farm reamed out the manager for letting the bull mix with the younger cattle

One! One stuck calf.

Muuuhahahahaha.

(someone had to do it....)

[Evans, Marv]

Reminds me of the cow problem at my uncle's farm, when I went to stay a week with my cousins at the age of 8 or 10. Was awakened in the middle of the first night by a cousiin saying some cows got out and crossed the road. We all ran across the road not realizing a truck had gone by earlier oiling the road. We slipped and slid across the road, and the cows and us slipped and slid across on the way back. We all washed each other off with diesel fuel and went back to bed. I didnt' have a problem getting back to sleep.

[unclebilly]

This was ma and baby this morning...



I had to take 2 other calves to the vet this morning, one was sick and may not make it even though it spent 6 nights at the vet last week and was doing great, the other was stepped on and has a broken rib but is otherwise fine... being a calf, it ain’t no picnic...

Been a long day and I’m out of beer...

[stevej37]

Have helped with calf-pulling, but always as a hired worker.
Lots of farm jobs that are not enjoyable....but they have to be done.

Milking cows and have a nice splash of cow sh** in the face....done that.

[BK911]

I thought "pulling a calf" may have been a metaphor I wasn't familiar with.
And thought.... I usually sleep pretty good after "pulling a calf"
Your story was actually pretty cool and much better than my initial thought.

[Wetwork]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

We had a 2:30 AM commotion of mooing out in our calving pen where we have a couple cows that haven’t calved yet...

My wife went out to check the racket to discover a big calf stuck half way out of a heifer... she yelled for me and I got dressed to go help.

She grabbed the chains while I tried to pull it. It was hip locked.

The heifer got up and sorta twisted the calf as I pulled it out.

A couple straws up the calf’s nose and drag it in front of mom and the cycle of life continues...

One problem, I can’t get back to sleep now. Such is the life of a rancher.

I've been blessed and haven't had to pull one in two seasons now. The last bad spring it was because the registered Hereford bull EPD's don't exactly match up to registered Black Angus EPD's...low birth weight Hereford's seem to be a tad larger than Angus? Thus we had a bad spring and pulled a lot of calves. Never again, I make sure our pick-up hereford bull has a extra low birth weight.-WW

ps. Good on you'all though, “houd vast"-WW

[unclebilly]

^^^ that’s what I’m dealing with. Hereford bull on a angus Holstein cross heifer. The others have been small but this one was a monster.

Contrary to popular belief, I think birth weights have more to do with the feed greed of the cows than the bulls genetics. I’ve had calves in a given year from the same bull that range from 65 lbs to 121 lbs.

I’m running with shorthorn bulls for this coming year but am going to ai my nurse cows to wagyu.