Texas C-Section
 

Today we tried something we’ve never done before…

We had a cow get stuck in muck and spent all of her energy trying to get up. She also injured a rear leg, maybe was stepped on by another cow… I tried to save her, lifting her up with hip lifters to no avail. I put a strap under her chest and the hip lifters but she just couldn’t stand for very long.

I was fortunate to find a mobile butcher that could come out this afternoon. I casually mentioned that it’s too bad we couldn’t somehow save her unborn calf…

He said he had never done a Texas C-Section before but would be willing to try. I had also never done this but had been curious about it.

We euthanized the cow and then very quickly made the c-section cut and pulled out a very much alive calf. Then saved the carcass and it’s off to the cooler. This carcass will be all turned into sausage.

This is a sorta feel good story where we made lemonade from the lemons we were dealt.

Cool, glad you were able to save the calf.

mmmmm, sausage!

Well done!

This part needs highlighting...

Some days a good day farming is just losing a bit.
Glad you were able to save the calf.
You've has enough moisture where you are to make mud?

Best
Les

Wow!

Uggh bottle baby...hope you find another cow to graft it on...bottle babies are so time consuming this time of year with so much other stuff going on. A possible idea in the future is to take a water pump and pump water down along the legs as you are lifting. Its messy but if its the prize 4H cow it might be a last ditch effort. I've used the water pump method on humans so I know it works on folks sunk in mud up to the waist. Good luck-WW

ps. When I was a kid we had a hiplocked birth that paralized the cow, after three months of hauling her hay and water she just stood up one day. As a adult looking back I'm not sure if the man-hours were worth it.

Wow- good work! Name suggestion for the calf- Phoenix.

Right out of City Slickers!


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This is really nice to read.

The calf made a visit to the vet this afternoon. His navel was not quite right and bled last night. Also he hadn’t walked yet. A shot of steroid and some antibiotics and he’s well on his way now. This evening he walked all around our yard and into my shop exploring. He is out in a little pen by the bulls tonight.

As soon as our nurse cow (Holstein dairy cow) calves, he will have a mom. Until then, we will bottle feed.

I'd would have liked to be a farmer but the *daily gore you have to deal with put me off.

*Perceived?

12 years ago, I was happy enough to be a professional engineer. At the time, I had no idea that within a few years, I would think nothing of reaching into a cow’s vagina to pull out a calf.

It’s what you do when you need to. You just do it because an animal is in distress and a life is on the line.

Since I moved my office to the farm, it’s easier to do farm stuff too as needed and then go back to designing some widget.

Is there gore? Yup, sometimes. Yesterday was one of those days. It’s rewarding seeing these little calves come a long. When you lose one, it’s heartbreaking. We’ve lost 3 this year.

What's a bottle-fed calf like, personality-wise? Much different than a calf with a mom?

Bottle calves are always super friendly and remember you. Often they want a pat or a rub when you walk through the field.

Here he is on his 6th day.

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He’s a big, feisty calf. Our nurse cow is starting to ‘bag up’ (her udder is starting to fill up) so she should calve soon. Once she calves and gets her own calf going, we will put this orphan on her as well.