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Post by willowgirl on Sept 29, 2017 12:43:59 GMT
One of my favorite girls at work. She's just a young thing, a friendly boisterous cow. The other day she slipped in the dry cow barn and did the splits! She's seven-and-a-months pregnant with her second calf.
The boss put her outside on the grass and put hobbles on her. Yesterday she was up and walking around! A down cow is a dead cow, so I was REALLY happy to see that!
Jewel has always been a little accident-prone; midway through her first lactation, she cut one of her hocks badly. We could never figure out how she did it! There's nothing sharp in the barn that we know of and none of the other cows have ever hurt themselves that way. Jewel's very smart and extremely curious, though -- that's kind of a bad combination in a cow. Those are the ones who usually get themselves in trouble.
Well, I'm being cautiously optimistic as far as her recovery. If she can get through calving and get well enough to withstand a short trailer ride, she'll have a place at the Home for Wayward Holsteins in the event she can't make the grade as a milk cow anymore.
It's funny, when she was a heifer, I talked my boss into not docking her tail, as I figured I'd make a pet out of her someday, and she'd need that tail to keep the flies off while out on pasture. That tail may come in handy yet!
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Post by katievt on Sept 29, 2017 13:24:55 GMT
Hope Jewel improves!
You'd be surprised how many "not-sharp" things in a barn become sharp when the force of a bovine is applied! My husband's finger can attest to that!
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Post by here to stay on Sept 29, 2017 14:04:24 GMT
I look forward to Jewel becoming a bright ornament in your pasture. Her adventures will be legendary.
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Post by countrymom22 on Sept 29, 2017 21:58:12 GMT
Praying for Jewel's complete recovery. And can't wait to see her living the life at your place!
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Post by willowgirl on Sept 30, 2017 2:17:41 GMT
Thanks you guys! She was looking good today, getting up without any trouble although when she's standing, she constantly shifts her weight back and forth between her back feet. I don't know if it's just the hobbles are bugging her or if she's in pain. Her heartbeat seems a little rapid to me but she isn't exhibiting some of the other classic signs of discomfort (head down, droopy ears). She seems to be eating, drinking and pooping normally. I hope this misadventure doesn't cause her to give birth prematurely! She's due Nov. 3. I'll be going out to check up on her Sunday.  |
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Post by aoconnor on Sept 30, 2017 17:36:53 GMT
Poor Jewel! Ouch, I have seen a horse do that same thing, it is painful for a long while. My guy did heal up eventually, but was shifting weight a lot for a long while after that.
I will be praying for Jewel!
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Post by Woodpecker on Sept 30, 2017 19:04:30 GMT
I'll add my prayers for your Jewel
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Post by willowgirl on Oct 1, 2017 22:23:40 GMT
She's still hanging in there!  I stopped by to visit her today on my way out to feed my girls. She was resting comfortably and chewing her cud. I didn't see any signs that she has been struggling to get up (i.e., torn up turf) so I'm guessing she's OK. She is staying close to the dry cow barn, which is good -- the last cow we put out on the grass, Nina, wandered all over and went down by the road, so she got stuck in the penalty box (hospital pen) instead. |
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Post by willowgirl on Oct 6, 2017 12:19:28 GMT
She is doing a lot better! In fact so well that we had to put her back in the dry cow barn, as she was all over the place! She was starting to wander out into the front yard, and we were afraid she would visit the neighbors or get out in the road. She's also starting to bag up; I wonder if she's going to calve early?  |
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Post by countrymom22 on Oct 8, 2017 0:05:06 GMT
So happy to hear that Jewel seems to be on the mend. Hope she doesn't calve too early. Keep us posted!
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 8, 2017 1:03:27 GMT
Yay Jewel!!! So glad she is feeling much better!!!
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Post by willowgirl on Oct 8, 2017 15:50:44 GMT
Thanks everyone for the good thoughts! There is never a dull moment on a farm, I swear! Two of my girls calved at the end of last week -- one has a RP, the other is doing fine -- and we lost one of our best young cows to a suspected DA on Thursday night. I'd noticed she was a bit 'off' -- she didn't seem to want get up Wednesday night, but it was hot and she was laying in front of the fan, so I thought it was possible she was just being stubborn. Thursday night she was definitely not feeling well, and when we brought her in to milk, she hardly had a bag. I alerted my boss ... he examined her that night after he came in from the field and gave her a couple of vitamin shots; we had the vet coming in the morning to look at another cow with an abscessed tooth, so he figured he'd have him look at Kallie Sue, too. Neither of us judged it to be a dire emergency, but in the morning, she was dead.  Kallie was the only daughter of Kalindi, the last cow I sent to live with the Krishnas. She was our highest-milking cow for the month of August, and only six days prior to her death had made 100# of milk on test. And now she's gone. It's hard to believe sometimes. I didn't actually suspect a DA as she was about 100 days in milk and hadn't had any complications up to that point. DA's are rather rare on the farm where I work, and usually there are other contributing factors, like a rough calving, RP, milk fever, mastitis, etc. However, the vet said it's not uncommon in high-producing cows even a couple months postpartum. He also said that a righthand twist can take cows down really fast! I found some info online which seems to confirm that. www.cowsmo.com/?news=signs-treatment-displaced-abomasumJust wanted to share that in case anyone else finds it helpful! |
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Post by willowgirl on Oct 28, 2017 20:05:38 GMT
Just an update -- Jewel had a bouncing baby bull Thursday night! She is back in the milking string now and doing good. Cleaned right away, eating, no problems so far. She still has hobbles on which will hopefully keep her safe from falls. Thanks, everyone, for the good thoughts! Hopefully everything will continue to go well. We had 2 fresh cows Friday morning, and 5 more due in the next week. There are (I think) 19 on the dry lot right now ... November is gonna be an interesting month. Oy.  |
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Post by aoconnor on Oct 29, 2017 2:23:23 GMT
Ah, so glad to hear!
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Post by Woodpecker on Oct 29, 2017 15:00:33 GMT
Awww, that's wonderful...nothing like happy news!
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Post by countrymom22 on Oct 30, 2017 22:07:34 GMT
Congrats Jewel!
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Post by willowgirl on Oct 31, 2017 3:48:25 GMT
Two more fresh cows over the weekend, plus a heifer! Three more due between now and Friday ... (Jewel seems to be doing fine.) Edited to add: Jewel made 63 lbs. on test today. Go Jewel! Also, we had another fresh heifer ...  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2017 0:02:55 GMT
Still doing cows? I msg you.
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Post by willowgirl on Dec 9, 2017 6:02:00 GMT
Jewel is a stinker!
She's one of those curious cows who is always messing with things. Tonight she managed to unlatch the gate to the holding pen!
Luckily, I caught her before anyone got out (or in). She was just standing in the opening, chewing her cud with a pleased look on her face. I ran around the other way and shooed her back in, shut the gate and chased her into the milking parlor before she had a chance to repeat her little trick. Whew!
I warned my boss, but I'm not sure he believed me ... he probably thinks I forgot to latch the gate (not likely). It'll be interesting to see whether she does it again ...
I taught Jewel the old routine I used to have with Bitey, where she'd rest her head on my shoulder while I scratched the sides of her face. Jewel crinkles up her eyes and relaxes her whole weight on me (cow heads are HEAVY!) just like Bitey used to. So cute ...
If we end up bringing this one home someday, we're gonna have to be REALLY careful with gates ...
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Post by here to stay on Dec 9, 2017 12:48:55 GMT
Hollie the horse is like Jewel. Always curious and wanting entertainment. She too opens gates and is the reason that they all have clips on the latches. I too have made the sprint to shut gates she's opened. Jewel sounds like a sister from another mother to Hollie.
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Post by countrymom22 on Dec 10, 2017 0:07:16 GMT
Who knows, maybe Jewel had some Christmas shopping she needed to do? Gates are merely a suggestion that the animal stay put. She didn't like that suggestion. Something tells me your boss is in trouble!
Maybe a name change to Houdini is in order! |
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Post by willowgirl on Feb 5, 2018 1:53:48 GMT
Jewel opened the gate again TWICE last week! I finally put a chain on it Friday after she let half the herd escape back into the freestalls. Luckily I hadn't turned any milked cows out yet -- I had just finished putting milkers on the first group and went to switch on the tank cooler when I noticed her standing at the water trough just outside of the exit. Looked pretty pleased with herself, too, she did!
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Post by countrymom22 on Feb 7, 2018 23:52:28 GMT
These girls do keep life interesting!~
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Post by willowgirl on Mar 12, 2018 12:27:40 GMT
Jewel continues to be a real pill! She likes to hang out with me in the parlor after milking. While all the other cows turn right to go out by way of the foot bath, Jewel turns left ... sigh. If I'm milking by myself, I let her get away with it, as it's fun to see what she'll get into. Her options are pretty limited, but she makes do with what she has! One day last week, she got the pressure washer hose off the hanger, hung the coils around her neck and danced around for a bit until I intervened. Then another night, she discovered the splice in the air hose that makes the sides of the parlor go up and down. Apparently she liked the hissing noise the hose made when she pulled it apart, because now when I let her out, she makes a beeline for that hose, and tries to repeat her trick! Bad cow, very bad cow ... I told Numb if (hopefully when) we bring her home, we're going to have to keep her in a tie stall (not really) or "childproof" our whole farm, as I can envision her getting into terrible trouble! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 12:54:13 GMT
Ouch! It is my hope that Jewel recovers nicely and throws a healthy little one.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 16:25:08 GMT
Jewel continues to be a real pill! She likes to hang out with me in the parlor after milking. While all the other cows turn right to go out by way of the foot bath, Jewel turns left ... sigh. If I'm milking by myself, I let her get away with it, as it's fun to see what she'll get into. Her options are pretty limited, but she makes do with what she has! One day last week, she got the pressure washer hose off the hanger, hung the coils around her neck and danced around for a bit until I intervened. Then another night, she discovered the splice in the air hose that makes the sides of the parlor go up and down. Apparently she liked the hissing noise the hose made when she pulled it apart, because now when I let her out, she makes a beeline for that hose, and tries to repeat her trick! Bad cow, very bad cow ... I told Numb if (hopefully when) we bring her home, we're going to have to keep her in a tie stall (not really) or "childproof" our whole farm, as I can envision her getting into terrible trouble! This is so funny - thanks for getting my day off to a good start with a laugh. |
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Post by here to stay on Mar 12, 2018 19:31:17 GMT
willowgirl, just a half hour ago I heard one of the gate chains rattling. Yup. You know it. Hollie had staged an escape into Tessie's side of the shed to eat Tessie's hay, obviously due to owner error in forgetting to put the clip on the latch. I went right out before she could pull out Tessie's stall mats which is her typical action. There's always one in every crowd. The Jewels of the world.
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Post by willowgirl on Mar 13, 2018 16:28:52 GMT
LOL, she pulls out the stall mats?! That is quite the feat...
In cows, I've noticed three levels of intelligence. The first is your basic curiosity/fear response. This cow will study new things and upon determining they won't hurt her, she'll simply go about her business. This is your typical nice cow who learns the routine of the freestalls and parlor and doesn't rock the boat. Most cows fall into this category (thankfully!).
The second level is the cow who is slightly more intelligent but mostly food-motivated. She'll learn to test the electric fence with her whiskers or to open a latch, but her goal is mostly to obtain a clearly-perceived reward; usually something tasty. My old cow Christine fell into this category ... ghod help me if the power went out or the charger stopped working; she'd be through the fence in a heartbeat! Back in Michigan I used to feed round bales out of the bed of a pickup backed up to an opening in the fence and Christine also learned that she could climb up in the bed of the pickup, then jump over the side to be outside the fence. (It took me awhile to figure out how she was getting out! One day I just happened to be looking out the window when she pulled this trick.)
Level Three are cows like Jewel, who have what I'd call an intellectual curiosity ... a desire to mess with stuff and figure out how it works even in the absence of an obvious reward. They are relatively rare ... (again, thankfully!).
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Post by here to stay on Mar 13, 2018 17:03:08 GMT
The worst is when the number 3 animal is also herd leader. They not only cause trouble but they teach the others to cause it too. Luckily also pretty rare as most leaders have other priorities.
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Post by willowgirl on Apr 10, 2018 13:30:49 GMT
Seems Jewel learned a new trick ... When I got back to work Monday, the boss told me that on Saturday and Sunday mornings, when he went to unload the mixer, the conveyor belt was off the pulley inside the barn. On Monday morning he caught the culprit red-handed (so to speak) tugging on the belt with her teeth ... But we already knew who it was, didn't we? |
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