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Post by Awnry Abe on Oct 14, 2015 2:17:19 GMT
You'd have to see pictures to really appreciate the sentiment of this post. I may drum some up off my phone. It's a long, gory story, but Bubba ran. Suffice it to say, I am very happy right now.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2015 2:25:44 GMT
Congratulations to you and Bubba. I wish he would run down here and tell me what you are talking about. Oh, good!!!
I am not the only one in the dark...
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Oct 14, 2015 8:44:45 GMT
Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Where did he run and why did he run there? Was it his nose or his rear running? Enquiring minds are very confused....
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Post by shellymay on Oct 14, 2015 11:44:17 GMT
I also don't know the story, but if it makes you happy I am happy for you  |
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Post by Awnry Abe on Oct 14, 2015 11:47:43 GMT
It's a good thing. I was to tired to elaborate last night. Now I am out milking and trying to type with a busted phone screen. I'll post the details later.
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Post by tab on Oct 17, 2015 18:25:21 GMT
Was he a lame animal? Not sure if he was yours but I remeber a post where a calf wasn't in the best shape...anywho, glad it is a good thing. We need those things to keep going.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Oct 22, 2015 11:44:30 GMT
Just came across this thread Awnry Abe... Care to share? I am indeed interested... Kinda imagine I may not be the only one... |
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Post by Awnry Abe on Oct 22, 2015 23:53:52 GMT
The reason for the long delay is that the SIM card on my phone with the photos went belly up. I had some real doozies of him that you wouldn't want to see during breakfast. I wanted to take some more, but evenings have so little light anymore and I am scrambling to get chores done in the daylight.
Bubba is last year's Jersey X Angus from our jersey named Sunny. He is (was) on schedule for retirement next fall. He is a typical bottle calf. Way too nosey, and throws his weight around pretty well. (Dang. Just remembered I lost some pics of DD riding him around the barnyard). This winter I turned him loose with the beef herd because they get dibs on the best grass around here and I don't want anymore grazing pressure than the milk cows on their pastures. Like any motherless steer, he got knocked around pretty good but was faring well.
This summer I was using MIG grazing using daily moves of poly-wire. I went out one evening to move the line and found that it was just scrambled all over the pasture. I couldn't tell who got into it, but I could tell it was intense. About two days later, I noticed Bubba walking gingerly. Gimpy cattle are not unusual here, so I just put him on my watch list. About a week later, he was absolutely unable to put weight on his front leg. This was pretty sudden. He went from just gimpy one evening to totally hobbled in one day. I was able to get a very good look now. I could see that he was the one to take out the poly wire, because he had some wire-sized grooves in his shank. And his front foreleg was completely broken. It wasn't compound, but did swing freely. I can't quite connect the electric fence entanglement timing with his now-clearly broken leg, but it doesn't matter now because he is seriously wounded.
I wanted to get him back to the dairy barn which is quieter and has easy access to food and water without bossy cows knocking him around. But he was not at all mobile at all. And the herd was absolutely the furthest it could possibly be. It would have been just under a mile journey. I splinted him out in the field, and did a poor job, but didn't know it at the time. He got a daily check up from me every day for a couple of weeks.
I thought all was progressing fine. He was up eating every time I checked. Then in just a few quick days the leg went from "a bit swollen" to a balloon. The swelling caused the splint to gouge past the padding into his flesh. The infection was caused by the top, back portion of the bandage (duck tape on Vet wrap) cutting into the back of his foreshank. I grabbed some scissors and cut off the splint. That cut had to have been a few days old, because it was very maggot filled. He was a scary, bloody, swollen mess.
I went back and hooked up the trailer to the pickup and drove out to the pasture to pick him up. He was next to a perfect ditch that I could drop the trailer tires in to lower the bed to near ground level. He has seen more than one steer disappear in that trailer and never come back. He must have thought it was his turn because when I opened the trailer gate, he bounced up off the ground and did the most amazing three-legged hustle away. I went from having to drag him maybe 10 feet to over 200. It was the most grueling wrestling match of one animal I have ever attempted.
After about 30 hard-fought minutes dragging, shoving, spinning and coercing him with halter and rope, I finally got him to the lip of the trailer. But I could not get him to commit with just one front leg. He was spent. I was out of gas. I pulled, pushed, lifted (or tried) for about 10 more minutes, with no luck. He is probably in the 600s.
One of the bossy girls had been standing back watching me fight him the entire time. I was just reaching down to release the halter and give up on him when came walking up. She simply stuck her head in his bum and shoved him right onto the trailer. His good leg curled under him at the lip of the trailer, but she just skidded him across the floor the entire way. When he was completely on the trailer, she just walked away. It was hilarious, but I was almost in tears for thankfulness.
So back to the peace and quite of the dairy barnyard he went. He has a pig, a few goats, and this year's bottle calves to keep him company. I just kept dressing the wound with a tea tree oil based wound spray and fresh air. As bad and deep and gross as the wounds were, they healed pretty fast. But his leg was still completely broke. I had later read that in such cases (a steer destined for freezer) that it is fine to let the leg heal without a splint. It would likely fuse crooked, but at least would heal. His did heal very crooked. Almost completely toed out. For the longest time he wouldn't put any weight on it.
Then that night at chore time when I originally posted this, he came running up to me from afar. It wasn't a full weight-on-wheels gallop, but he definitely planted the broken leg the whole way. I was thrilled. When I unwrapped his bandage, I thought I had cut his life far too short. But he is back now, walking with no issues other than ugliness. The beef herd will actually be passing by the dairy barn this weekend. Rather than turn him back with them, I think I am going to let him hang with his momma until his special day next year.
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Oct 23, 2015 0:41:06 GMT
Thank you for sharing Bubba's story with us, Abe. You have a flare with words, and I had to chuckle at the mental picture you painted of his entry onto the trailer, lol. So glad to hear he is healed up well enough to run again. |
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Oct 23, 2015 1:12:41 GMT
The reason for the long delay is that the SIM card on my phone with the photos went belly up. I had some real doozies of him that you wouldn't want to see during breakfast. I wanted to take some more, but evenings have so little light anymore and I am scrambling to get chores done in the daylight. Bubba is last year's Jersey X Angus from our jersey named Sunny. He is (was) on schedule for retirement next fall. He is a typical bottle calf. Way too nosey, and throws his weight around pretty well. (Dang. Just remembered I lost some pics of DD riding him around the barnyard). This winter I turned him loose with the beef herd because they get dibs on the best grass around here and I don't want anymore grazing pressure than the milk cows on their pastures. Like any motherless steer, he got knocked around pretty good but was faring well. This summer I was using MIG grazing using daily moves of poly-wire. I went out one evening to move the line and found that it was just scrambled all over the pasture. I couldn't tell who got into it, but I could tell it was intense. About two days later, I noticed Bubba walking gingerly. Gimpy cattle are not unusual here, so I just put him on my watch list. About a week later, he was absolutely unable to put weight on his front leg. This was pretty sudden. He went from just gimpy one evening to totally hobbled in one day. I was able to get a very good look now. I could see that he was the one to take out the poly wire, because he had some wire-sized grooves in his shank. And his front foreleg was completely broken. It wasn't compound, but did swing freely. I can't quite connect the electric fence entanglement timing with his now-clearly broken leg, but it doesn't matter now because he is seriously wounded. I wanted to get him back to the dairy barn which is quieter and has easy access to food and water without bossy cows knocking him around. But he was not at all mobile at all. And the herd was absolutely the furthest it could possibly be. It would have been just under a mile journey. I splinted him out in the field, and did a poor job, but didn't know it at the time. He got a daily check up from me every day for a couple of weeks. I thought all was progressing fine. He was up eating every time I checked. Then in just a few quick days the leg went from "a bit swollen" to a balloon. The swelling caused the splint to gouge past the padding into his flesh. The infection was caused by the top, back portion of the bandage (duck tape on Vet wrap) cutting into the back of his foreshank. I grabbed some scissors and cut off the splint. That cut had to have been a few days old, because it was very maggot filled. He was a scary, bloody, swollen mess. I went back and hooked up the trailer to the pickup and drove out to the pasture to pick him up. He was next to a perfect ditch that I could drop the trailer tires in to lower the bed to near ground level. He has seen more than one steer disappear in that trailer and never come back. He must have thought it was his turn because when I opened the trailer gate, he bounced up off the ground and did the most amazing three-legged hustle away. I went from having to drag him maybe 10 feet to over 200. It was the most grueling wrestling match of one animal I have ever attempted. After about 30 hard-fought minutes dragging, shoving, spinning and coercing him with halter and rope, I finally got him to the lip of the trailer. But I could not get him to commit with just one front leg. He was spent. I was out of gas. I pulled, pushed, lifted (or tried) for about 10 more minutes, with no luck. He is probably in the 600s. One of the bossy girls had been standing back watching me fight him the entire time. I was just reaching down to release the halter and give up on him when came walking up. She simply stuck her head in his bum and shoved him right onto the trailer. His good leg curled under him at the lip of the trailer, but she just skidded him across the floor the entire way. When he was completely on the trailer, she just walked away. It was hilarious, but I was almost in tears for thankfulness.So back to the peace and quite of the dairy barnyard he went. He has a pig, a few goats, and this year's bottle calves to keep him company. I just kept dressing the wound with a tea tree oil based wound spray and fresh air. As bad and deep and gross as the wounds were, they healed pretty fast. But his leg was still completely broke. I had later read that in such cases (a steer destined for freezer) that it is fine to let the leg heal without a splint. It would likely fuse crooked, but at least would heal. His did heal very crooked. Almost completely toed out. For the longest time he wouldn't put any weight on it. Then that night at chore time when I originally posted this, he came running up to me from afar. It wasn't a full weight-on-wheels gallop, but he definitely planted the broken leg the whole way. I was thrilled. When I unwrapped his bandage, I thought I had cut his life far too short. But he is back now, walking with no issues other than ugliness. The beef herd will actually be passing by the dairy barn this weekend. Rather than turn him back with them, I think I am going to let him hang with his momma until his special day next year. Thanks so much for sharing... I just had to laugh to myself when I got to the above that I bolded... The longer I am around animals--the more I see how some of them are very "special" and are indeed "intuitive". I only raise chickens...but-really enjoy a lot of these other threads in regards to other livestock... I did do a little helping out several years on our neighbor's dairy farm. What a "life-changing" experience it was! |
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Post by shellymay on Oct 23, 2015 12:42:53 GMT
LOL, loved the story, glad to hear Bubba is doing so much better....  |
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Post by motdaugrnds on Oct 23, 2015 13:17:32 GMT
What an enjoyable story about your Bubba and that helpful lady. Our animals are so much more than many understand until we see something like what you did occur without our even asking for the help. Some of our livestock are simply more than we think they are. Congratulations on both Bubba's running and that helpful girl. Just have to share: Your stofy reminded me of an Alpine buck I had many years ago. He was about a year old and already weighed over 250 lbs. We were trying to get a 26 ft cedar tree trunk across 200 feet from the pasture to the barn we were building. My son and I had it balanced across a small flat wagon. My son was pulling the wagon and I was trying to keep the trunk balanced. This Alpine buck came over, put his head down on the back of the wagon and started pushing. ROFL He actually pushed all the way to the barn. Like your girl, this Alpine intuitively knew help was needed and gave it. |
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Post by Awnry Abe on Oct 24, 2015 1:11:11 GMT
Awnry Abe, How did you ever manage to get any sort of a splint on a 600 lb. animal out in an open field? We don't name calves like that 'Bubba' for no reason.  He was a hand-fed bottle calf. And even though he was out with the beef herd, I *always* sought him out to give him a scratch, because I knew he was friendless. I didnt always find him, but when I did I babied him. He just stood there and let me splint him up. Any other animal, and it would have been a fight. The trailer was a fight, but I don't think he is going to see the inside of it anymore. He is a special kid. I'll pay a tad bit more and give him the no-stress dispatch. |
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Post by tab on Oct 30, 2015 0:34:01 GMT
You might have to go elsewhere when the day comes. Sometimes the ones we have to nurture just tug extra hard.
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