Wednesday, April 13, 2011

More Cow Talk

The Bag Lady knows she has been negligent in attending to her blog. It partly stems from the changes made when Google and Hotmail combined, and partly from how busy she has been with real life stuff!

It's calving season, so she spends more time outside, checking cows and calves. It's also spring, so she spends more time trying to keep the house clean and free of the mud and crap dragged in by the three critters who live in her house (to say nothing of the crap the humans drag in!).

And she is trying hard to earn a living because there is still no money in raising cattle by selling (fabulous, comfortable, stylish) clothes in a direct sales business.

Here are some reasons the Bag Lady is still raising cattle....





And finally, after 7 boys in a row (10 bull calves in total, in case anyone is keeping count), the 3rd girl.....




The Bag Lady and the Rancher spent the balance of yesterday trying to save a cow who had bloated on the feed they bought. The cow must have hit a pocket of rich alfalfa feed, and, because she is a small cow trying to raise a large calf, she ate too much. Unfortunately, cows cannot throw up, so the gas built up and built up until she was almost to the bursting point. The Bag Lady and the Rancher had to take her into town to a veterinarian. Bloat can kill a cow if unattended. The Bag Lady is not sure you want a blow-by-blow description of the steps involved to save the cow's life, but suffice it to say it isn't something you would want done to you!

The Bag Lady checked the cow this morning and she seems to be doing much better, which makes the Bag Lady very happy, and Hayseus even happier!

12 comments:

Geosomin said...

I'm glad the poofy cow is on the mend. That sounds terrible.
Those little calfs are so very cute. Seeing them hop around when they're excited is still one of the cutest things I've ever seen :)
Glad to know you're doing well!

Leah J. Utas said...

Good to know the poor cow is okay. Bloat isn't something I'd wish on any critter.

Banan Appealing said...

Thank goodness you know the steps to save a bloated cow.
Never thought I'd live to see the day I'd write that sentence.

Reb said...

Good thing you found the bloat in time to fix it. Glad momma is doing well.

Hilary said...

Poor thing. That sounds nasty... and that "blow by blow" pretty much describes it..

messymimi said...

Glad she is doing better, and hope the rest of the season goes more smoothly.

Banan Appealing said...

I'm with Banan Appealing mostly because that was a brilliant sentence and comment.

Levi said...

Oops, I meant I love baby cows.

And I don't like to see any animals suffer which is why I only eat mixed meat like bologna.

solarity said...

I'm glad the bloated cow is recovering. Ten bulls! Come on, girls, get yourselves born!

Mary Anne in Kentucky

JavaChick said...

Glad that the poor cow is okay.

We found a tick on one of our cats on Saturday which caused a mild panic (ticks & Lyme disease are a concern in our area). Easier to deal with than a bloated cow, I suspect.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I go to my mother's for a visit and miss most of calving season!
But I'm glad it's been successful, even with the hiccup of a bloated cow. (I can sort of imagine what needs doing... and I'm glad to not be a participant!)

Anonymous said...

I had to do that once when I was 11 or 12 yrs old - scared to death, but no alternative as cow would not have lived otherwise...
and 50+ yrs later I still get the shakes and remember the smell of escaping gas..
so glad you have a vet now to take them to

abby cuz