From Death to Birth All in One Day

Thursday morning Emry and I were the lucky (?) ones to take a yearling heifer to the vet in Nanton. She had died the day before so we wanted to know why! Jared had just been through the herd the night before she died and they all looked in prime health.  The boys really wanted to come with us but when I told Calum that the vet would have to cut the cow open and look at her guts he instantly  said, "Nope I'll be staying with Grandma Puzey!" 

This is the heifer Emry and I took to the vet! Jared and the kids had to use the tractor to get her out of the corrals and loaded onto the truck!

We got to the vet and I assured Emry that her and I would be able to stay in the truck while the vet did the autopsy!! Was I ever wrong...we brought the cow over on the flat deck one ton because the vet could just do the autopsy right on the back of the truck! As Mike, the vet, was getting ready I made the mistake of asking him if he would be needing my help, and his reply, "yes, I might, thanks!" So there I stood while he cut the cow open and yes there really were guts! And the smell was horrific! First he skinned her, from her chin around her legs down her stomach. Then he used an electric saw to cut through her ribs so he could open her right up.  Emry heard the saw and happened to look out the back window of the truck and was not prepared for what she saw! The cow on her back with her legs spread wide to both sides and her intestines protruding out of her tummy! I walked over to her door to see how she was doing after taking in that scene and I found her with her head down between her knees and her hands over her ears and she was crying :( poor girl! I asked her if she was going to be okay and she said yes she just wasn't expecting to see all that!! We were able to talk about it on the way home and she continued to feel much better about it!

Mike continued to investigate and determined she bloated before she died. It was actually really interesting how he came to that conclusion. And to my surprise I was rather intrigued to see the process of finding out the cause of death. He cut the esophagus from under the cows chin and after the heart and lungs and removed it from the cow and brought it closer to me so I could see what he was doing.  He gently scrapped the underside of the esophagus where there was a very definite line between two colours! The part of the esophagus closer to the mouth was very dark purple, and the part closest to the heart and lungs was very pale.  Mike also cut a lymph node from the cows shoulder and one from the hind quarter to compare the color. The one from the front was very dark purple and the one from the hind quarter was very pale! This is caused from lack of blood being pumped past the stomach and too much blood pumping to the front of the cow. When a cow bloats her stomach expands so much that it puts too much pressure on the heart and lungs which eventually just stop working. To be 100% sure bloat before death was the cause, Mike opened up the heart and lungs and showed me how they appear to be very healthy, no sign of pneumonia. After coming to the conclusion he pushed her back onto her side and stuffed all her insides back under her skin and we strapped her down again so we could take her home to properly dispose of! He told me what can cause bloat in an otherwise health animal...usually always the feed! We feed a grass and alfalfa mix bale and she may have gotten a rich dose of alfalfa! We do give mineral to the cows to help prevent bloat but some cows are just more susceptible, actually her mom died last year too though we didn't find out the real cause because we didn't have an autopsy done!  He told me the signs to watch for in other cows and what we can do to treat the cow if we catch it soon enough.  We need to help the cow release the fuze (?) the excess gas build up and he gave me a medication that we can pour down the cows throat.  Cows need to release gas to prevent bloat, this is why they chew their cud all the time.  So as gross as it was, and I feel quite bad for those eating at subway right across the road while all this was being done, I learned so much and actually kind of liked seeing how the cause of death was determined!  Though I did say I didn't think I would ever be able to eat beef again, I still did make beef tacos that night for supper!!

We had signed up to have the missionaries over for dinner that night and Emry requested tacos!  It was nice having the elders in our home, I love the spirit they bring when they come.  The kids love talking and playing with them and learning about what they do while on their mission away from their family! The elders were greeted with quite a neat surprise when they came to our door...Chole, one of our outside cats happened to start delivering her kittens on the porch swing outside our front door!! They found it quite amazing and were asking all kinds of questions!! By the time they were to leave she had two kittens! And by nine that night she had five!!! All tabby markings!!! Emry has appointed herself keeper of the kittens! She found a box and a rag towel and put Chole and her kittens in the box and stored it safely under her desk!! She puts Chole outside regularly to go to the bathroom and she keeps her food and water full and fresh!! There is another outside cat who is pregnant and will soon be having her kittens too, we may be overrun with cats!!

And the last miracle I witnessed was a cow giving birth yesterday!! I noticed her off by herself early yesterday afternoon and saw how agitated she was so I decided to keep an eye on her! She would lay down, roll onto her side, stand back up, walk around and then repeat the whole process over and over!! I started to really worry about her after doing this for a good hour! Then I noticed her water bag hanging out, so I gave her a little more time before I decided I would panic!! Another hour of her routine of laying down, standing up, walking around was an hour too long for me to be patient!! I felt as though I were in labor right along side her!! Every time she tensed I tensed and held my breath and waited! Then it was all over, and I saw a calf fall out from behind her!!! From our living room window I couldn't  quite tell if the calf was actually okay, the binoculars just couldn't see through the clump of grass the calf was laying behind!! So I ran outside and jumped on the quad!! I didn't want to get too close to the momma so I stopped about 20 feet away and quietly watched as she licked her calf dry!  It truly was amazing to see how the mom would lick the back end of the calf and this would encourage the calf to try and stand, it took a few tries and even once he was standing he was pretty wobbly! It was neat to see after only minutes of being born he was standing and looking for milk!! He tried for quite some time to find milk under his moms neck so she would turn herself around and nudge him toward her utter!! It took no time for him to locate a teet and start drinking!!! Satisfied that he was going to be okay I decided to leave mom and baby alone!!

Birth really is quite a miracle!! I was so grateful to be able to witness two births within hours of each other. It made the sting of death not so intense. God's creations really are amazing and I am so thankful to be one of them!!