The Story
Until two weeks ago April lived with all the other young dairy cattle in the
small barn. She's a two-year-old Ayrshire heifer with a shiny red and whim coat
and two very large brown eyes that gaze out at the world from under the longest
eyelashes you've ever seen. But Eric, the farmer, has moved her into the main
herd and she feels just like you might feel if you had to change schools in the
middle of the year.
It seems as though everything in her life is changing. She
feels confused and more than a little nervous and that shows in her eyes.
Although April doesn't understand, she will soon be having a calf, her first.
The reason Eric has moved her into the main herd is so that
he can keep an eye on her as the time approaches for her calf to arrive.
A few days in the big barn is all April needs in order to
start to feel like she belongs with the older cows. She can feel her body
continuing to change. Eric is pleased to see that her pelvis is relaxing. He
knows that this is very important if the calf is to have an easy birth. April's
milk glands are also growing. She will have plenty of milk to feed her calf.
Once the calf is weaned, she will be milked and her milk will be shipped to a
dairy to be pasteurized for us to drink.
One day April feels peculiar. She just can't be bothered to
go and join the other cows. She doesn't even feel like eating. Eric can tell by
this that April's body is getting ready to give birth. Seeing that her udder is
full of milk, he moves her into a pen on her own where she will be able to give
birth in peace and quiet. He will also be able to watch her very closely in case
she' needs help delivering her calf. The birth of a cow's first calf can be
difficult.
April is exploring her new pen when she feels a pain in her
belly. It lasts for less than a minute, but soon there is another and then
another. April's muscles are contracting so that they squeeze the thin sac that
contains the calf. This is what causes the pain. As the contractions get
stronger and more frequent, April starts to feel restless.
When Eric checks her, he is very pleased to see that the
delivery is going smoothly. He can see the calf's feet protruding through the
birth canal, and while he watches, April uses a different set of muscles to help
push the calf out. All of a sudden Eric can see a pink nose and tongue. With the
next contraction the calf's head is visible, and after only two more
contractions the calf falls to the ground.
Eric watches as Moosy struggles to her feet. It never fails
to amaze him that animals can to walk so soon after being born, when it takes
humans nearly a year. April is feeling very proud and protective of her new
calf, but she trusts Eric, so she lets him help Moosy to find her udder. Moosy
would find it without any help, but Eric knows how important it is for her to
get her first drink of milk.
April proves to be a very good mother. She has plenty of milk
and Moosy is a good drinker, so the calf grows stronger and bigger and more
active every day. Producing milk makes April feel hungry. Eric makes sure that
she gets plenty of food so that she can keep making lots of milk.
When Moosy is a few days old, Eric moves her into the small
barn with the other young calves. He moves April in with the milking herd. They
miss each other at first, but soon they get used to their new routines.
Now, instead of being milked by Moosy, April gets milked by a
milking machine. It makes her nervous at first but soon she learns what to
expect. It helps that Eric always gives her some of her favourite grain to eat
while the machine is milking her. He attaches the machine to her udder and it
draws the milk out and transports it down some plastic tubing into a large
container called a bulk tank. The milk in the tank is picked up every day and
taken to the dairy where it is pasteurized. Then it is put in bags and cartons
and sold in supermarkets.
Moosy drinks out of a pail, now, instead of an udder. The
first few times she sneezed and bobbed and got her face all wet. But finally she
learned how to do it. Although she misses her mother, she certainly enjoys
playing with the other calves. They race around after each other until they are
fired, and then they curl up to sleep.
One morning when Eric checks the calves, he finds Moosy lying
quietly in the comer while the others are playing. She is very quiet and won't
drink when he offers her some milk. Seeing that she has diarrhea, Eric calls the
veterinarian and moves Moosy into her own pen. He doesn't want her to make the
other calves sick too.
Dr. Ligori examines Moosy to try to find out what's wrong. He
takes note of her symptoms: she's got a fever, she's slightly dehydrated, she
has diarrhea, and she's weak. Dr. Ligori suspects that this is caused by a
bacterial infection in Moosy's intestines. The bacteria have probably destroyed
part of the cells of her intestine and entered her blood stream. So he takes a
sample of her stool to send to a laboratory where it will be analyzed to see
what type of bacteria is causing the problem. The lab can also test different
medicines to see which ones work the best to control that type of bacteria.
There are many different medicines that control bacteria. They are called
antibiotics.
Dr. Ligori doesn't want to wait for the lab to send its
information before starting to help Moosy get better. He puts intravenous fluids
in Moosy fight away. He puts them directly into her blood by sticking a needle
in a vein in her neck. The needle is attached to a bag of water containing
minerals. These replace the minerals and water that Moosy is losing because of
the fever and diarrhea. As soon as the lab sends the information Dr. Ligori
needs, he gives Moosy the best antibiotic to control the bacteria that is
causing the problem.
A few days later the bacteria start to die and Moosy feels
stronger. Soon she is back to normal.
Now that she is growing up, Eric can give her some hay and
grain to eat. He must add these foods slowly to give her time to adapt to the
change. Food like this must be digested in her first three stomachs. When she is
grown up she will be able to live mainly on hay, grains and grasses.
At 15-16 months Moosy will be considered an adult heifer. Then is will be
time to breed her, and after about nine months she will have a calf. Then she
will join the rest of the milking cows and be reunited with her mother.
info@pirweb.org