While this blog posting won't be graphic, it will be a bit on the colorful, descriptive side. And if you start to get bored, skip to the best part at the very end.
John and I went spent about five hours a month ago helping our friends work their cattle. They had recently purchased a couple dozen new cows that needed new ear tags and brands, and they planned to vaccinate, worm, and "preg check" their regular herd. John worked what's called the crowding alley, into which he ushered about five cows at a time before sending them through the chute. I stood along the squeeze chute at the other end (the cows' final destination) and sprayed wormer across their backs just before they were released back to freedom.
There's a certain barbaric quality to working with large animals that I still don't quite accept though I'm increasingly aware of its occasional necessity. Before we even started working the cows, I spent a few minutes just observing the herd's two bulls. While they seemed to be playing with each other to some extent, the slightly bloody faces indicated that their antics weren't merely for fun. There's also something impressive about 1800 lb. creatures battling it out literally head to head in a contest of sheer strength.
The day wasn't particularly cold or wet, but it was still December in Montana. There was plenty of snow on the ground, and the wind kept blowing at a steady clip. It was one of those days when you feel the blood rush to your cheeks and ears about 10 minutes after you head indoors following an extended period outside. We were all bundled up fairly well, and there are only so many winter clothes one can wear that a lot of fresh cow sh*t won't ruin.
We didn't have particularly good luck with the first few cows through the chute. The metal bottom was entirely too slippery for a couple of them, and all we can do is hope that the stress of the experience doesn't prove to be too much for them or for their unborn calves. They both went down on their font forelegs and couldn't get the legs back under themselves. I have to admit that it was really tough for me to watch them struggle, and though I really feel there wasn't anything we could have done differently once they got hung up, it was still really hard to watch. I know ranchers have their own approaches to handling animals, but it really is in everyone's best interest to treat the animals as well as possible. Each cow is worth hundreds of dollars, and the potential value of the calves is nearly as much. An injured pregnant cow can easily cost the rancher over a thousand dollars in lost revenue and vet bills.
After some adjustments, we were able to get the rest of the cows through without much trouble, but the best moment came when Travis, the county extension agent who was performing the preg checks, invited us (meaning me and the"other" kids who were there) to feel a calf that was in a particularly easy-to-access position.
Most people preg check their cattle much earlier, on a similar schedule to when I took Daisy for her ultrasound. The developing calf needs to be a certain number of days along for an experienced person to detect its presence. I knew Daisy was pregnant because of an ultrasound, but a more rudimentary check is typically what most people have performed, and this simply means that the technician or vet examines the cow rectally in order to feel the fetus itself. This second method is what Travis was using to determine each cow's pregnancy status.
I've been giving a lot of thought as to how I might describe that the experience felt like. Imagine filling a tall kitchen garbage can partially with warm water and then immersing a large garbage bag of similarly warm water into the garbage can. As a result, there would one "cavity" inside of another. Now, imagine putting on a shoulder-length examination glove and reaching down into the garbage can between the bag and the wall of the garbage can. Warm and a bit tight, right? If there were objects inside the bag along with the water, you'd be able to feel their sizes and shapes. That's the best I can come to describing what it feels like to preg check a cow and feel the head of the growing calf. The whole experience was pretty amazing!
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