After Hours Call

Ken was on call this weekend and this morning he was called out to a property where a cow was having a breech calving.

The whole episode was very difficult. To make matters worse the cow insisted on lying down. And the calf was already dead. It is one of the few times I have ever seen Ken at a bit frustrated.

To make matters worse the cow was pretty cranky. She gave Ken a bit of a headbutt and the property owner copped a few bumps. As for me? I climbed the yard fence really quickly when she turned her attention to me, much to Kens amusment.

So after more than an hour of trial and error Ken brought out the calfing winch. Yes, there is such a thing. He literally ran a chain (yes, a calfing chain) up into the cow and attached it around the calfs legs. This involved lying on the ground with his arm buried up to the shoulder in the cows you know what.

It was fascinating and more than a little gross. Ken then attached the chain too the winch and literally pulled the dead calf out one crank of the winch handle at a time. The cow bellowed. I would too.

Yes, I did assist Ken and actually managed to get my hands dirty. Not something I would like to make a career of. To make matters worse there wasn't anywhere to wash up afterward so we had to drive back to Kens dirty. At least my hands were all that got really dirty. Ken was a bit worse off.

That was all before 9am.

So the morning was a write off in some ways but still entertaining. I took the time to remove the carby from my Land Rover before I showered. Might as well do all the dirty jobs together. It has come back home with me for a rebuild.

Tonight, after all that and a 3 hour drive home I have earned my glass of wine.

I though black and white was the best option for this one...