Four Winds Ranch: " Life on the Farm "

[Four Winds Ranch]

Well, The Day Has Arrived!! :/

A while ago I was given a jersey cow from a local dairy. They gave her away cause she was older and had a lame foot from being on the cement her whole life. We have named her " Silver ", and have been enjoying her milk to the fullest!! Fresh milk, cream, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, and cheese!
But her foot has continued to be sore, so I have had the vet look at her a few times. It is really quite bad once you can see underneath!!
So the vet suggested the only thing he can do is amputate a toe!!
Today is the day for Silver's amputation! I will admit, I am nervous, but I suppose the vet knows what he is doing!!!

 

[elevan]

Wow. I feel bad for that poor cow being on concrete her whole life but at least now she gets to feel the grass under her feet. Animals have an amazing ability to heal in great part because mentally they don't think about it the way humans do. I'm sure that she'll get along fine after her surgery and healing time. Please do keep us updated. And pics of her would be fabulous (hint hint)

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

" SILVER "

She is a purebred Jersey!

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[SmallFarmGirl]

ADORABLE!



*if I had the room ......*

 

[Mamaboid]

I love her hairdo. I have a thing for Jersey cattle, always have, even when I was a kid I wanted one cause they have such wonderful faces.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Well, Silver,( the Jersey cow) seems to be recuperating fairly well after her surgery! She appears to be alot more comfortable now, than she was before the surgery ( minis the first 2 days after)!
Now, the bandaging! -BIG JOB- every other day, hopefully for not too much longer!

Elsewhere on the farm; one of my Rams, he is a 4yr old purebred Tunis, has always been pretty good with the ladies! Every year his ewes ( 25 head ) always lamb in a 2 week time period!:cool
This spring, !!!! It is going on 5 weeks and they still haven't all lambed!!!!:/ They are all pregnant(are bagging up) but definatly are taking their sweet time! Like, what is up with that! Has " Hamilton " lost his touch?!!! All the other ewes that were with the other rams have finished lambing a couple weeks ago!

Usually here in Alberta, this area anyway, we get green grass and leaves starting to pop out around the middle of May. Lo-and-behold we have green grass, and the trees have the smallest of green tinge to them and it is only the endish of April!!! It is not that often I can brag about getting a sunburn in April!!

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Early mornings are one of those things that come with the territoy when you live on the farm.
Most mornings I have to get up and out to milk before the little kids get up, other kid gets on the bus, and the hubby gets up for work. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, it is a routine I am used to.The last couple of weeks, I have been having to get up a bit earlier than usual, because along with checking the sheep, and milking, I have to soak the cows sore back foot in a tub of water for 20 min. every day. It is a pretty easy job, actually, kind of boring as you stand there and wait 20 min. She is a very nice cow and lets ME do anything with her. ( I stress ME, cause as soon as my hubby steps one foot in the barn, she is on a dead run!) :/
So, this morning, I grabbed the milk bucket and headed out the door half asleep like usual. I finished the milking and got the soaking tub ready and inserted the cows foot. I stood there, leaning on the cow, trying to stay awake as I waited for the 20 min. to s-l-o-w-l-y go by. I suddenly felt her weight shift ( which usually means she is going to lift her foot out of the tub! ), so I jerk my eyes open and reached down to grab her leg! Just as I bend over, she does a nice little kick on the top of the tub which sprayed warm water filled with manure and cow sore, mostly in my mouth and all over my face! In reaction, I jerk up spitting and gagging, and slip on the spilled water, and fall flat on my back, UNDER the cow! As I lay there with manure water soaking through my pJ's, I realize I have never seen this view of a cow before! Yep, I am wide awake now as I drag my soaked body out from under the cow, and start on the cold, moist journey from the barn to the house! It was also great fun trying to get from the door to the bathroom without leaving a trail on the floor behind me! Lol! I can laugh now, but earlier this morning it definatlly wasn't one of my best moments!
Now that I think about it, I think the cow's foot soaking time got cut a fair bit short today!

 

[Sunny & the 5 egg layers]

The visual of that is hilarious! Thank you for sharing!

 

[bonbean01]

Yup...cracked up with the visual...sorry you had a bad morning, but all in a day's work on a farm...one day all goes well and some days not so well.

 

[WildRoseBeef]

The grass is springing up here too, we've got a little herd of muleys (mule deer for most of you) that have been coming around regularly to graze the lawn. Nice to see some wildlife that are not birds!