Vet Judy

Hi there,

Well, it is finally here. The birth of new calves in 2009. It’s cold, its breezy. It is Alberta Calving season!

Can you even imagine what it is like to be born into the Canadian Winter Wind Chill?

Here is a picture of a few soon to be mom’s. Look how fuzzy these girls are. For these new mom’s we watch closely and try to seperate the one’s that are soon to calve and keep indoors in the barn. That is just because it is their first time mothering and if they are slow to lick the calf dry or get the calf up, the calf will freeze. The experienced mom’s have their calves outdoors, in bedding, beside wind shelters, in sheds: whatever is handy. The experienced mom’s rarely need help and rarely is there a problem.

• For the next month or two, we get up every several hours in the middle of the night to check cattle, especially the young mom’s who are still outdoors and especially on the blistery cold nights when the wind chill goes into the 20’s. The sound of the night alarm is about the last thing you want to hear in the middle of the night, but the responsibility drives either my husband, myself or my mother-in-law out of bed in the middle of the night.
• The best part is when the new babies are well on their way and running around kicking and frolicking, even if it is really cold. Once they have a couple of days under their belt they don’t seem to mind too much. They chase the cats, chase each other, try to investigate everything and generally look for trouble. The sounds like the young of all species doesn’t it!

So, for all the ranchers, farmers and cattle owners and cattle out there, we wish all a safe and healthy calving season.

Today I headed off to Lucca. Now this is a cool place for me. It is a city surrounded by a wall. You can rent bikes to bike around the city, sit in an open patio restaurant and drink while watching people wander by in any of the main squares. It is flatter here, thank goodness. My legs needed a break. It is relatively easy to find your way around town and there is less traffic and people in the streets. I shall stay here a couple of days and it is a short trip by train from here to Pisa for the leaning tower. I will have to fit that in while I am here.