I was amused to read about training ranchers and cowhands for calving season.
It’s a life-size steel-reinforced cow made of epoxy and fiberglass with a 70-pound unborn rubber calf inside.
Veterinarian Kelly Schaefer said that not only can the simulator help ranchers and their kids keep more calves alive while birthing, it was the most fun she’d had in a while.
Look at the expression on the boy's face!
“That was the first time we've ever used it, and it's an amazing tool,” Schaefer told Cowboy State Daily. “It’ll never be 100% accurate, but it lets people practice calving scenarios before an emergency happens. It was a huge hit.”
There's more at the link - some of it a bit technical for this non-rancher reader, but entertaining and interesting.
I must admit, I'd never thought about the financial aspect of momma cow health, but it's significant. According to the article, a new-born calf already represents a value of about a thousand dollars, which puts a whole new perspective on keeping them alive and healthy.
Here's a video clip showing the momma cow simulator in action.
I'm sure the real deal, in the rain and mud and wind and cold, would be a whole lot less sanitary - but under those conditions, it's too late to learn everything at first hand. You lose calves that way.
Peter
10 comments:
Or select bulls that are bred for calving ease (smaller calves that the mom can birth without help) and cull the cows who's pelvis is not properly structured for calving. Kinda strange how doing things the way God and nature intend works so well.
You may still have the calf who presents incorrectly (we lost a cow and calf last year when the calf tried to come out head instead of feet first), but the vast majority of ranchers who have made the 2 noted changes above have eliminated the need to pull calves.
There's a device (calving jack or calf extractors) that is more commonly used than those obstetrical ropes pictured, which gives a lot better mechanical advantage.
Durn! Just what I needed to see as I eat my breakfast!
If it works... it ain't wrong!
Yes, nature helps alleviate the issue, but only by allowing those births with non-optimal geometry to kill cows and calves. Man intervenes more with their breeding stats, but that doesn't make the problem go away entirely.
Smaller bulls, and cows with better birth canals, but the laws of statistics guarantees there will always be outliers.
Calf puller. Always on hand.
Peter, you may recall that the author whose nom de plume was 'James Herriot' had quite a bit to say on such subjects, sometimes poignantly, often humorously.
Transfers to sheep also.
How do they reload it for the next student?
A fake bull performing fake insemination? :-)
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