Scared. Shivering. Gasping
for breath. Probably hurting a
little.
This newborn heifer (female)
calf was not in the best shape.
Mama stood mere feet away.
Also hurting. Confused.
Anxiously concerned over her
baby.
She was in the process of
“cleaning,” following calving,
passing from her body the pla
centa and remaining tissues
which had nurtured this now
cold and damp new lijfe in a far
corner of the pasture.
Darkness was ‘St baSd-thig
late May evening, a brisk breeze
chasing off the heat and humid
ity of the brilliant day. MyJight
weight T-shirt and shorts, while
appropriate earlier, would have
been more comfortable with an
added sweatshirt-layer.
Laying aside a chunk of
fresh, soft grass for the first
time mother, I kept one eye on
the calf and the other on the ner
vous mother. The hay was both
to help fill the cow’s “interior” as
well as offer a distraction while
this ■ intensive-care-candidate
calf got its vital first meal of
warm colostrum milk.
Delivery of a calf creates a
void inside the cow, formerly
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filled by an 80-100 lb. infant.
Until the cow’s interior can
shrink back down to normal
size, the abomasum, one of her
fouf stomachs, may slide out of
place and block her digestive
system. Veterinary term is a
“displaced abomasum,” often
shortened to “D.A.” or in more
layman language, “twisted
stomach.”
“We have a twist,” is not a
favorite phrase on a dairy farm.
While a simple twisted stomach
is remedied with fairly routine
surgery, there is added vet and
antibiotic costs, possible long
term complications to the cow,
>hd ", the*' occasional, but
lost animal.
A “twist” was not my main
concern initially with this
'newly-'fresh young cow, but
keeping her beautiful little baby
alive was. The calving had been
a difficult one and the calf had
apparently swallowed a lot of
fluids. Its face and throat
seemed to be swelled. Her nose
was cold, she was shivering, and
the breeze was picking up in
speed and cooling down in tem
perature by the minute.
She needed the bottle I had in
hand of warm colostrum, extra
rich stuff saved and frozen from
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Naw Ringgold, PA* 717/943-2131
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Stonaboro, PA *412/376-3390
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Woodaboro, MD • 301/898-3233
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Lltltz, PA*7l7/626-5033
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the calving a few weeks before of
a veteran of the milking string.
Older cows generally produce
more disease-resistant-antibod
ies in their post-calving milk
than do younger, new mothers.
We keep some frozen at all times
for such occasions.
But the swelling was such
that the calf's mouth had to be
pried open to insert the nipple of
the bottle. She was still to weak
to suckle. And her struggling
against the effort to help was
further alarming the new moth
er, growing more nervous by the
second, making little mooing
sounds of concern, and still
pushing to complete the after
birth delivery. No one was
around; the men were all back in
the field, working late in the
haylage harvest. Was this a safe
place to be?
This one would have to be left
to Bigger Hands. I trudged back
into the office in the semi-dark
ness, hit the patch of oil slick
that (we later discovered) came
from an untightened filter on
the milking system vacuum
pump, slid across the concrete
floor and crashed into the wall.
It was time to call it quits.
Exiting the bam, I stumbled
into The Farmer. The field crew
was also calling it quits, after
more than a week of extra-long
hours of planting com and chop
ping several hundred tons of
silage toward refilling our hare
cupboard feed supplies. Just the
night before, The Farmer had
round baled until midnight,
then lamented the next day that
he had missed a field in the
dark.
Sometimes, you just have to
call it quits. To temporarily walk
away. Tb go get some rest. It was
time.
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Mahaffey, PA* 814/277-6647
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Osterburg, PA • 814/276-3422
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Flutter Tedders- Model
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Williamsburg, PA*Bl4/793-3731
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Honesdale, PA • 717/729-7117
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Greencastle, PA*7l7/597-2176
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Everett, PA*Bl4/652-6101
• Next morning, the baby was
alive and hungry, though she
still had some difficulty swal
lowing. Mama Cow was fully
rested and full of spunk.
Haylage harvest resumed. The
Featured Recipe
The month of May has been designated “Older Americans Month.”
But don’t waste your time looking on front porches for white-haired
folks in rocking chairs to honor. Today’s “older Americans” will
more likely be found rediscovering all the activities they enjoyed be
fore they filled their nest. Few “older Americans” who are taking ad
vantage of early retirement options are acting tired. Most are busy
volunteering, starting new careers, or taking up new hobbies. How
ever, not many “older Americans” are choosing to spend new-found
extra time in the kitchen.
“Life is too short to spend more time in the kitchen than you really
want to,” says registered dietitian Brenda Ponichtera, author of
“Quick & Healthy Recipes and Ideas” and “Quick & Healthy Volume
II” (Scale Down Publishing, Inc., 1519 Hermits Way, The Dalles,
Oregon 97058, $16.95 each, comb-bound.) “This is a time in life to be
spontaneous and unscheduled but also a time when a healthy diet is
extremely important.” Whether you have special dietary considera
tions (reducing salt content, trimming fat grams, watching diabetic
exchanges, etc.) or just want to eat better so you can stay active,
Ponichtera’s cookbooks offer hundreds of terrific quick and healthy
meal ideas.
Here is a recipe from the cookbook.
Mandarin Yogurt Delight
The orange color makes this an attractive dessert. Serve in sherbet
dishes with a dollop of light whipped topping. This also works well as
a fruit salad.
1 package (0.3 ox.) sugar-free orange-flavored gelatin
V> cup boiling water
j 8 ounces nonfat vanilla yogurt (sweetened with artificial sweeten
er)
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add yogurt and stir until smooth..
( Chill'linttf tM 1 'cl&M&ncy of egg whites, about 20 minutes. Add
drained fruit. Spoon into sherbet dishes and refrigerate until set
1 Yield: 2'/4 cups (5 servings)
One serving: 'A cup
Per serving: 40 calories, 7 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, 0
grams fat
Exchanges; 'A fruit
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Oley PA *215/987 6277
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Mercer, PA • 412/748-4300
RAW Equipment
Carlisle. PA • 717/243-2686
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Somerset, PA • 814/445-6500
Stoltzfue Farm Service
Cochranvllla, PA* 215/593-2407
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 30, 1998-B3
Farmer departed to round bale
the held missed at midnight.
And I thanked the Bigger
Hands for keeping an eye on it
all.
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Peach Bottom PA* 717/548-3775
Umbaroara of Fontana
Lebanon PA *717/867 5161
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Red bon PA-717/244-4168
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Bethel PA-717/933-4114