I lost my calf chains.

they’re like a choke chain people use on dogs. Same basic idea but usually longer. They get wrapped around a calves feet to help out when the cow is having trouble. You have to reach up inside there and get the chain around a hoof that you can’t see. While being tightly encased in cow. They’re complicated but very useful.

While I was feeding this morning there was a cow out there messing around. She was obviously working on calving but wouldn’t settle down and get to it. I was watching her. Waiting for the time to be right to help, or for her to get down to it on her own. As I finished feeding she started claiming one of the calves born over night. She had decided it would be easier ti take one that was already born than to fight with this calf of hers any longer.

I finished up and went to separate them. That was when I noticed the dreaded upside down feet. Calf hooves pointing down instead of up. The calf was coming backwards.

In order to get her in I had to bring the pair. She was not leaving ‘her’ calf. That made it much easier really. I could focus on moving the very young calf and she would follow. There was a bit of a hurry. When calves are backwards each contraction is pushing the fluids into the lungs. The umbilical cord comes out before the nose so once it breaks the calf will suffocate. But sometimes going slow is going fast. She was up to the chute in no time.

I got my chains on and the calf puller. Had that calf out pretty quick. It was still alive even! I was afraid I would have been too late. Finished pulling him out with the chains. Pulled him out into the barn, away from the chute, with the chains. Then got him up into recovery position. Made sure he was still breathing a few times. Let the cow out to lick him up, help him with that breathing, deciding to stay alive, stuff. Hauled the puller out to the hydrant to wash it up. And realized I didn’t have my chains.

Went back into the barn. They weren’t on the table. They weren’t on the chute. They weren’t on the calf. They weren’t hanging on a wall. I didn’t see them in the dirt around the calf. But she was licking on him and I didn’t want to bother her. He needed licked on and she stopped every time I looked in at her.

I do this constantly. Have something in my hands one minute then it is gone completely the next with me having no memory at all of every having done anything with it. Whatever it may be. Luckily my children are pretty noisy and keep themselves from being lost. My head seems to be stuck on pretty tightly. Anything else I touch is likely to disappear.

Pretty sure the chains aren’t inside the cow. Might need to double check that.