Uterine torsion night

Wow - I've seen two births in two days! This one was not as easy for the cow ... she'd been laboring since morning, but she wasn't dilating or progressing. She was tired and weak. Kris called the veterinarian to see what he thought was wrong.

Russ, our regular vet and friend, came and checked her out. He put on the long glove, cleaned her up, palpated her and immediately said, "It's uterine torsion." That means that her uterus has twisted and there's no way the calf can come out.

Russ let my sons and me feel her, too. I guess we'll all be ready next time we need to make a diagnosis.

Russ said that the new vet in their clinic - it was his first week - was coming. He said, "Don't tell him it's uterine torsion! We'll let him make the diagnosis."

Nick came with his fiancee Karen, who's also a vet. He felt around and made the correct diagnosis. We all cheered.

They told me how you correct a uterine torsion. You turn the cow around, while holding the uterus in place, and it effectively untwists her uterus.

It took some figuring deciding which way was the untwist direction. My dad went to get a long board to brace the calf/uterus part of her.

The vets gave her a bottle of calcium through a needle in her neck to help her in her muscle recovery.

Russ said to Nick, "Do you want to do the surfing?" That's apparently vet lingo for, "Do you want to stand on the board we're placing on the cow?" He did.

Note - the cow was right by the road. Kris said he didn't want to chase her into the barn earlier because she was weak. So, by this time quite a crowd had gathered. Friends, strangers, family members ... the uterine torsion show is on!

Kris, my dad, and the vets started turning her while holding the board in place. She didn't resist. 

Nick palpated her afterward and ... it had turned! We were all so happy.

Now it was time to pull out the calf. He went inside her and placed the chains around the calf's feet.

They pulled. She wasn't dilated, so it took a lot of gentle pulling, because Nick didn't want her to tear.

Then, the big, healthy bull was born!

They sucked out his nose and mouth with a bigger version of the snot suckers they use on human babies.

Hello!

The cow bled a lot at first, but it stopped and she rallied. She licked off her calf and was standing and walking around.

So, a happy ending to the story! With all its twists and turns. Or, fixing them.