My farming new year's resolution was to rectally palpate more cows - at least one every week if possible. That's right dear readers, in 2011 I want to shove my entire arm up more bovine asses.
I've written before about AI and how I'm really not very good at it. I'm also not good at all sorts of other farmer things that have to do with feeling a cow's reproductive tract through her large intestine. Our vet can tell if a cow's in heat or if she just had a heat or is going to have a heat, he can tell if her ovaries are releasing eggs, growing CL's, cystic, or sitting around doing nothing at all. He can tell if a cow is pregnant and for how long. I won't get good at these things palpating one cow a week but I do aim to move beyond the "hrm ... feels like warm mush ... that might be her cervix ... oh wait ... i think it's her pelvis ... bleh my arm is tired" stage, which is where I am now.
Week 1: Felt cervices of 2 cows who were having a hard time breeding back. The vet gave them an acupuncture treatment to help increase their fertility and then I gave them a Lutalyse (prostaglandin hormone) shot to bring them into heat. When they were showing a strong heat, I felt each cow's cervix. They were easy to find a very firm.
Week 2: Palpated a heifer about to calve to check presentation of calf. In the afternoon the calf was still quite far down and I could only feel one foot. By evening the calf was in the birthcanal, properly arranged (front feet first, then head), and alive. Heifer calved that night.
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