Tuesday - Preg Checks

While I was doing gate-duty for the fertilizer truck, the veterinarian was at the farm doing preg checks -- determining if any of the cows had not been bred, or had not "settled", and were therefore "open" (were not pregnant). 

Jimmy had gotten all the cows (and their current calves) up into the dairy lot and then he and Regina had gotten the cows (minus the current calves) into the handling system before Dr Franck arrived.

One-by-one they would move into the stanchion...

One was recalcitrant and wouldn't go into the stanchion...

... so Dr Franck checked her in the entry station part of the handling system.

Ladies waiting their turn.

A cow in the stanchion and Dr Franck about to do the check...

... he reaches in...

... almost up to his shoulder - he can feel the developing placenta and its connections to the sides of the uterus, determining that she is, indeed, pregnant, and he is skilled to be able to give an estimate on how far along she is.

One in the stanchion about to be let out...

Regina opens the stanchion so the cow can exit.

None of the cows were "open" and Dr Franck estimated each of them to be about 2-4 months along. A cow's gestation period is a little over 9 months, so these calves should be coming September-November timeframe. If any had been open, in a couple of months they probably would have gone back in with one of the bulls so as to produce spring calves.