Almost missed a beautiful sunset

Bran Made It!

Bran

Yesterday afternoon, I gave Bran a shot of vitamins and selenium, along with some yogurt and Lycopodium. Later though, Bran looked really bad, totally unresponsive. Blodeuwedd was acting desperate, calling mournfully. His cord seemed like it might be swollen, and his eyes started to look injected to me, so I gave him some penicillin. I thought he would surely not make it through the night, but I called the vet anyway to come the next day. I felt very bad for Blodeuweed. I brought three bales of straw out for him to lie in with the hand cart.

But this morning he was still alive. Either the penicillin worked really fast or he is one tough fellow. The ground was frozen, so I could take the pickup truck out back and bring Bran and Blodeuwedd back to the farmstead. I put him in the back and he stood there while she trotted behind. I made a straw bed for him up by the house, and gave his Blodeuwedd some second cut hay nearby.

I've not been well myself for several days so I slept most of the morning until the vet came in the early afternoon. In the meantime Bran had got up and nursed, quite a bit I think from feeling his belly. He wandered away from his straw though and laid down right on the ground, which is cold and damp.

Blodeuwedd has been calm with me, and let me pick up the calf this morning to put him in the truck, but when the vet came she became really aggressive. They are very different when people they don't know are nearby. She was not just annoyed, but out for blood. With some difficulty I got a pen around Blodeuwedd.

The vet said Bram was dehydrated, and his body temperature was way below normal. We brought him into the house to warm him up and gave him 3 liters of IV dextrose through the jugular vein. She got the vein on the first try which was impressive with a dehydrated animal. We had to hold his body above his head so the vein would fill. He also got a shot of Banamine, which is a non steroidal anti inflammatory.

Now he's warming up by my desk. When his feet are warm and he stands up he can go back outside with his mom. I have a heat lamp for him out there to lie under. I was going to put them in the barn but it is so musty in there. I think might be better off outside as long as he and his mom are confined where there is lots of straw and he has the lamp to keep him warm.

Otherwise, the vet said he did not look like he was infected. Tomorrow he should start a supplemental feeding of electrolytes to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated again.

So much for non intervention. I think the thing that got to me was her calling him when he was unresponsive.

Bran

Bran showed some encouraging signs this morning - first, his ears are warm (yesterday they were cold). Blodeuwedd looked like her front two quarters had been nursed out. And he pooped.

He's still somewhat listless, and he holds his breath slightly at each resipiration. I'm going to the vet to get a selenium shot for him in case that is a problem.

Bran

Blodeuwedd's calf Bran didn't nurse today. There are several thresholds a calf must pass to survive -

1. Being born without getting stuck or injured
2. Breathing without aspirating fluids
3. Getting dried off before hypothermia sets in
   
4. Nursing a belly full of colostrum before intestinal wall become impermeable to antibodies
   
5. Pooping the meconium
   
6. Getting the GI tract in gear without enteritis

Bran went through the first five without any problems, but today he didn't nurse which indicates he might have either constipation or enteritis. Other possibilities which seem less likely are:

1. Pneumonia - lungs are clear
2. Rhinitis - breathing through nose easily
3. Cord infection - the umbilical vein is not enlarged
4. Septicemia - eyes and gums are not inflamed

This threshold is just as critical as the others, as there is little reserve to carry him through not feeding, and enteritis can rapidly overwhelm him with toxins. When I left him this evening, he was not worse than this morning, and he is alert and able to walk, but he's clearly not feeling well. He gritted his teeth a couple of times which is a sign of pain, he is not in the usual curled position when lying down, and when you stroke him he stretches his neck out on the ground instead of lifting his head up. He should be nursing aggressively and running on his fourth day. I milked Blodeuwedd into a bottle (what a great disposition she has!) but couldn't entice him to take any.

Possible interventions are antibiotics, Banamine, mineral oil, and tube feedings, but I feel that perhaps I will let nature take its course with him. He got a good dose of colostrum which is nature's defense against infection, and it's possible that treatment might just intensify and prolong his suffering - the best intentions also have risks. By tomorrow we will know one way or the other. At least the weather is mild for him.

When the young ones suffer I especially reflect on my actions and responsibility to them, as I have caused them to come into this world. Aside from the pragmatic questions of what preventative husbandry and interventions are best, there is the deeper mystery of the suffering of any sentient being, and of animals which have limited knowledge and control over their fate. We all live on the edge between our longing for a just and kind world, and the reality of nature which may dictate otherwise. I know that these animals are closer to nature than I, for better or worse. I have learned not to force my desire to avoid grief and my nonacceptance of nature onto them by prolonged intervention which may only prolong suffering. Nonetheless, the immediate suffering of the mother and calf, and the grief of the mother on it's loss are profound, and cut with a knife edge the illusion that there are degrees of sentience when it comes to suffering.

The healthy ones running and playing in freedom just down the hill - Noisy and Arianhrod - show also that there are no degrees of sentience with respect to joy either:


What a sterile world it would be without these creatures, but what profound questions their lives raise for us. Let us not let the ubiquity of their suffering diminish our reverence for their lives, each and every one.

Blodeuwedd Had Her Calf

Blodeuwedd had a little bull calf at dawn. He nursed vigorously right off the bat. She was very calm and not aggressive at all. Looks like a good candidate for a breeding bull.
Nice sunny day for them today after the blizzard yesterday.

Sunset

Recently the sunsets have been striking due to the breadth of the evenly illuminated area across the horizon. I'm not sure if suns orientation or the weather that produces this effect.

Friends

Finished SW Corner Fence

Yesterday I finished the perimeter fence in the SW corner. It was a beautiful day to be outside. As I laid out this fence, I tried to understand the different parts of this corner, which has a complex topography. In addition to the main draw shown on the map below, there are two other draws that converge at the bend in the lane. The area south of the draw has mixed hardwoods with ash, maple, and white oak trees. Many are of moderate size; they may have been just a little too small to cut when the woods was logged but have grown vigorously since. They are big enough now to provide deep shade and a thick leaf litter. The soil here seems fragile due to the steep grades and the draws which make for many places were water flows can concentrate. But the leaf litter and fallen wood seem to be absorbing and slowing the rains so that there is little erosion so long an nothing disturbs the area. The narrow zone north of the draw and along the east boundary of the woods on the top side is very different. It's less steep, and is dominated by several very large white oaks which escaped the logging, perhaps because they were too branched or hollow. The oaks are widely spaced and in the intervening areas there is a lot of prickly ash and small elms which have not reached the stage where they succumb to Dutch elm disease, along with the trunks of many dead elms that have. There is less leaf litter here, and there is some erosion under and downhill from the prickly ash.

I envisioned that this area could could become like the original oak openings if the cattle ate the prickly ash allowing grass to grow under the mature oaks. The grass would also hold the soil. In return, the cattle would have shade. It would be good to find and protect any small oaks that might have managed to get started in spite of the prickly ash. As the prickly ash is cleared out, this would be a place to plant bluegrass and more white oaks.

The fence, a single wire strung mostly from one dead elm to the next, is 3-4 rods in from the original fence. The prime morel areas with the larger dead elms are protected. I believe the original fence was intended to keep the cows in the woods when the they had the run of the woods years ago.

Full Moon Rising And Sun Setting

Heaven

Gracie

Favorite Sunset From Winter 2005

Arianhrod Day 2

What a beautiful calf.

Arewen is a great mother.

Even colder last night than the night before, as you can see from the frost on Noisy's back.

Arianhrod

Last night was unseasonably cold, and the weather turned really sharp at dawn as it often does. When I checked on her in the night, I thought I could hear her nursing, although I didn't risk getting close. This morning I saw her get a good breakfast and I could tell it wasn't her first time nursing by the way she latched on. Then she tucked herself in a dead furrow out of the wind. I was able to approach Arwen and curry her. She's much more relaxed than Nora but she is very formidable with her horns.

Arwen and Arianhrod

Arwen had a little heifer calf late this afternoon.

This Land I

Measure this land and you will learn only how small it is.
Loose your bearings and you will find it's secret places.

Try to lift it, and it's weight will crush you.
Let it go and it will carry you.

Be silent and it will sing to you.
Look up from your business and you will see it's beauty.

Live here and a part of you will never leave it.
Leave here and a part of it will always go with you.

Hay Tally

Bakke Farm	94
Nustad	101
Total	195
Tons @ 1250 pounds per bale	120
Fed So Far	8
Remaining	187
Days until June 1st	212