This week has included many new experiences for me. I got here on Monday and after I moved in I worked for two hours. I got a tour and then got a crash course in how to use Dairy Comp, a dairy management computer program. After that my days have had routine but new things keep coming up!
We begin the day with a short meeting at 6 a.m. My manager, Brett, goes over what's going on with me and three other workers, Urbano, Colin, and Alfredo. After that we split up and go to do our own chores. The first thing I do is feed the show heifers and show cows that are on the dairy. After that, Urbano and I usually check the fresh cows. These cows are the ones that have had their calves in the past couple of weeks and we need to watch them to make sure that they are staying healthy. The dairy has registered Jersey cows and Jerseys are especially susceptible to ketosis, or milk fever. This means that they start sending too much calcium to the production of milk and their other systems begin to suffer from lack of calcium. What usually happens is that you have a cow that can't stand up and if you don't treat it they may end up dying. Other things that may be wrong is that they are having stomach problems or may just be under the weather a little. Urbano has taught me what to look for to see a cow that isn't feeling well. He tells me several times every morning to look at the eyes, nose and ears, and to watch for cows that aren't eating the feed in front of them. Urbano has been working with these Jerseys for years and he really knows his stuff. He's also a great teacher and makes me try things after I see it done once or twice. This includes giving shots, pills, and IVs.
When I got to work on Tuesday I was shown a cow that had ketosis. It had gone down on Friday and was still receiving IVs of calcium and sugar. Urbano showed me where everything was and then asked me if I wanted to try to IV the cow. Well, I tried, but even with the great teaching that I had gotten from Doc back home I was still unsuccessful so Urbano gave it. On Wednesday, however, he told me to go and do it while he went with Colin to get a skid loader. I went and found the stuff and got it on the first try! I was so excited because it's not as easy as people make it look but it worked!!! As soon as I finished giving the cow calcium Colin and Urbano returned with the skid loader. It as time for another new experience! We put the cow into a "jacuzzi." The jacuzzi was a metal box that we filled with water after getting the cow in it so that the cow's nerves and muscles could relax. She spent the entire afternoon floating in the water. Unfortunately it didn't do anything for her and today we had to put her down.
Other things that I've been doing are taking cow's temperatures, sorting cow into different pens, moving cows around, walking show heifers, and LOTS of walking. I'm also working on my Spanish! When Urbano found out that I knew some Spanish he started saying everything to me in Spanish and then in English if I didn't understand. I think I'm doing pretty well. Either way I'm having fun and loving it out here! More stories to come!!
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