Wednesday October 16, 2013

Day 10..

Another change to the timetable this morning meant that we had our second 'school' trip today as we loaded onto a brack bus and headed for Newark livestock market!

Not a very busy market day but there seemed to be money to be made and money to be spent!

We watched the 'fat cows' go through (that's them who are not going to live to see another day! :( ) with various breeds on offer.

The auctioneer talks in another language, so from what I think I could make out price wise, the following are some of today's lots;

Dex bull 412kg @ 150p
Lim bull 498kg @ 206p
BBX bull 758kg @ 218 1/2 p
SD bull 777kg @ 153p
*NTU* Red bull 613kg @ 208p

Also for sale were a few pens of pigs and a few pens of sheep - selling at a pen rate of £75 based on an average weight of 55 1/2kg (tbc!)

The afternoon saw us team up for a practical session disbudding calves on Ian's farm (back down the road in the brack bus..

This is a dairy unit with calves at various different stages around the farm. Disbudding is the removal of the growth that turns into the horn and is primarily removed for safety - to stop them harming themselves, other cows and us!

We start by catching the calf in question holding its head and leaning into its body to hold still, then it receives a shot of anesthetic above each eye just in the grove most prominent as this will numb the area to be worked on. I had a go at this and the only worry was when the cow shakes it's head as you don't want to drop the needle. After around 10 mins we tested the horn area with a 'prick test' using a needle point to make sure it can't feel anything. Then it's time to remove the bud with a disbudding iron - heated up to 700 degrees this has an opening at the end and this is used to deaden the nerve endings and to cap the bud by flicking it off! I did have a go at this but I was a little hesitant! Initially you have to ensure the area around the bone area is deadened, you then wiggle it around to get a good shape all of which helps to ensure no growth can take place, then you leave the machine on for 3 seconds at the end to seal the job. This area is then sprayed with an antiseptic spray to help stop any infection getting in.

One calf down for me.. Plenty more to practice on!