Birthing Center

A few weeks ago, Dad and I travelled to the Iowa State Fair. He had signed up to volunteer at the Birthing Center in the Animal Learning Center....I wasn't working so I decided to tag a long and volunteer as well.....even though I don't really ever assist in farm animal births. 

The Birthing Center is an area where you can actually watch live births of cattle, pigs, chickens, goats,  and sheep. I've long forgotten my large animal information that I had to learn in school....so I had to brush up on my birthing/pregnancy knowledge in case anyone asked me any questions! (which they did...I had to BS my way through a question about goat teats !?!)

We left early in the morning and walked around the fair a bit before our shift started. Some of the highlights included the biggest bull....he weighed in around 2500 pounds....

The biggest boar....around 1600 pounds....

Fashion savvy goats.....

Miniature cattle....(I kinda want one!)

...and one cannot go to the fair and not see the most famous fixture there....the esteemed Butter Cow....yep, folks...a sculpture of a cow made entirely out of butter...she makes an appearance every year and has been a very long standing tradition at the fair...she's even been on the Today Show!

Dad and I donned our Vet scrub tops and began the ever exciting job of monitoring cow's nether regions. The fair actually owns about 25 cattle that are bred specifically to calve during the fair. They have to be quiet mannered and not bothered by the crowds. The Des Moines FFA kids are responsible for their care when they are not at the fair. When their due date is up, they are induced and then brought into the learning center and generally calve within 24 hours of induction. The goal is to not have to assist the cows during calving and allow everyone to watch it as it naturally happens. But there are vets there to monitor their progress and step in if assistance is needed.....that's where we came in :)

We had two cows to monitor as well as multiple sheep and goats. Both cows started to go into labor within about 20 minutes of each other about an hour into our shift. Here she is with her water bag protruding. 

The red cow had no issues and delivered a nice heifer calf. 

The crowd cheered when the calf was finally produced and again when she finally was able to stand on her own. The black cow stopped making progress and even though the calf was positioned correctly, it had to be pulled. But it was born alive and healthy. It was also a heifer calf.

The Birthing Center drew quite a crowd! It was really fun, I hope Dad and I get to help again next year!