Day off and plans to drive to little village called Bifröst and walk around there and see old volcano crater and lava fields and waterfalls and find a geo box and then after walk to drive to Borgarnes and go to the fine swimming pool there.
First part went to the plan. Had good walk and saw interesting things but I could not stop thinking a sick calf at home. So decided to leave the box hunt for some other time as well as Borgarnes and swimming pool. I went to the shop in the village instead and bought a few liters of AB sour milk and headed back home. The sour milk was for the calf and for its bad stomach. I could not let the calf wait any longer while I would be playing and swimming. We had tried giving sour milk the day before and the calf had not been worse after having it if not better either. But normal milk she can not have. That sprays out of her other end without delay. I had left Bergur orders to try to keep two different kind of good hay in her reach and feed pellets and offer warm water often and most importantly not to give milk. Reason for this fuss is that I just lost a calf with similar symptoms and dont want to loose another one . If this one goes anyway I need to know I have done what I can.
When home stopped Micra by the barn and went to put half liter of sour milk in to bottle and the bottle in hot water to warm it up. Bergur was working on slurry watching the slurry wagon vacuuming from slurry gap. I went to say hello and asked how was the calf. He told that he had just given her water.
I went in to change in to overalls and Fjóla was disappointed I had not looked for the geo box nor gone to swimming as she so likes my adventures. "How nice!", she whooped when I told the plan. (But she does not like it if Im doing something in her opinion dangerous.) It is sweet how she likes to look map and plan with me (maybe so that I would not do anything dangerous) and now she had checked the opening times for the swimming pool for me. "Please, go more often", she said one time when I asked to go swimming a mid week evening. Well, I told her I would go again but now I could not enjoy it knowing the calf would be in need of this sour milk.
Back to barn and sour milk for the calf who drank it willingly. As Bergur had not given day time milk for all the other calves yet either I put the amount needed in to buckets and warming. When Bergur was back again from the field I told him I had just seen cow 571 jumping on other cows so we could try if she was ready to meet bull and so we allowed the two together. I stayed for a while seeing what would the cow think about it as it is useful to know if she lets the bull jump or not. Bergur was nearby fighting with lump of hay stuck in slurry wagon pipe saying that if he would not get it out soon he would have to call the vets as that was like helping a cow to give birth.
The cow 571 seemed to keep turning her rear away from the bull and I was just about to leave and go back to calves when it happened. It happened so quickly that I still dont know exactly what happened.
I found myself from floor covered with the raw stuff itself - slurry muck and heard loud sound from the slurry still spraying around me and the heavy pipe banging in to feeding barrier irons and stampeded animals running. Then it stopped and with one eye I could see frightened looking Bergur and tried to wipe the muck of the other eye.
B - Are you hurt?
Me - No.
B - Are you sure?
Me - Yes.
B - Where did it hit you?
Me - I dont know.
So he had got the hay block out without the vets, turned the handle and was still holding the handle. Pressure in the wagon is lots of pressure and it got out now and the rest of the slurry load was high on the ceiling, on the bemused heifer group and the pair who was supposed to be discussing important businesses, Jope the bull and cow the 571 that is and it was on walls and feeding table and me. What a mess in few seconds! Looking at it I started laughing. Anyway it was just slurry muck. Nothing was broken, no-one was hurt. Looking at me Bergur could not help laughing also.
Nothing to it but to start cleaning it as leaving it to dry was not an option. "Dont you need to get yourself changed first?", asked Bergur but I thought it didnt matter now that I already was covered. Bergur first lift me up in tractor scoop so I could reach to rinse the ceiling. Then he came up with better idea, very good idea actually, and put the water hose trough a long plastic tube so rinsing could be done from floor. Im likely to use that idea later when washing walls. So as the saying goes, nothing so bad that something good wouldnt come out of it.
"Never again", said Bergur, "I should have known. This has happened before but not as badly. Never again."
When the mess was cleaned and calves had got their milk I rinsed my overalls and scarf and my head too with water hose before going in. I told Fjóla that there had been interesting accident and that never mind missing swimming pool. Bathing there would have been wasted.
When Bergur came in he was still asking where had the pipe hit me and if I was hurt anywhere but I still didnt know nor felt any pain. He got out smoked fish from the fridge and was pretending to read from the packaging, " It says here that this is very good for those hit by shit".
The sick calf is still not right but she likes the sour milk and her stomach seems to like it too. Also I saw her eating hay and pellets and having a sip of water and then sleeping peacefully.
This evening Im thankful for many things but 2 of them are,
- for not getting hurt by the shit hit
- for the good poo in the sick calves box
Oh, and last night 366 had very cute heifer calf. She is like cuddly toy. And two other youngest calves are running around in calf barn as I have not come round to organize box for them. They are having fun and being nuisance, so they are healthy.
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