The vet came in the morning to take care of the calves. Bull calves need castrating and any with horns need dehorning. I don't keep adult dairy bulls, they are too dangerous. And while horns are good in theory and probably essential in rangeland situations ... I've never had a cattle here with horns that didn't become an arse and a bully with the extra power they bring.
I did think Star might be polled, but the vet found some very small horn buds. So both Star and Joey were dehorned and Joey had his liabilities removed. They were sedated, given a nerve block (local) and some meloxicam (long lasting pain killer). Then the wounds were covered with alushield, an aluminium based spray that keeps off insects and kills bacteria. By the time they woke up the meloxicam had kicked in and they haven't missed a beat.
We also pregnancy checked Annie and Belle. Annie is estimated 4 - 5 months pregnant, which falls right between exposures to a bull and reflects the imprecision of the craft. I'll have to sit down and do some real cow maths to work out when I should dry her off based on the likeliest due date.
Belle seems to have slipped an early pregnancy, so she will need to go back with a bull soon. Getting her AI'd isn't a problem, but she's not showing overt heats so getting the timing right is difficult. And doing a synch protocol is expensive for just one cow.
Finn got his vaccinations and a check over, he's in excellent health, perhaps a little plump. The vet was hesitant when he found out he was going to vax a maremma, then realised it was Finn and figured it would be perfectly fine. Alot of maremma aren't properly socialised, Finn loves meeting people and the more pats the better.
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