Sometimes in the midst of all the hectic routine and 6-weeks torture of exams, there would be some unexpected miracles that suddenly appear and time would just goes still with a snap of a finger.

Yesterday was one of those miracles.

Friday, 7th October 2005. 4.30pm. The first milestone achieved in pursuing my (future) career as a doctor of veterinary medicine.

Witnessing my first CALVING! *Grin* Grin*

I was literally dragging myself to the faculty's foyer after having only 3 hours of sleep, a morning full of sheep wool (we learned how to botak-kan the sheeps, some got attitude again...), an afternoon of playing and fondling with goat carcasses, and having to open 10 piled notes at once to study for today's Feed and Feeding exam; when suddenly my final year senior Joshua told me that there was a cow in labour in the Large Animal Ward. I kepo-kepo followed him without thinking that I'll be the only one in 3rd year to see this live. The cow is a Friesian-Sahiwal (a dairy cow for short, the black and white spotty cow from Fernleaf's advert lar!), and this was her first calf.

No...It wasn't gruesome. But the cow was straining and grinding it's teeth in pain that it's hard not to feel how hard she's trying bravely to push her young out of her small vulva while walking around. Luckily our moms don't have to stand while giving birth to us...Man, It'll be so painful...

By the time I reached the ward, the water bag has broken and the calf's two limbs were poking out of the cow's ass from the vulva. There were mostly 4th year and final year seniors and also a handful of 2nd years watching and ooh-aah-ing as the calf gradually makes it's way through the canal. You can see the videos I managed to take with my digicam before it died-ed out on me right before the calf was expelled from the cow. They are according to order of the birth process, make sure you have Quicktime Player to play this! The whole birth process is actually quite short, the calf was born in just half an hour!:

I. Video I - Two limbs sticking out of the cow's ass

II. Video II - Two limbs moving!

III. Video III - The cow went into a temporary sternal recumbency (lying down on her chest la!) as the contractions were too great and painful...but then it helped her to push the calf's head out of the vulva. The person talking in the background is an Indian large-animal doctor observing the calving... He's so nice but he's very strict with the farm animals in the ward, he even trained a bull 3 times his size to obey his orders!

IV. Video IV - Head and limbs now out! There was mucous all over! Notice that the calf's hoof-ends have this yellowish thing? It 's very soft, very gelatinous and it protects the mother's vagina from being scratched from the inside by the calf's hooves while the calf travels through the canal. But by the time the calf stands up, that gelatinous thingy will be scrapped off as the calf struggles to gain it's bearing.

V. Video V - Finally...the MOMENT. Just when the calf starts to slid down, my camera's battery suddenly went flat...grr...geram...

There was surprisingly little blood with alot of amniotic fluid flowing out when the calf fell down with a splat right in front of me. Immediately the cow started to make this funny mekk~ noises and licked her calf like crazy, and the father (sire) in the next pen started moo-ing proudly and walking around with this macho-ness. The gila kambings also started to make stupid coughing noises and bleeting like crazy. So much of an animal celebration for a single calf...Hrmm...

The seniors wanted to name the calf after Ah Choy, another 4th year senior who happened to be incidentally there to treat a bull. But the calf was a female...Ah Choy is a guy. Imagine the staff calling after a running heifer on heat "Ah Choy!~, Ah Choy!~"....LOL...Hillarious lar!

The calf had some difficulty in standing up for more than an hour due to the slippery floor, so the doctor (we call Uncle lar) moved them into another pen where the father previously inhabited. I stayed back for another 2 hours and managed to get that yellowish thingy on the hoof as a souvenir! [: )] .

By the next morning, the calf is up and suckling, but I missed the milking of the new mother... sigh... stupid exams...

I'll be posting up the botak-ing of the sheeps later. Got church to go right now...hehehe...

P/s: To all my 3rd year coursemates...SORRY DIDN't TELL YOU ALL! My credit finished lar, only tinggal 15 sen only!

P/p/s: Mark! I said SORRY ALREADY! No credit lar!