Turn a Kid Loose at a Holstein Auction, Guess What You Get

We spent our rainy, northern California Friday night at the annual Redwood Holstein Association fund raiser sale.  Fortunately there were space heaters scattered throughout the show ring, because it was cold.

I just found out that the Holstein Association allows kids {young ones} to show in their shows, in 4H a child needs to be 8 to show a large animal.  I was happy to see that both Paige and Bryce were interested in doing this.  Maybe it helps by watching their older friend, Alex, walking the calves out for the sale.

And their friend, Frankie.

At the sale, calves are not the only thing up for auction. 

Raise your hand for semen!  And Bryce did {he's 6, if you're new here}.  He bought 10 units of semen out of the Holstein bull, 'Detroit' from Alta Genetics.  The kid loves buying things.....anything apparently.

Bryce says, "What did I just buy?"

"Semen" I answer.

"Can I buy more?!"

"No, that's enough" I say.

Logan {sitting next to Bryce} asks, "What's semen?"

"It's what is going to make a cow pregnant." I answer and she seemed satisfied with that.....thankfully.

The things one learns at a Holstein sale!

Where's Waldo Bryce?  He loves trying to sneak into every photo I take.

Oh, and there was one random Jersey calf sold last night also.

Another highlight, and the thing the kids remembered from last year is the Sundae Bar where they can order up an ice cream sundae to their liking.

To finish off the evening, it's always fun to play in a bunch of shavings.

Time to shake them off and put them to bed.

What did you do on your Friday night?

Related post: "What happens when you turn a 6 year old loose at an FFA Cake Auction?"


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How Our Cows Become Pregnant ~ not how you might think

Dominic and my father in law, George, do all of the breeding of cows here on our ranch.  This is done by artificial insemination (AI).  Most cows and heifers become pregnant this way on the ranch.  If there is a cow that has a difficult time becoming pregnant due to different factors, the bull is always up for the job with a more concentrated amount of semen to be deposited the natural way.

A KMAR Heat Detector is placed on the cow's back, near the tail dock.  This is white or clear in color when not activated.  As soon as a cow wearing the KMAR allows another cow to mount her (which means she's in heat) the KMAR is activated by the pressure of the other cow and the white color turns to red.  Time for breeding.

Warning:

If you become a bit queasy with poop talk and photos of such, this next section may not be for you.

Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings by exiting now.

Okay, don't say I didn't warn you!

With an examination glove on, Dominic reaches into the rectum of the cow and proceeds to clean out most of the feces. Doing this, will allow him to then feel the reproductive track of the cow through the rectum membrane.  He can feel the cervix, ovaries and uterus of the cow through the membrane that separates the rectal canal from the reproductive organs.

Those are pipettes in his mouth.....

Pipette........

With Dominic's arm still inserted in the rectum, he can feel the cervix as he uses is other hand to guide the pipette, which carries the semen, into the vagina, through the cervix and into the uterus with the deposit of semen.

Wham, bam, done.

The entire process takes just a few minutes.

The cows are not at all uncomfortable through this process.  The use of artificial insemination is for genetic purposes and for the safety of the dairyman or woman, not having bulls breeding at all times.  The reduction of disease problems, a lower risk of venereal disease transmission,  and virtually eliminating the spread of reproductive diseases from cow to cow are other pros when using the proper AI technique.

After this process is complete, 37-38 days later we have our vet, Dr. Nathan come out to do a pregnancy check to see if the insemination was successful.  And we'll have a calf in nine months or so.

Happy Thursday! Pin It

A Fun Spring Social Dairy Event

Last night we attended the Redwood Empire Holstein Association Spring Event & Live Auction. This is a small fundraiser for Redwood Empire Holstein Association that benefits the club and it's Junior Members. The event took place at the Sonoma/Marin Fairgrounds in one of the show arenas. Shavings covered the ground, picnic tables set up and eight or so outdoor propane heaters lined the area (I was particularly happy about the heaters). A very cozy setting. We started out the evening with the Social/Cocktail hour (1 1/2 hrs. to be precise) provided by Hunt & Behrens Feed. This gives everyone a chance to visit and catch up while enjoying an array of cheeses and cocktails, milk or soda. Oysters on the half shell were served up by Bob Clark and friends during cocktail time..... Time to mingle......... A delicious dinner of salmon, risotto and salad was prepared by Jerry Corda, Hank Corda and their families and friends. So good! And very fitting as it happened to be Good Friday. The cooking crew........... Enjoying the food........ Our friends, the Silaccis Bryce was digging into that salmon........... The live auction was about to begin Plenty of bull semen for sale................... A high bidder is being announced for Lot #5 - 10 units of M Leader Semen. There were also supplies such as feed, vet supplies and even a Point Reyes vacation getaway stay for two nights on the block to be auctioned off. Dessert, an ice cream fountain bar was donated by Mike Griffen from Clover Stornetta Farms and was being served up by the reining 2009 Dairy Princess 1st runner up Mandy Brazil and Mike Griffen....... Paige was all over the ice cream............ Another fun filled night has ended............ Happy Saturday! Pin It