Climbing into bed at 5.02am, I was chilled to the bone and terribly tired. Bizarrely, I thought of intern doctors and the long hours they work on a regular basis. I remember one doctor discussing Diarmuid’s medical situation with me about 20 years ago. He was actually falling asleep. He eyes would close mid-sentence and his head would fall on to his chest. Then he’d come to apologise and resume our conversation.

Cartoon by Clyde Delaney.

When we are very tired, it is not possible to make good decisions and the risk of having an accident is heightened. Yet, that overwhelming tiredness is almost unavoidable during busy periods. All farmers experience it because of the seasonal nature of our work.

We had an exceptional season last year, finishing with a live calf for every cow. I wanted to tell a similar story this year but farming rarely delivers comparable results year on year. The first heifer arrived followed closely by a stillborn heifer. That was the end of a comparable record for 2020. In the run-up to the start of calving we had three abortions. It made me nervous, wondering what was going on.

Unfortunately, we cannot worm the fox or other visiting dogs

It’s a phenomenon we have seen in the past. We suspect neosporosis as the cause but it could be any number of things. Dogs act as hosts for this parasite so regular worming with a suitable treatment is important. Cows can ingest the oocysts from contaminated pasture or feed. Unfortunately, we cannot worm the fox or other visiting dogs.

Night feeding

As the season moves on, we forget these backward steps. It is important that we do. Dwelling on negativity pulls you down and damages the satisfaction gleaned from the work. Fix things if you can, but otherwise plough on.

We’ve settled into the busy routine and calving has continued apace. Storm Ciara brought high winds and heavy rainfall and calves. We have 47 cows calved with 22 replacement heifers and 22 bull calves, all thriving. Tim feeds the cows here in Woodside around 6pm every evening when the work is done. Research indicates that it reduces night calving. We find that it does and most of the cows calve in the early morning or during the day. With 30 cows calved; they had followed the pattern and we were extoling the practice.

Typically, something happened to cause a buck in the trend. Maybe the cows sensed the high winds coming. On Friday night, I gave the late feed to baby Ricky to give Julie and David a rest. As I was last to bed, I decided to check the yard. It was well after midnight. There was one calf just born and another cow working hard. I had no option but to set to work warming colostrum and managing calves.

I went to the house to get some good-quality colostrum to defrost for the calf. I had a cup of tea to warm up

No sooner had I the first one fed when a second was born. I was well ready for bed and satisfied with my work and about to leave the yard when a heifer decided that she too would have her calf. I went to the house to get some good-quality colostrum to defrost for the calf. I had a cup of tea to warm up.

I returned to the yard and there was yet another cow calving. Then, one of the cows seemed disinterested in her calf. When I approached her she stuck out her tongue and refused to get up. I suspected milk fever but noted that she did not have the tell-tale sign of an S-neck. At that point I threw in the towel and decided to call Tim for help.

If I had an accident while on my own; I wouldn’t have been much help to anyone

He was cross that I had been working alone; telling me it was irresponsible. I had been reluctant to call him because I knew he was tired too. But, in hindsight, he was probably right. If I had an accident while on my own; I wouldn’t have been much help to anyone. I had also jumped the gun with diagnosis.

The minute the cow saw Tim, she got up and he too observed the absence of an S neck. He decided not to treat her as he is very diligent with mineral distribution. We finished the work together and it was much faster and better than being alone. We make a good team. Don’t you hate it when “they” are right. The cows have also returned to calving by day.