Eventful day

I am so tired today. Had to get up at 6am and help semen test the bulls. There were about 10 of them and a crew of 9 people. Well,  9-3 (me and 2 English). The bulls were brought over by someone else and I had to guide a couple to a different yard. I was told to go into the yard and get the bulls to move to a different area. I was also told that I should walk close to the gates in case they start fighting and pushing or get angry with me, so I could quickly leg it. Did not sound very helpful! Luckily there were only two and they did not show any resistance and I got them sorted easily. So the way the whole sperm test works is that the bull chased into a very tight area where it cannot move much. The vet measures the size of the nuts – it ranged between 32-44. Some big balls they have! Besides the measurement they also get a rating from 1-5. 1 being really soft and 5 being too firm. The good range is considered 3-4. The bull’s balls need to be at least 34cm for age 25 months and over when entering it into a show / competition. Measure 32cm is not acceptable, therefore the bull is no good for the show. After measuring the balls the vet stuck his arm you know where and massaged the bull from the inside while his assistant collected the sperm from the penis into a tube. That’s about it, quite simple. There are other bulls who need plenty of foreplay. The vet pulled out a vibrator. OMG, it was a long oval “stick” and probably 8-10cm wide that would have sent electric impulses while inside the bull. In aid of preparation for the oncoming show the bulls got new ear tags plus their teeth were counted also. Usually they have either 2 or 4 teeth. They don’t really want anyone touching them so they get lured into a cage that can lock their heads in. Getting them in there and locking their head is not as easy as it sounds, especially when their head gets stuck and they start struggling. I thought the poor animal was going to tear the whole place apart! That was scary shit that was going on for a few hours this morning. Well, at least I thought that was scary! Come afternoon we were asked if we wanted to see how the bulls get their pedicure done. We thought it would be as easy as getting the horse shoes done. Wrong! I was truly shocked what that procedure involves. I took a video of the whole thing. That explains it pretty accurately. I will have to upload it in a month’s time. What happens is that the bull gets drugged first to make it a bit drowsy. Once it is in the “cage” again it is tied to the wall with two belts across its body. His head it tied up as well, so that it has minimal chances of moving itself. Then, using hydraulics that is connected to the tractor the wall is turned over leaning the bull on its side. The feet are then tied up and nails cut using a circular saw. The smell off the feet is like burning hair. Reminds me of the time when Marju and I were burning hair in school under our desk when we were 14-15. Good old times J

The sight of it all is much worse than the description. Very traumatizing..

Almost forgot, we got to see the sperm under the microscope and a day before we had a look at the embryos under the microscope!

And did I say dogs like to eat freshly cut off horns?