The incredible Dr. Pol....love watching this reality show on Nat. Geo. channel.

[John Schmidt]

Having spent a fair amount of time on the farm as a kid, I can sure identify with some of what he does. Especially when pulling either a calf or colt from the mother that's having trouble giving birth. Only difference is we used a small tractor, often a Cub Cadet or similar, to pull the newborn out. I remember my uncle plunging his hand in up to the elbow without benefit of a plastic sleeve. After pulling his arm out he suddenly had to sneeze and automatically covered his face....with that hand. We all got a good laugh out of it.

Reminds me of an old story of the farmer with a prize bull. One morning he went to feed him and noticed his eyes were crossed so since the bull represented a lot of $$ he called the vet. Vet came out, took one look and pulled out a long piece of pipe and stuck it up the bull's rear. He then proceeded to give the pipe a few good hard puffs of air by mouth, checked the eyes and all was well. Vet turned to the farmer..."that's $200 sir." The farmer was upset with the high cost compared to time spent but at least his bull was fine now so he paid. A few weeks later while feeding him, the farmer noticed the bull's eyes were crossed again. Remembering what the vet did and the $200 cost, the farmer decided he could handle it himself and save the $200, but try as he would....he couldn't get the eyes to uncross so called the vet again. Vet comes out again, puts the pipe up the bull's rear and blows a couple times but apparently not enough so suggests the farmer try his luck again. With that, the farmer then pulls the pipe out of the bull and sticks the opposite end back in, gives a couple more hard blows by mouth and the eyes are straight again. Naturally the vet is pleased, as is the farmer, but the vet asks why the farmer pulled out the pipe, reversed it, then reinserted it. The farmer simply told him...."you didn't expect me to put my mouth on the same place you had yours did you?"   

Now you're as bad as me for reading it all the way through. As for my comments under the first paragraph, that's true.

[baldo]

I'm in the same boat. We've been watching Dr Pol since it first came on. I also lived on a farm as a kid, helping my grandfather with it all. He had about 120 dairy cows, along with all the rest. Even as I got older, I'd work the hay season to help out til I was in my 20's. That is some seriously hot work.
Some of the best years of my life.

[John Schmidt]

Seriously hot for sure, I worked two summers with my dad, granddad, and cousin on a hay baling crew. Gramps hired out to all the surrounding farmers, we used a Case baler that was wire fed. Since it was his rig my gramps got to drive, then dad fed the wires to my cousin on the inside of the baler where all the chaff blew in your face. Being the stronger of the two youngsters, I had the job of hooking the bales as they came off the baler and stacking them 4 & 5 high. At age 16 & 17 I was a pretty strong kid, which much to my enjoyment was noticed by the classmates of female type when school started.

I used to tell my girls about all the farm experiences, mostly when they were young cuz they were fast learners. One I always told was about milking cows at the end of the day when you were really tired and still had a herd of 20 or so to milk by hand. I'd tell them I'd sometimes be so tired I used a 4-legged stool instead of the 3-legged one, then fall asleep with my head against the cow's side. When they asked how we finished milking when so tired, I'd tell them how we taught the cows to jump up/down so all we had to do was hold on to the teats. Until about age 6 or 7 I'd get a lot of ooo's and aaah's. I'd usually be asked what difference it made with either a 4-or 3-legged stool. For all you city slickers, today you learn something....a 4-legged stool has to be on level surfaces to keep from wobbling and possibly dumping you to the floor and a not so clean surface. A 3-legged stool doesn't have to be.  

[JimmyG]

It really gets serious when you have to cut a calf out!  The pocket knife I used was sharp. Cut off one of the front shoulders and we finally got it out.. The cow lived through it all. 

[John Schmidt]

Can't help but wonder how much pain the mama went through before she got that relief. Makes you really feel bad for them sometimes.

[JimmyG]

What I failed to mention was that the cutting took place inside the cow....yikes, yes, both arms in up to my elbows cutting blind, only by feel. I was a little nervous, but the owner said ,"they are both going to die if we don't", so we went for it and calf died, momma lived.  You do some stuff on farms, that's for sure.