Never look a gift calf in the mouth...
Aug 2, 2015 22:13:09 GMT -5
tassie, Bobbie, and 6 more like this
Post by dunderi on Aug 2, 2015 22:13:09 GMT -5
Got a phonecall a couple days ago, from the bloke who's cows I have here eating my paddocks at the moment. He tells me there's a jersey cross something heifer calf, few days old, mine if I want her, no dollars involved. I don't have a cow at the moment I tell him, but I will call my friends close by who do - and see if there's room at the udder for perhaps one more? After a brief chat with both tassie and elnini, we agree it sounds ok.
So I saddle up the kids and drive out there to where he is, pick him up and we go to a friend-of-his's place, and there's this tiny red girl, obviously weak, didn't even get up. She's looking at me with these big eyes.
They said that the guy who drives the vealer calf truck had dropped her off, thinking he was doing them a favour. there's a hole in her ear where her tag's been cut out (so she's pretty much untraceable - that means she's been written off as a dead calf) and the woman doesn't really want to answer any questions - other than to say that yes she got colostrum she was on her mum at the dairy then she got dropped here.
I couldn't leave her there. I'm thinking "this is a sale barn calf". This is a lot of work. This might die before I even get her home... No phone signal though, so I made the decision, and picked her up and put her in the back of my car. My friend gave her a shot of penicillin, at his house, i dropped him off, thanked him for thinking of me (!) and then drove straight to Tassie & Elnini's farm... and tried to explain.
I have to say, that while the above seems dramatic, and was a little emotionally wrenching for me, I'm no hero in this. Elnini, (who's fed her at midnight, among other things) and Tassie (without who's dairy girls there'd be no milk, and no calf) are the one's who have done all the hard work. THEY get the credit for this little miracle - not me, ok?
We unloaded her, and I got my first proper good look at her. she's thin, like a newborn baby calf, and very dairy. she's a bit gunky around the bottom, and is knuckling over one of her hind feet.
We try to get one of the Jersey milking cows, the admirable Fifi into the headgate - but she's in heat, got AI'd earlier, and is a bit out of sorts. She does say hello to the baby though - reaches out and sniffs and licks her face. The baby responds in a way that made all our hearts break - she wants a mama. We tried bottling the baby, but no good. she doesn't seem to accept the thick rubber teat.
T brought Rose in for a chance at second breakfast in the stall - and she came in no worries, we put the calf on her and she drank. Cheers all round. Rose didn't have much to give (she's feeding her own steer calf) but it got the ball rolling and we were able to convince Fifi to come in, and give the little girl a drink also.
Her capacity seems to be about a quart. She's got manure like pudding, and did a big pee as well. I fashioned a little cuff out of cardboard and vetwrap to help her knuckled over foot, and she walks ok, if wobbly.
We made her a nest in one of the buildings - as the weather here is a cold snap right now, it's actually snowing at their farm - from doonas etc, and she's got a dog coat on to help keep her warm. She's ready for sleep as soon as she's had a drink, so I carry the poor little thing to the nest and we prop her up for snug night out of the wind.
She seemed so fragile, unlikely to really have much chance. But - I'd taken her to the best place I could have, and she's had all the love and care these wonderful ladies could lavish upon her.
The news today is that she's keen to feed - she's drinking well and even had a bit of a frisk on her way down to the dairy this morning.
I called her Epona - seemed fitting being that she came into our lives on the horse's birthday - and Epona is the goddess of not just horses, but fertility and springtime as well - good tidings in a dairy cow. Eppie for short
She may be a freemartin - having no provenance means we don't know for sure why she was on the vealer truck. However it may be that the dairy just didn't have time to dela with a knuckled over foot. I'll have her blood tested later on. We don't know what she is. she has little horn bud bumps, but could be jersey, or shorthorn, or ayrshire, or red friesian.... or any combination of the above.
Here's some pictures - from Saturday afternoon.
Rose giving her a drink
A drink from Fifi also
Wobbly baby
Snug in a nest of doonas
So I saddle up the kids and drive out there to where he is, pick him up and we go to a friend-of-his's place, and there's this tiny red girl, obviously weak, didn't even get up. She's looking at me with these big eyes.
They said that the guy who drives the vealer calf truck had dropped her off, thinking he was doing them a favour. there's a hole in her ear where her tag's been cut out (so she's pretty much untraceable - that means she's been written off as a dead calf) and the woman doesn't really want to answer any questions - other than to say that yes she got colostrum she was on her mum at the dairy then she got dropped here.
I couldn't leave her there. I'm thinking "this is a sale barn calf". This is a lot of work. This might die before I even get her home... No phone signal though, so I made the decision, and picked her up and put her in the back of my car. My friend gave her a shot of penicillin, at his house, i dropped him off, thanked him for thinking of me (!) and then drove straight to Tassie & Elnini's farm... and tried to explain.
I have to say, that while the above seems dramatic, and was a little emotionally wrenching for me, I'm no hero in this. Elnini, (who's fed her at midnight, among other things) and Tassie (without who's dairy girls there'd be no milk, and no calf) are the one's who have done all the hard work. THEY get the credit for this little miracle - not me, ok?
We unloaded her, and I got my first proper good look at her. she's thin, like a newborn baby calf, and very dairy. she's a bit gunky around the bottom, and is knuckling over one of her hind feet.
We try to get one of the Jersey milking cows, the admirable Fifi into the headgate - but she's in heat, got AI'd earlier, and is a bit out of sorts. She does say hello to the baby though - reaches out and sniffs and licks her face. The baby responds in a way that made all our hearts break - she wants a mama. We tried bottling the baby, but no good. she doesn't seem to accept the thick rubber teat.
T brought Rose in for a chance at second breakfast in the stall - and she came in no worries, we put the calf on her and she drank. Cheers all round. Rose didn't have much to give (she's feeding her own steer calf) but it got the ball rolling and we were able to convince Fifi to come in, and give the little girl a drink also.
Her capacity seems to be about a quart. She's got manure like pudding, and did a big pee as well. I fashioned a little cuff out of cardboard and vetwrap to help her knuckled over foot, and she walks ok, if wobbly.
We made her a nest in one of the buildings - as the weather here is a cold snap right now, it's actually snowing at their farm - from doonas etc, and she's got a dog coat on to help keep her warm. She's ready for sleep as soon as she's had a drink, so I carry the poor little thing to the nest and we prop her up for snug night out of the wind.
She seemed so fragile, unlikely to really have much chance. But - I'd taken her to the best place I could have, and she's had all the love and care these wonderful ladies could lavish upon her.
The news today is that she's keen to feed - she's drinking well and even had a bit of a frisk on her way down to the dairy this morning.
I called her Epona - seemed fitting being that she came into our lives on the horse's birthday - and Epona is the goddess of not just horses, but fertility and springtime as well - good tidings in a dairy cow. Eppie for short
She may be a freemartin - having no provenance means we don't know for sure why she was on the vealer truck. However it may be that the dairy just didn't have time to dela with a knuckled over foot. I'll have her blood tested later on. We don't know what she is. she has little horn bud bumps, but could be jersey, or shorthorn, or ayrshire, or red friesian.... or any combination of the above.
Here's some pictures - from Saturday afternoon.
Rose giving her a drink
A drink from Fifi also
Wobbly baby
Snug in a nest of doonas