Post by chaparra72 on Apr 14, 2010 1:16:34 GMT -5
well, here is the story.
We had a beef cow given to us by the folks we buy hay from. She is the ugliest thing you have ever seen, her ears were frozen as a calf, so she only has stubs, and her head is so ugly, poor thing. She was injured at some point, apparently by a breeding from a large sized bull. The injury caused problems with her hips, and she is not able to walk very well. Since these folks run their cows on the range in the summer, she had gotten to the point where she is not able to travel the distances the rest of the herd does when they travel to water etc... So, they gave her to us, knowing our situation, and the fact that she would be kept in close quarters, receiving proper care.
They said she was due sometime in April or May, so I have been watching her closely for awhile now. Fot the past week, she has been acting abnormally, so I knew the time was near. When I went to feed this afternoon, I heard her making noises. I wasn't to concerned about it, as she does this often, I think her hips bother her a lot, and cause her pain, so she is pretty vocal. Well, I looked at her, just to make sure she was ok, and there she is laying down with this tiny little calf laying next to her! My son was going into the pen to clean out around the feed box, so as soon as I saw the calf, I told him to get out, that she had calved and I didn't want him around her for safety's sake. She then stood up, and there is another calf that had been laying on her other side out of sight. I couldn't believe it! Of course, my first thought is " I hope they are either 2 girls or 2 boys", but alas, they are brother and sister . The little girl is noticably bigger than the boy. I hope mama takes both of the babies. The little girl was having trouble standing, so I ended up giving her about 6 cups of colostrum in a bottle (from Belinda's first calf in Sept. "08), which she drank right away. She attemped to stand several times, and eventually she did, though she only stayed up for a few minutes.
I will share more tomorrow, with photos.
We had a beef cow given to us by the folks we buy hay from. She is the ugliest thing you have ever seen, her ears were frozen as a calf, so she only has stubs, and her head is so ugly, poor thing. She was injured at some point, apparently by a breeding from a large sized bull. The injury caused problems with her hips, and she is not able to walk very well. Since these folks run their cows on the range in the summer, she had gotten to the point where she is not able to travel the distances the rest of the herd does when they travel to water etc... So, they gave her to us, knowing our situation, and the fact that she would be kept in close quarters, receiving proper care.
They said she was due sometime in April or May, so I have been watching her closely for awhile now. Fot the past week, she has been acting abnormally, so I knew the time was near. When I went to feed this afternoon, I heard her making noises. I wasn't to concerned about it, as she does this often, I think her hips bother her a lot, and cause her pain, so she is pretty vocal. Well, I looked at her, just to make sure she was ok, and there she is laying down with this tiny little calf laying next to her! My son was going into the pen to clean out around the feed box, so as soon as I saw the calf, I told him to get out, that she had calved and I didn't want him around her for safety's sake. She then stood up, and there is another calf that had been laying on her other side out of sight. I couldn't believe it! Of course, my first thought is " I hope they are either 2 girls or 2 boys", but alas, they are brother and sister . The little girl is noticably bigger than the boy. I hope mama takes both of the babies. The little girl was having trouble standing, so I ended up giving her about 6 cups of colostrum in a bottle (from Belinda's first calf in Sept. "08), which she drank right away. She attemped to stand several times, and eventually she did, though she only stayed up for a few minutes.
I will share more tomorrow, with photos.