Sad day on the farm

[hughesfarmgirl]

Well yesterday was a record breaking day on Hughes farm. One of the heifers gave birth to twins...a boy and a girl.
Unfortunately, mommy won't take care of the little ones. So last night we got them all three settled in the extra stall in the barn. We got the babies taking a bottle.
This morning, I got up and went up to the main house to mix up the bottles and noticed that they didn't buy enough bags of colustrom for the first 3 days that you are supposed to have them both on it (1 bag per bottle per calf per feeding). Brandon (Jason's nephew) and I headed off to the farm store to get the mix. By the time we got back the little girl had JUST died. http://x.myspace.com/images/blog/smileys/crushed.gif
We kicked mom out of the stall because she was trying to ram the horses...good to find out that Cowboy fought back and actually bit her for trying to scare him. He will make a good cow horse. So Brandon and I laid that dead calf outside while we fed the little boy and we pinned mom in the paddock by the barn. Brandon and I went into town to get breakfast. When we came back, the cow had knocked the gate and fence down and got out into the big pasture. We buried the little girl and then momma cow comes over and starts bawling. She doesn't realize there is one alive in the barn, she's bawling because we took the dead calf and buried it. She eventually took off to the back of the pasture.
So, looks like I have a new buddy...we'll be bottle feeding a calf in the barn for a good while. With school letting out in a week and a half...looks like I have a job to do this summer...but that is okay...part of the farm life and I'm more than happy to help the baby. Cowboy and Lucky are very interested and know that something isn't right. The calf is becoming VERY friendly.
So, it's really sad that we lost the little girl, but unfortunately that is the reality of farm life. Keep the little boy in your thoughts and prayers...still have a little while to go before he is completely out of the woods.

[RosieAngel]

I'm so sorry!! That IS sad! :sob:

I used to work on a farm, and nothing is worse than a bad mommy animal!

We had a ewe who also had twins and wouldn't feed her babies. When we tried to feed them, she went into a psychotic rage! It took both the elderly couple and me to hold back the vicious beast. What a nightmare.

I hope both you and the bad mommy cow quickly recover from the loss.

:hugs:

[kgvettegirl]

Was it her first calf? I know that usually my brother has trouble with the hefers since they don't really know what to do. It's been awhile since he had to bottle feed any. We had one who thought he was a dog just like my brothers blue tick coon hound, Dan. He would come up on the porch and curl up next to Dan and take naps with him. They were so cute together. We have several pictures of them. My nephew was about a year an a half then and it was so cute when the 3 babies would hang out together.

[KMS]

Awww, I hope that all goes well with the boy. :sob:

It seems like you care a lot and will take good care of him! :grinhappy:

[Nekochanpurr]

Aww, good luck with the baby! I'm sorry to hear about the girlly. :(

[hughesfarmgirl]

Thanks for all of your thoughts. Yesterday was touch and go all day long. I spent most of the day sitting in the stall with him. He finally ate a little more last night around supper time. We got up throughout the night and went out to check on him...he ate more about 3am and then ate again about 8am. He gets up and moves around a little bit, but he is still very weak. He still has to be held up and have his head/neck held for him to drink from the bottle. The horses are looking over the stall at him all day long watching over him.
At one point yesterday I was sitting in the stall with the calf laying up against me and his head on my arm (I could feel his breath on my arm to know if he was still breathing even if I wasn't watching his belly)...Cowboy was leaned over his stall with his mouth about an inch from my head, Lucky was leaned over her stall to the side of us...and all 4 of us were dozing on and off.
We're down to checking on him every couple hours today...let him rest and see how he does. We're all going out for Mother's Day supper tonight so that may be a few hours or so that we don't check on him. I can't take off work since the end of school is so close so Jason will feed him before he goes to work, at lunch, and then after work we'll take care of him.
I completely think he'll always be comfortable around cats and horses since that is what is with him in the barn...and we'll have a tame (soon to be) steer for life...he's already looking to Jason and I as parents. He is a cutie...I'll post a picture on here in a day or so.
Thanks again for your thoughts and comments. So far so good...day or two more and we should be out of the woods completely...yesterday was a very critical day.
Have a great Mother's Day!

[Nekochanpurr]

Aww!! Can't wait to see a pic of him!! :D I was gunna ask, but i didn't know if you'd be able to.. heh.

[sjk1431]

:bbcry: poor little girl. I'm glad the boy is ok you guys are doing a great job taking care of him. I hope it all goes well. :hug:

[spuls5]

awwww the life on a farm. I remember those times and kinda miss working on the farm. I had a few bottle calfs growing up over the years. It's always so much fun watching them run around the pasture playing.

[hughesfarmgirl]

I'm happy to announce that the calf is getting stronger...he's finally up and walking around and even willing to run and play a little in the stall. He'll have to stay in the stall for awhile because of the poor weather and our paddock that can be closed from the main pasture is busted (thanks to momma breaking it down to get out of it last weekend). After a week he is finally opening his mouth for a bottle and on a regular routine. He is eating one bottle per feeding (milk replacer) which is twice a day (at breakfast and supper)....so no more waking up in the middle of the night with a lump in my throat as I walk to the barn wondering if he is alive or not. Thanks for all of your thoughts and comments. I PROMISE to get a picture posted over the weekend (with 3 days left of school and lots of other things going on...it's been nutso)...it won't show how small he was because he's quickly becoming a cow....haha...(had to throw that lil joke in).

:cloppy:

[FFC]

WOOHOO i'm glad to hear he's getting stronger! Calves are very sensitive when they're young. We have got a few from the auction before - I think we've bought 7 total, and only 1 lasted more than 2 months :( Coming from an auction you never know what's wrong with em.

I'm so glad your little man is getting stronger though! Lookin forward to seeing pictures! Great job with him!!! Kudos to you for your persistence!!!! :whoohoo:

[kgvettegirl]

Yeah!. I remember always asking Dad "Can we keep him, huh, can we".

Now you have to think of a name for him. I vote for Ferdinand. That's what I named my pet hereford bull.:cloppy:

[FFC]

We had one named Swamper (after my favorite tire brand hehehee). :happy:

[hughesfarmgirl]

Funny you suggesting names...we were just talking about that last night...taking suggestings...our pet names are as follows: Horses are Cowboy and Lucky, Dogs are Bailey and Storm (we call him Stormy most of the time), and Momma Cat is Kallie....we have 5 kittens to come up with names for too (2 girls and 3 boys...one girl is calico, one is grey with orange and white lines...boys are white with back spots and one is grey with white socks...think he's gonna be Boots) So other kitten names and a calf name are needed! I think I have a theme going with 2 syllable names that end in -y or -ie so far.
Thanks for your help and I will try to get a pic up this weekend of the little fella.:cloppy:

[FFC]

I always loved the name 'Cookie'.... or Cookies and Cream (got a speckled kitten?) - you can call it CeeCee :happy:

[alli816]

:D:D great to hear the calf is doing well....you have been great to him....cant wait to see pics...sorry about his sister.....oh and how's the momma doing?

[hughesfarmgirl]

Momma quit bawling last Sunday...hasn't even went back to the barn area really. I honestly think she has no clue that the little girl died and that there is little boy in the barn.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Momma quit bawling last Sunday...hasn't even went back to the barn area really. I honestly think she has no clue that the little girl died and that there is little boy in the barn.

Awwwwww. The little boy needs his momma!

I am a suburbs gal so this may be a silly question but don't "instincts" kick in?

What I mean is .... in that we "help" cows birth, give them food, milk them, and tend to their every need ..... has their natural instincts been "bred" out of them? or are cows just not that bright?

[kgvettegirl]

has their natural instincts been "bred" out of them? or are cows just not that bright?

Speaking as someone who has been around Black Angus all their lives. The cows are not that bright! but they are smarter than sheep or turkeys.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Speaking as someone who has been around Black Angus all their lives. The cows are not that bright! but they are smarter than sheep or turkeys.

So can you teach them to eventually feed/care for their young? Or does someone have to bottle feed this calf every 3 hours or so? & how long does it take until a calf is weaned?

BTW - I just have to ask ... is cow tipping real? :rofl:

*sitting in the burbs listening to all the lawn mowers, buses and kids playing on the street*

[hughesfarmgirl]

So can you teach them to eventually feed/care for their young? Or does someone have to bottle feed this calf every 3 hours or so? & how long does it take until a calf is weaned?

BTW - I just have to ask ... is cow tipping real? :rofl:

*sitting in the burbs listening to all the lawn mowers, buses and kids playing on the street*


Well I did write a really long post answering all of the questions with detail...but OneWed logged me out and didn't post it...I have some work to get done outside...so I'll try to repost later this weekend.

[kgvettegirl]

Cow are mostly great moms. They are very protective of their calves and keep them close for the first few weeks. But, every once in a while there is what my brother calls a dud. The birth can traumatize her or she can feel overwhelmed with twins, espically if it is her first birth. Usually she will feed and care for one but not both.

Don't know about cow tipping but if you want to know about cow pattie golf I can get you the rules.

[SerendipityCrafts]

But, every once in a while there is what my brother calls a dud

They are rather like humans then :sob:

I have heard of cow patty golf :) but I can't say that I would play it.

[hughesfarmgirl]

Hey everyone. Here is the long awaited picture of the calf. This breed usually looks like Oreos so I think we'll probably call him Oreo. He's still doing really well, he's being playful, and enjoys bein loved on.:cloppy:

[Nekochanpurr]

Eeee!! hes sooooooo cute!! :D Oreo would be a good name! Or cookies and cream. Hehe.