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Roosty6 @B110

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Easter Calf

Not the Easter rabbit. This little heifer was born late afternoon of Easter Sunday. I'd been watching this heifer for the past few weeks thinking she could not be far from calving. She is the one I raised as a pail fed calf a couple of years ago so very quiet. That evening at feeing time she was missing from the herd. A short walk up on "separator hill" and I was able to spot her out on the "big flat" about a quarter of a mile away. Still a few snowbanks but most of the fields are bare, but muddy. Hated to make ruts with the tractor but that was about the only option to get out there to check. Sure enough the calf was born just fine but laying on the wet slough ground getting cold. I considered leaving them out overnight but hearing the coyotes howling nearby earlier changed my mind. I already lost one to coyotes back in January. It wasn't a real heavy calf that I carried out of the flat and set down in the front end loader bucket on a good layer of straw. I headed slowly for home in reverse hoping the heifer would have the sense to keep right up following her calf. I was in reverse and it was a slow trip home. Not quite dark when I got back with it to the cattle shelter. About half way through the journey the heifer realized what was happening and began heading home too. She pretty much caught up to me at the shelter as I was unloading the calf into the corraled off area of the shelter. I was able to entice her to follow me in there with a few handfuls of hay. Locked in for the night with some hay and water I hoped by morning the calf would have figured out where it's nourishment was and get busy. It did look hopeful by morning and by later the next day there was no doubt this calf and heifer (now cow) knew what to do. So nice when everything works the way it is supposed to. They are still in the enclosure 4 days later as the forecast is for some nasty weather and I think the calf is better off under a roof than out in the rain or wet snow.