Have you heard the saying, "Be careful what you wish for?"
I should edit that to, "Be careful what you mention to a farmer!"
Early in December (2012) I mentioned to a new farmer friend that we might want to raise a bottle calf this year for beef. Of course I was speaking way ahead of being ready for said bottle calf and truly had no thought of this happening until MUCH later in 2013.
So guess who calls on December 31?!
This farmer had a cow that had delivered twins and was rejecting the female calf. He was taking care of the calf that night but REALLY wanted someone else to take her the next day. He reminded me that she would be sterile due to twin pregnancy with male/female combo. A little research tells me that the female from this set of twins is sterile 92% of the time. In other words, she is destined to be a beef cow.
I battled the pro's and con's all night. I tend to work out dilemmas while I sleep. When I got up I was certain the correct answer was "no" since we simply weren't ready, not to mention It's WINTER!
Then I went outside for chores. The sun was bright and glorious. I could sense God's hope and blessing.
When next I talked with the farmer, I said "yes". He didn't waste any time bringing her and a bottle over to me. She wasn't as vigorous as I had hoped when she arrived, but she was ok. She had just been fed, so we snuggled her into a stall to rest for about an hour.
When I went to feed her, she was chilled and very weak. She couldn't stand up or drink from the bottle.
All my medical background and Mommy instincts kicked in.
I picked her up and took her directly into the house. We set up our ICU in the laundry room (which just happens to be my sewing nook, too!) We warmed up hot packs and bundled her in blankets. I started dripping warm colostrum (saved in the freezer from when our Jersey delivered in September) down her throat with a turkey baster (thanks Dorothy). She couldn't even struggle. Sometimes her eyes would roll back and I was sure she was dying. She had no muscle tone.
I called my Mom and asked for prayer. I knew it would be a miracle from God if she survived the night.
This process all started around 4pm. At 9pm she pulled her legs up under her. Minutes later she stood up....wobbly, but up. We put a dog crate in the laundry room and tucked her in with blankets.
I should edit that to, "Be careful what you mention to a farmer!"
Early in December (2012) I mentioned to a new farmer friend that we might want to raise a bottle calf this year for beef. Of course I was speaking way ahead of being ready for said bottle calf and truly had no thought of this happening until MUCH later in 2013.
So guess who calls on December 31?!
This farmer had a cow that had delivered twins and was rejecting the female calf. He was taking care of the calf that night but REALLY wanted someone else to take her the next day. He reminded me that she would be sterile due to twin pregnancy with male/female combo. A little research tells me that the female from this set of twins is sterile 92% of the time. In other words, she is destined to be a beef cow.
I battled the pro's and con's all night. I tend to work out dilemmas while I sleep. When I got up I was certain the correct answer was "no" since we simply weren't ready, not to mention It's WINTER!
Then I went outside for chores. The sun was bright and glorious. I could sense God's hope and blessing.
When next I talked with the farmer, I said "yes". He didn't waste any time bringing her and a bottle over to me. She wasn't as vigorous as I had hoped when she arrived, but she was ok. She had just been fed, so we snuggled her into a stall to rest for about an hour.
When I went to feed her, she was chilled and very weak. She couldn't stand up or drink from the bottle.
All my medical background and Mommy instincts kicked in.
I picked her up and took her directly into the house. We set up our ICU in the laundry room (which just happens to be my sewing nook, too!) We warmed up hot packs and bundled her in blankets. I started dripping warm colostrum (saved in the freezer from when our Jersey delivered in September) down her throat with a turkey baster (thanks Dorothy). She couldn't even struggle. Sometimes her eyes would roll back and I was sure she was dying. She had no muscle tone.
I called my Mom and asked for prayer. I knew it would be a miracle from God if she survived the night.
This process all started around 4pm. At 9pm she pulled her legs up under her. Minutes later she stood up....wobbly, but up. We put a dog crate in the laundry room and tucked her in with blankets.
The next morning she was alive! She even gave a little moo when I went
in to feed her. She took milk from my trusty turkey baster, but
couldn't suck from a bottle.
Around 3pm on January 2, she took the last bit of her first quart of colostrum. It had taken nearly 24 hours to get just one quart in her. I knew she would get dehydrated if we didn't pick up the pace a bit. Then another miracle occurred! She latched onto the nipple of my calf bottle and started sucking. Next thing I knew, she had drained her 2nd quart of colostrum!! Praise God! I broke out in songs of praise. What a victory!
Around 3pm on January 2, she took the last bit of her first quart of colostrum. It had taken nearly 24 hours to get just one quart in her. I knew she would get dehydrated if we didn't pick up the pace a bit. Then another miracle occurred! She latched onto the nipple of my calf bottle and started sucking. Next thing I knew, she had drained her 2nd quart of colostrum!! Praise God! I broke out in songs of praise. What a victory!
This morning (January 3) I took the calf out to meet Bambi, my milk cow. I had Bambi in the milking stanchion. First I took the baby up to her head. Bambi sniffed it and licked its nose, then promptly went back to eating. I pushed the calf around to her udder and squirted milk on the calf's nose. It took about 60 seconds for her to figure out the logistics and latch on!
I don't know if Bambi will adopt and mother the calf, but even if she will just let the calf nurse at milking time it will be a BIG help. I'm very hopeful for this little one, but I keep reminding myself and my children that she has an uphill battle for a while longer. God-willing, the calf will grow in strength and health each day.
May your 2013 be filled wonder and many blessings from God.
blessings,
pam
Post linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday
Homestead Blog Hop
Best wishes with your little calf! I remember helping with the calves when I was a kid :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to have you share your posts on The HomeAcre Hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/the-homeacre-hop-2.html
NICE JOB~!! Persistance pays off. BEAUTIFUL calf. Charolais?
ReplyDeleteMy cows have had mixed gender twins and the female calves came into heat at 10 months, so there is always the possibility.....
Named her yet ? She looks like a Crystal, Blizzard or Cloud.
Come visit our Vermont herd when you have a chance:
www.tailgait.blogspot.com
Happy New Year!
Praying that your calf will thrive.
ReplyDeleteShe's gorgeous! Best of luck with her, I hope she continued to grow in strength today. From my kids' Dairy Bowl training, I did know that she is a freemartin! Thought you might be interested in this post from a beef farmer in Wyoming about using oxygen to revive a downed calf: http://honeyrockdawn.com/2012/03/nicu-part-ii/
ReplyDeleteSweet story. I don't know how I missed that you had a milk cow. I wish we did!
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on this one's progress. We had a bottle calf beefer, Sam, that we fell in love with. Now he is a giant steer and we even considered just keeping him as a pet (!), but because he's now digging the younger ones with his horns, he's been moved up on the slaughter list. We're going to miss that one terribly. (My husband won't even stay on the farm on slaughter day, that's the kind of feeling we have for this guy!) I hope you're stronger than we are with Sam!
Sweet story. I don't know how I missed that you had a milk cow. I wish we did!
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on this one's progress. We had a bottle calf beefer, Sam, that we fell in love with. Now he is a giant steer and we even considered just keeping him as a pet (!), but because he's now digging the younger ones with his horns, he's been moved up on the slaughter list. We're going to miss that one terribly. (My husband won't even stay on the farm on slaughter day, that's the kind of feeling we have for this guy!) I hope you're stronger than we are with Sam!