We have had lots of highlights and a couple of lowlights with our calving this year.
We pride ourselves on breeding low-maintenance cattle and excellent mothering cows. But when something happens that leaves a calf unusually vulnerable, we humans try our best to nurture these poddies and replace the missing Mama cows with our own brand of TLC...
but sometimes it's just not enough.
...
Our latest drama has fallen into this category.
I haven't really been able to bring myself to blog it til now.
It's a little bit confronting, but I reckon the latest twist in the saga warrants a post.
A few days ago, while we were away, a calf was found badly injured in a paddock beside a road.
I felt sick when I heard the news And it was not just any calf but a gorgeous show-quality bull calf. This guy was not a baby (like
this dude was) ... the injured calf was about ten weeks old and glossy and in very good condition. He also had a great calm nature and appeared very alert, despite his injuries being quite extensive.
...
Some great teamwork between my Dad, our wonderful off-sider Lila and our neigbours kept this little fella alive. They kept giving him water, erected a tarp to shield him from the worst of the sun and injected him with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. He could not walk or stand at all, with suspected spinal or hip injuries. Depite the constant care and visits, no-one ever saw his mother near him. We knew which cow she was, but with no sign of her during the regular checks and drive-bys, we decided she thought he had died and abandoned him.
...
So on our return to Granite Glen, we slid him into a horse float and brought him home from the paddock for some intensive TLC. We treated him and got him to drink, but could not tempt him to eat hay or calf crumbles or grain. It was very disheartening. Despite his good condition and great temperament, he had to eat something to have a fighting chance.
...
Mr Incredible and Dad decided to bring his mother in this afternoon. We didn't know what good she would do - as much as we tried to encourage him, and as hard as he tried, his legs JUST wouldn't work. He buckled and fell at every attempt. And she seemed to have shown very little interest in him since his accident.
...
On walking off the truck, the cow bellowed and immediately (despite not calling for her at any time before) he answered. They called back and forth as we moved him gingerly into a yard from the horse float, sliding him down the tailgate. As we released her into the yard, he tried once more to stand...
But to no avail.
The cow marched around the yard, seeming to look for a way out.
Her udder was very full and probably uncomfortable and we thought about trying to milk her but decided to leave them both for the night to settle down.
We sighed heavily, put some hay in a feeder and checked her trough
before heading up to the house.
It had been a long, hot day at the yards for us all,
and we were all tired and (I have to admit) a little bit 'down'.
As we prepared to shower and get dinner ready,
Dad called out from the yards.
Mr Incredible went outside to see what was wrong.
And then he told me to grab the camera.
So I did.
And this is what I found...
This cow has literally reversed up to the paralysed calf ...
And patiently stood over him, allowing him to suckle from each teat...
And I would say that each night (three in total)
that he was out there in the paddock beside the road,
while no-one was looking or driving by...
That this is EXACTLY what she was doing,
to ensure her baby got the nutrition he needed.
Even if she couldn't understand why he wouldn't get up and follow her,
or stand and suckle like normal....
I swear that is a tear of joy and relief you see there...
...
This will no doubt be an ongoing story,
and you need to know it may not have a happy ending,
because sometimes it gets very, very real out here...
but I know this much is true:
whatever the ending is like,
it will be a story about
a REAL GOOD MOTHER.
