Over the weekend we had a very tiny baby calf born. It smaller in size than our border collie was but with longer legs. It probably doesn’t weigh more than 30 lbs. The calf is struggling to live and Gene is having to bottle feed it. It does not want to suck the bottle and he is having to work to get milk into the calf. The calf can’t seem to get up on its own but when Gene helps it up it can stand on its feet. Gene took a calf hutch out to the field as protection for the calf. Fortunately it is not nasty weather.
The calf looks bigger in this picture than what it actually is.
A calf like this is difficult to save but you have to try. It did not get its mom’s colostrum so he is feeding a substitute colostrum milk replacer. It will only drink about a cup of milk. A normal calf will drink a quart. This first week is very crucial to its survival.
This afternoon the mama was out grazing in the pasture when we went to feed the calf. Gene had the calf fed before she spied us messing with her precious baby and across the field she came in a brisk run. The mama is very concerned about her baby and keeps a close eye on it even when she is across the pasture grazing.
Gene is moving a safe distance away as she comes to her baby.
First she checks on her calf.
Then she looks to see where Gene is at.
After she settled down, Gene eased back over and tilted the hutch up so that she could nuzzle her baby.
Then she spied me standing off to the side taking pictures and that did not make her happy. It wasn’t long till I decided I needed to made a dash back to the gate with her trotting hot on my heels! I love gates! See the hutch all the way in the back behind the barn. That is where I came from!!!!
Yesterday Gene had to park the pickup in front of the hutch door to protect himself from her while he fed the calf. These mamas are very protective of their babies and you don’t want to get caught in between them.
Graham Donahue Said:
on April 21, 2014 at 10:50 am
That is a small calf! We have had some bottle calves that would not drink as well. Good luck with it!
Ella Buffaloe Said:
on April 21, 2014 at 2:44 pm
This was amazing! Great rancher to care so much.
Linda Burkholder Said:
on April 21, 2014 at 7:35 pm
Both posts very interesting–thanks for sharing. We will be praying that your “baby” makes it. By the way, I am in CO right now and in the hospital at Frisco with Latonya in labor–has been since 3a.m.–seven centimeters dilated. Trusting and praying that it’s not too long until we have our baby granddaughter. 🙂 I was looking forward to seeing your hydroponic plants last Sat.. Dwight thought he was just about out of the woods but around 7:30 or so it became apparent that he was going the other way for whatever reason. The last thing we would want to do is make someone else sick so decided pretty quickly that we shouldn’t come your way this time. Is your new endeavor thriving and are your bees making honey? Also been thinking about and praying for little Ariel Joy–is she about the same as you last posted? Love, Linda
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 00:57:17 +0000 To: dlsburk@hotmail.com
Pat Said:
on April 21, 2014 at 9:09 pm
I do not have bees of my own-they belong to a customer. He took them home for the winter and he will be bringing them back on Thursday.
the hydoponic dutch bucket system is doing extremely well. I am having some issue with the flood table that I have to figure out. I think my water level was too high and drown some of the lettuce.
I haven’t heard anything new on Ariel. She made it through a few rough weeks.
Congratulations on your new granddaughter. I know this is a miracle for Latonya and her husband. Blessings.
Sharon Heatwole Said:
on April 26, 2014 at 9:31 am
I hope the calf is okay. If the cow claims it, surely that must help the calf’s chance of survival. We’ve had some small calves like that; some have survived, some didn’t.