Farm Fresh Blog

There is. There really is a cow in my bedroom. 

 "There IS!"

Here he is.

He is one sick little boy. He needs your prayers.  His mamma is Daisy Mae.

He is her first calf. We missed the birth and by the time we found him, the buzzards were already gathering. We thought he was dead, but because he was still breathing, we scooped him up and drove him back to the barn. He may have just had a difficult birth, or there may be something else working here. We got him revived, filled him with antibiotics and electrolytes, brought his mamma in, milked her, and fed him.

The plan was to leave him with her in a small pen. She licked him and seems concerned, but unfortunately the temps were dipping too low and she wasn't staying close enough to keep him warm.  Thus . . .

. . . he ended up in the bedroom.

I debated on whether or not to blog about him because I feared folks would get attached to him, and he'd die. On the other hand, this blog is about the ups and downs of life on a farm. This is one of the downs. Ranching isn't always about the cute and cuddly. Lots of times it's about the muddy and the bloody.

At this point, it's in God's hands. He is re-hydrated and has a full belly of his mother's milk. He's warm under a pile of old dog blankets with his head on a dog pillow. If he dies, at least the ants and the buzzards won't get him.

The assorted reactions from the dogs have been interesting.  Lily shows cautious concern. I doubt the concern is for his health. Most likely she's concerned that there's a cow in the bedroom. Dillon barked, growled, peed on himself, and had to be locked outside.  Trace is cautious and growls a bit. He's now staying with Dillon.  Ranger surprised me the most.  We had forgotten that Ranger loves baby animals. He set aside the fact that he is a Cattle Dog, and showed a great deal of concern for the little fellow. Ranger licked his butt and reminded me that there's a lot more to this little blue dog than a space cadet in spots.

Keep this little fella in your prayers.  He has a long road ahead of him.