Every day may not be good...but there is something good in every day.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Cowboys Love FAT Calves...


This has been fun - writing about calves!  Wade and I have been very lucky - we haven't had too many wild calving moments. Below is one of his stories.  It was his most difficult calving experience to date.  

He was riding his horse and checking the heifers.  There was one - a small frame red heifer that was due to calve any day.  They were paying extra attention to her cause they were expecting trouble.  She was getting close – her bag had dropped and she was springing. 

He found her in a wooded draw.  There she was laying down having a bit of a time.  Wade could see legs and the nose.  He thought he could pull it there in the field but as he tried, there was no headway made.  So he called his dad to give the heads up that he would be driving the heifer up to the corrals.  Slowly he got her up and marched her back to the corrals.  Making sure the nose didn’t slip back in; if it did the calf would have suffocated.   Luckily it didn’t and he was able to make it to the corrals without any trouble.  

What's up? 

At the corrals he threw a rope around her neck and tied her to a steel post.  Wade’s dad was coming home and stopped at the corrals.  That’s when they realized the pulling chains were not in the truck; but they did have some bailing twine.  Using the twine they made a loop and put it around the two front feet and began to pull.  With a little bit of elbow grease they were able to pull the calf.  

                                                        Checking the "newbie" out 

It was huge bull calf, there would have been no way for that little red heifer to birth him alone.   It was lucky Wade had come upon her.  As soon as the boys let the heifer off the rope she went to mothering up and licking the calf clean.  Wade and his dad stayed until the calf sucked and was up and going.   Just another day in the life of a cowboy I guess – making do with the supplies on hand. 

                                                      

8 comments:

  1. Yep, it's always amazing to help them, and save a calf, though it has it hard times, as well.

    Love the pics!

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  2. You're doing a great job with your stories! I'm enjoying reading them!

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  3. Hi Elizabeth, I found your blog via Judi's. Keep sharing and telling your stories. You have great photography and perspective to share. Look forward to staying connected.

    Katie
    http:www.pinkepost.com

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  4. Hi Katie! Thanks for the comment and stopping by!!

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  5. Cute story! Although I'm bit amazed at how calm the heifer seemed, when our cows have problems the calves need to be pulled they generally don't cooperate with us quite that well!

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    1. Thanks!!
      Yeah, apparently this heifer was just a gentle soul....still is. Now if it had been one of my dad's heifers she would have been on the fight!

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  6. Great stories!! We only have 5 cows now but that has not stopped the strange calvings we have had in the last 10 years. We have had three c-sections which produced twins out of a heifer, two headed calf, and a very large calf, not to mention the twins this year both born true breach and both heifer calves and alive today!! So if you have livestock it doesnt matter if you have 5 or 200 something crazy is bound to happen, our craziness just ends sooner..lol

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