Thursday, January 29, 2009

Angus

I have kept you in suspense long enough. We went to our neighbors on Tuesday night for supper, it was the night of the ice storm. We feasted on tender Pork Roast that is like no other, fried plantains with garlic and salt, beans and rice cooked to perfection, boiled potatoes and squash, followed by wonderful lemon meringue pie.

The neighbor mentioned that he was afraid one of his cows was going to calve that night. He really doesn't have a good place to get a cow up and with the weather like it was there wasn't much he could do because all of his pasture is on a hillside.

The next day we got a call saying that she had a bull calf and she was rejecting it. My DH went to help him get her up and try to help the baby nurse. The calf was chilled, weak and covered in ice and mommy just flat didn't like him. She was under the distinct impression that one of the other cow's calves was hers and they could not convince her otherwise.

The calf was given to me, my Husband carried it home wrapped in a wool blanket on his tractor through the ice and snow. I instructed him to bring him into the house to thaw him out.



He thawed out nicely. He accepted a couple of syringes of warm goat's milk to get him kick started. I had some powdered goat colostrum that I mixed into a quart size bottle of warm goat's milk. It wasn't long before he was dry, warm and on his feet giving the house an inspection, he found it to be calf friendly.





With the weather and roads so bad, we had to go to another neighbor's to bum some cow colostrum and an antibiotic as a precaution against whatever might attack him in his weakened state. His nose was already dripping snot on assorted family members.

All went very will and he drank a quart of the cow colostrum from his bottle with so much gusto that he collapsed the bottle at 11:00 last night after we moved him out in the stall with my two does.

The does were not happy campers but we didn't have any other choice. They thought that he was most certainly a fanged, clawed, goat eating predator of some sort. They totally panicked every time he moved. It is a very large stall but they kept trying to run through the walls and jump over the gate. I don't think either of them slept a wink all night because they both had to have both eyes on him at all times in case he made his move.

My problem started this morning, he wouldn't take a bottle. I kept trying all day and could only get a couple of ounces in him at a time and he didn't want it. He laid and trembled.

I was home alone and there was no way I could get him up or carry him but he finally got to his feet and I guided him back into the house at which time he peed on my best rug which made me feel much better because it let me know that he was at least getting something. My estimate was that he relieved himself of three gallons at least.

He did finally drink about a pint tonight and I think that he will drink more later. I know he isn't getting enough and I suppose he will stay in the house. He is laying in front of my refrigerator right now and I can't even get myself something to drink.

More later...

7 comments:

Kelly said...

What a cute baby. You think it is difficult to get into the fridge now. Just wait till he weighs 1400lbs. He will take up most of the kitchen. Good luck!

Pintura Springs said...

I didn't think of that. But we have come up with a solution for the time being, we have given him his own bedroom in the back of the house. He will not be able to come to the kitchen or living room without permission.

We realized that he had to have some restrictions when he tried to get into our bed.

Christy said...

I hope he makes a recovery. My husband would shit if we had a cow in the house! LOL.

Anonymous said...

HE IS VERY CUTE..ARE YOU KEEPING HIM OR DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE HIM BACK WHEN HE'S WEANED???
ARE YOU GOING TO UMMM KEEP HIM AS A PET OR FOOD??? A PET I HOPE!!!
AND IF YOU DO KEEP HIM AS A PET ARE YOU GOING TO CASTRATE HIMM????
A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS I KNOW..I'M SORRY JUST CURIOUS ABOUT HIS FATE...I LOVE BABIES AND HE'S A CUTIE...SPEAKING OF CUTIE'S SHAYZEE IS DOING GREAT. I NOTICED SHE'S STARTING TO LOSE THAT BABY LOOK AND GETTING A MORE MATURE FACE ON HER!!!

TAKE CARE..

KAREN IN MASS

Pintura Springs said...

He is mine. I wish he had been a heifer, but he was born to be steaks and hamburger. He was banded as soon as he hit the ground and so he was a steer when I got him.

I will keep him as a pet and pet him a lot, I will enjoy him, care for him, lose sleep because of him, pamper him and love him. Then he will pay me back by providing meat for our family. That is the way of life for livestock.

I believe that we are the only species that love and care for the prey that we eat.

However, if anyone would like to save him from this fate, I will sell him at market price per pound when he is mature and fattened.

He is still not out of the woods yet, so I may not have to think about his future fate anyway. Right now I am battling scours.

Claire MW said...

Oh my goodness, forgive me, but this post cracked me up. Especially the part about the peeing on the rug. What a giggle (not for you though). I hope he continues to do well. Maybe he didn't want the bottle outside because he was actually scared of the goats?

Carolyn Evans-Dean said...

I cannot imagine having a cow in my house... I think my husband would file for divorce...After having me shipped off to the looney bin! I hope the little guy is feeling better soon.

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