Autumn Sunset

The Graft

When a calf dies, we often try to get the mother to adopt a calf whose mom is either unable or unwilling to take of him.  A calf might die because of a birth defect, but the cow will go on to produce healthy calves in later calving seasons.  We want to save her, instead of sell her, especially if she is a "good" mom, so we try to keep her milk production up until we have a calf that needs a new mom.  Candidates for adoption would be calves whose moms are sick, crazy, or who don't have milk.  A sick cow cannot care for her calf because of the physical toll it takes on her body.  The crazy cow kicks her calf away, sometimes killing him before we can get to him.  Then there is the occasional cow that doesn't make enough milk, and her calf doesn't thrive.  In these cases, we will take the calf off its mom and "graft" it to a good mom.  A good mom is healthy enough to take care of the calf, has plenty of good quality milk, and likes her calf.  She cleans him off when he's born, encourages him to nurse, and stays near him. 

Tonight my husband had to put down a calf who wasn't going to pull through a severe infection.  We had another calf whose mom wasn't making enough milk, and we'd been bottle-feeding him for at least a week.  Bertha brought the live calf down to the shed in the calving pasture.  Together we skinned the dead calf.  Almost as soon as we were finished, the dead calf's mom walked into the corral, mooing for her calf.  She stood right where her calf should have been, sniffing the ground, eyeing us with suspicion.  We chased her into a pen right outside the shed.  She could hear the sickly calf inside.  We took the skin and made holes for his arms and legs.  Then we slipped the skin on the calf.  It looked like a very warm coat.  Then we let the mom inside.  She sniffed the calf.  She knew something was different, but she kept him close by, mooing softly at him.  We coaxed them into the pen, got the cow into the head catch, and positioned the calf to nurse.  He took off right away, eagerly slurping down the warm milk.  She calmed right down, and pretty soon we let her out of the head catch.  The calf went right back to nursing, very peacefully.  A situation that could have been sad (for the good mom) and costly (for us) had a happy ending for both. 

What I Did Today

This afternoon, my husband's grandmother came out to the ranch.  She and I each took a 4-wheeler to the calving pasture.  We were going to take cow/calf pairs out of that pasture.  While we were looking for pairs, I noticed one cow about to give birth.  The amniotic sac was hanging out of her.  I made a mental note and moved on.  When we were done putting out pairs, I drove back to check on her.  The bag had burst, and I could see hooves sticking out.  I noticed the white parts (bottom side) of the hooves were up.  This means the calf is either backwards (breech) or more rarely, upside down.  This is a problem because the calf usually suffocates before the cow can get him out.   I called over my husband's grandma and asked her to go back to the house to get my father-in-law.  While she was gone I guided the cow to the barn.  When my father-in-law got there, we chased the cow in through the back gate.  She was almost in the barn when suddenly she turned around and started running towards the gate.  I hopped off my 4-wheeler and swung the gate in front of her.  She paused, giving me about a half a second to jump in front of her and lock the gate.  She turned and ran back towards the barn.  We finally got her in the pulling pen and pushed her into the head catch.  I slipped some straps over the calf's feet.  My father-in-law put the calf puller on her and pulled the calf as far down the bar as he could.  A natural occurrence during childbirth is the release of maternal fecal matter.  This is no different in cows.  At one point, this cow squirted my father-in-law pretty good.  I am laughing about it now as I type it.  But at the time he told me to cover her anus so that wouldn't happen again!  He had to manually pull the last third of the calf's body out because it was so long.    Finally, the calf slid out.  He was enormous.  My father-in-law released the head catch, and the cow mooed over her calf.  She liked him.  She will take care of him.  I am so proud of myself for spotting the backwards calf.

What a Cattle Drive Looks Like

I love going on cattle drives.  The fresh air, wide open spaces, watching the cows run, checking out the scenery and wildlife, I just love it all.  So much so that I've even been known to bundle up my babies, slip them in the baby carrier, and go! 

Laugh all you want, but that hat is VERY warm, and the big glasses cover lots of surface area on my face, protecting my eyes from the wind.  (Yes, my in-laws laugh at my glasses).

To get them to move, we yell, "BOSSES", but we pronouce it, "BOOOHHH ZEHS."  My husband also likes to yell, "Yeoooohhhhhhhh  Nellies!"  (Actually, he really likes to yell curse words, but I'm trying to wean him off that now that we have kids!)

 Cattle on the move!  That big guy in the midle was watching me!

Ollie likes to watch the cows too.  He prefers to ride on my 4-wheeler instead of chasing the cows.

My son prefers the motorcycle to the 4-wheeler.



Bet you thought all ranchers rode horses and wore cowboy hats!

That's my husband.  I love watching him ride the dirtbike.  He makes it look so easy!

While waiting for the cows to all get through the gate, we usually recap the cattle drive.

Last one out.  Git 'em Silas!