A Weekend with the ...COWS!

Friday night Rick and I left the house for our traditional Friday outing by the way of the farm. This is when it all started. A black cow was "down" in the mud with a new calf already on the ground. We knew what was ahead of us. We went back home, put on our mud clothes, and called the local vet, Doc. Watson at Bing's Vet Clinic. The vet came and gave her an IV and several shots.

He told us we need to get her up two or three times a day and out of the mud if she was going to make it. She has milk fever. We then went and got the tractor, a chain, and a sling. I just knew that we were going to break her neck, but we didn't. We drug her through the mud and water to the highest point of the pasture where there was some dry ground.

 Four hours later - muddy and tired - we went home without getting her up. It was dark, and we could not get the sling under her. She was totally worn out from being drug through the mud. Many prayers went up during this time for some divine intervention.

Saturday morning at day break we started again. We did get the sling under her, and the tractor did lift her up - uneven. Her front legs   came up, but the back ones dangled under her. We let her rest, while we went and got the rest of the cows the hay. After lunch, I went to a funeral and Danny helped Rick. They did get her up on all fours and the baby calf nursed. I missed Rick falling out of the back of the truck holding the baby calf as Danny drove through the pasture and mud. This was the first time that we had hope that the cow might make it. The vet came by just to check on the situation. He is a really good guy. Again many prayers were prayed.

Sunday morning, with "an ox in our ditch," we started the process all over of trying to get her up. The first task was to get the sling under her again. I "Googled" last night all the different ways to get a "downed" cow up. One was to suffocate the cow by holding you hands over her nose so she can't breath. This was my method with prayers. Rick's method was to make her mad by hitting her with the sling and prayers. She did raise up one time and tried to get us. Did I mention that she still has had a lot of fight and spunk in her through all of this? We did not get the sling under her. So we tried again. By the grace of God, the second time she stood up. Woobly as can be; she was standing by herself - not hooked to a tractor. We took special care of her and her calf the next four hours. During this time we had another cow have a calf. We left for a birthday party, then came back to feed the cows again. She was still standing. Another calf was born. We went home for our weekly Sunday night dinner with the family. At dusk we went back to the farm, where we had the third calf born.

The real test was going to be Monday. On Monday with four trips to the farm between Rick and I, she was standing every time. I think she is going to be a success story, and we are not going to have to bottle-feed another calf.