The problem I have is when a cow loses her calf, then she has to go to the sale. One exception would be if there is an orphaned calf or one that another cow won't accept. Then they will adopt the calf to the cow. That's a little crazy process of skinning the dead calf and creating a "blanket" for the new calf to wear until the cow fully accepts her new baby. After Carl died, his mother Molly had to go to the sale. There wasn't any calf for her to take over. I was so sad because Molly was unique in her own way.
Then Charlie and Bambie were born (twins of course)and they too are super cute. (See picture)
All of a sudden, Charlie died! Goodness...that's another one of my babies that died. So Bambie got to stay in the barn with the orphan (who I eventually named Annie) because Bambie's mom would let them both drink. Annie and Bambie were soon joined by my ALL-TIME FAVORITE calf name Gus. Gus had a rough 24 hours after birth. His poor ears were frozen and then his dumb mother stepped on him and broke his leg.
What a trooper though, he was given a cast and learned how to hobble around with Bambie and Annie. Sometimes he'd get a little crazy and try to run and jump but that never ended well. Gus was getting so big he had to get another cast. I just thought it would be funny to go and sign his cast. Even my dad said to sign it for him. "Get along little buddy. -Uncle Mark" (My dad rocks!) Anyways, I never got around to signing any of Gus' casts but I did check in with him every day via Shayne. Progress reports you know. The little guy just wanted to get out of the barn and go play with all the other calves. The big day came and Shayne was so excited to tell me Gus was going to get his cast off. My heart jumped for joy because Gus was finally going to be able to play with all the other calves. When I talked to Shayne later that day he told me some disheartening news, Gus had to be put down. Due to his leg not being able to heal and grow properly, the leg actually died and had started to rot. I understand the importance of putting him down because the leg could not be saved. However, I got emotional because my motherly instinct kicked in and poor Gus was unable to say goodbye to his mother or his friends. It probably seems crazy to some of you that I was so upset when Gus died but to me, every animal should have a chance at life.
I have a new favorite calf...I'm sure hoping she'll want to be my friend. Her name is Helen! Poor Helen was born blind and I was sad to hear they might put her down. However, being the kind soul that he is, Shayne's boss is trying to make the best of the situation. He went and bought a halter and a bell for Helens mom, Marilyn. It's so cute to hear the cow bell and know that Marilyn is out having her snack then back in the barn with Helen. I guess the cow bell is working out but there is still talk of what's going to happen when Helen needs to experience "life outside." For now, I like to go spend time with Helen and try to get her tame enough to take her outside. She's such a doll. Here is a picture of Helen and of Marilyn.
It's hard to see the calves die but I guess it's the circle of life. I forget the bigger issue here, when the calves die, the farm loses money. If I take that into consideration, maybe I won't bitch as much when a cow gets sold. They have to make the money back somehow so the solution is to bring your beef to the table!
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