The kids left Friday after John got out of school. Saturday morning Bob and I woke up at the farm. I looked out the front window and down the pasture. I saw an area covered with about a hundred vultures. At least that is what we call them. I hollered at Bob and he drove down to check. One of the young cows had her calf and it had died. The cow's name is Easter.
Charley's bull is a small breed, I think called a Dexter. Well, the cows had gotten into the neighbor's pasture last summer and their bull is a big, big one. Evidently he got to the cows before Will, our bull did, so the baby was too big for this young heifer and it died. Something happened to Easter in the process and she can't stand up. And Charley is gone...
This is Charley's bull, Will.
We first built a shelter for Easter, putting the horse trailer on one side and some fence panels on the other side with a tarp over it. We were guessing which direction the storm would come from.
Well, she evidently didn't like it, because she worked her way out of the shelter. Every so often she will struggle to get up and since her left hind leg will not support her, she falls back down.
That night the storm came with sleet first and then snow. This is some of the other cows, but Easter was covered with ice also. We gave her hay and water every few hours.
On Sunday we put loose hay over her, trying to keep her warmer. The other cows ate all the hay off of her and the next morning, she is laying there covered with ice. There was nothing else we could do except keep her fed and watered. We didn't expect her to survive Monday night getting down to 6 degrees. But she did!!
When Charley got home, they took the tractor and loader and put her on this pallet thing Bob had built so he could use the tractor kind of like a forklift. The forklift itself is actually a 3 point hitch mounted hay fork for moving the big round bales. He used the hay spear attached to the loader and a strap around her belly to pick her up and put her on this pallet thing and then carried her up to the shop. She was strapped down so she would not fall off.
Charley and John built a pen using some plywood and some pallets.
And she is now inside where we can keep an eye on her, although the temperatures are going to be warmer the next few days. At least, the other cows will not steal her food. She is such a sweet cow. She is one they raised on a bottle.
This last side was enclosed after the picture was taken.
Everything is better now that Charley is home.
The farm is beautiful with the snow, but we are ready for it to be gone!!!
And that's how things are here in the Bluegrass. We are longing for spring!!
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