Gene Lyons just made me cry: Layla, the Charolais wonder calf

[CatWoman]

I was recently out for an afternoon ride on Rusty, my quarter horse, when we came upon my neighbor, who rents my pasture for his cattle. One of his cows had given birth to twin calves. Not good. They’re often premature, undersized and weak. The mother’s likely to choose the stronger calf and leave the other to die—bovine Darwinism. Paul was trying to coax the little white heifer, all spindly legs and big brown eyes, to stand and nurse from her mother’s teats. Without fresh mother’s milk, colostrum, she wouldn’t get antibodies needed to survive. He wasn’t having much luck. The heifer’s mother was already showing signs of ignoring her for the stronger bull calf.


I volunteered to bottle-feed her if Paul would teach me. He allowed as how she’d be mine if I could keep her alive, which he doubted. He and his wife came by to show me the ropes.

By morning, she was substantially weaker, unable to stand, barely able to nurse a bottle. Paul showed me how to tube-feed, inserting a plastic tube down her throat and pouring milk into a hotwater bottle hung from a nail.


On the third day, I drove off to fetch frozen colostrum on what I feared was a fool’s errand. I half expected to find her dead when I returned. Instead, she was standing, sniffing noses with Fred the basset hound.

I named her Layla, after the Eric Clapton song. The extended melodic piano and guitar ride at the end has often brought tears to my wife’s eyes. Besides, Layla definitely had me on my knees, feeding her a bottle.

At six weeks, Layla appears to think she’s a basset hound, although she knows I’m her mother. She definitely knows where the milk’s kept—inside the house—so she spends lots of time on the front porch, snoozing with the dogs and mooing for supper. I’d been told that cows had strongly marked personalities, but I had no clue. My own feelings about this little calf, one among thousands in a county inhabited by far more cows than people, have surprised me. Have I given up T-bones ? Not yet. Layla, however, will never enter the food chain.

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/233472/

[Parche]

1. Calf

OH MOO

:rofl::rofl: :rofl:

:hi: :hug:

[CatWoman]

3. heh

why is that kitty sticking so close to that calf?

:hi:

[MuseRider]

2. Ahhhhh

such a sweet story!

"It was also a minor revelation seeing laconic cattlemen driving all over three counties to fetch what I needed to keep her alive: colostrum, antibiotics, vitamin B-12, steroids." Well, I have seen the toughest old gnarly cowboys break down in sobs when their little doggie died. This does not surprise me but it is awesome to read.

Thanks for the story. What a kind person and what a sweet calf/dog :).

[sinkingfeeling]

4. It doesn't take long to become attached to any 'animal' that you hand feed and save. Beautiful story

Compliments of www.bova-ai.com/News.html



Charolais are beautiful animals and calves are always loveable!

[CatWoman]

5. wow

she IS beautiful!!!

:loveya:

[islandmkl]

6. thanks for the great story...

my pic is of my cat (about a year ago) who was found with his brother abandoned at about age 1 week...my wife did the whole bottle thing and the dog was the surrogate 'mother'...

both kitties lived (the other one is happy with a friend of ours) and both were sure the springer was their mom, regardless of lack of feeding apparatus...HE wasn't sure, and still isn't, what was going on...

it's a trip watching them play...the cat pretty much has to aggravate the dog into action at which time the dog jumps on the cat and 'hammers' the cat with his foreleg...the cat screeches, gets away, runs off, does a quick turnaround, and comes back for more...

and, regardless of the dog's lazy indifference, don't make the mistake of messing with his 'baby'...

[CatWoman]

8. god I love that pic!!

If DU ever had a sig lin pic contest, you would win hands down!! :loveya:

[truedelphi]

7. When almost all farms were smaller, many had stories to tell like yours

I remember a group of us sitting and talking about dogs we had loved as children, and a friend spoke up with "My best dog was a cow!"

They live a long, long time as well. Hers lived to be 17 or 18 - or maybe longer.(As long as you decide to keep them out of the food chain, the way you would with any other pet.)

[sinkingfeeling]

9. We had a pig we named Poochie because she thought she was a dog. I found her

in the vegetable garden when she was probably less than a week old. I knew she wasn't one of ours because she was a Berkshire and we raised Hampshires. She had a broken back hip where her mother had probably rolled over on her. We bottle fed her and even put her in the oven (120 degrees) to get her warmed up. She lived inside in a huge wash tub for about a month. We 'potty trained' her to go to the back door when she needed to go out.

She ate peanut butter sandwiches and tomatoes off the vine. She would bite down on the tomato and spray it everywhere. She would chase the school bus.

Now, my dad was a farmer, and when we'd had her for several years and she weighed over 500 pounds, he decided she had to go (to the food chain) since she couldn't be bred due to her messed up hip.

It's been almost 50 years ago, but I will always remember Poochie, have photos of her, and smile when I think of how smart she was and how much fun we had together.

[grasswire]

10. Gene's ability to really live while serving his country ...

....is part of the cool story. Blacklisted by the elitist thugs because of his truthful reportage, he still manages to have a wonderful life with his horses and dogs and country living.

Kudos to Gene. My hero today.

[MasonJar]

11. Thank you from all of us animal lovers. Please recommend so more can

enjoy.