How I spent Earth Day

[Kali]

It was pretty damn "earthy." For the past almost two weeks, I have been running around like the proverbial headless chicken. One of the chores was hauling water and hay to a cow that was down at the asshole neighbors. By down, I mean SHE was down. You may have heard of downer animals in reference to slaughter regulations - you are usually not allowed to process downer animals any more. It is actually a non-specific term that just means the animal is unable to walk for whatever reason. Could be an injury, could be too old and weak, could be the dreaded mad-cow.

In this case it is a combination of things. We knew she had a great big steer calf on her that should have been weaned months ago, but since she was not at home and I had been unable to get her home that didn't happen. So about 2 weeks ago we finally did a good clean-out of that place. She got harassed by Dusty's catch-dogs and fell down in the water-lot over there, so he left her rather than try to drive her 3 miles up and down rocky hills back home. I took some hay over to her that afternoon and she was up walking around but not very strong. Got her and the steer into a working pen the next day and got him off of her and out of there a couple days after that.

BUT she lay down in front of a gate and wouldn't get back up. She was eating good and still mad as hell - would try to hook you if you got anywhere near her head so I spent the time until yesterday going over there every day to turn her from side to side and try to get her up, feed and water her. She didn't make any progress so we needed to decide whether to put her down or drag her into a trailer and bring her home. All evidence pointed to her being able to recover with some care and good feeding so I was to meet dusty over there yesterday morning, he would bring a good stout horse or we could use my truck to pull her by her hind legs up a sheet of plywood and into his trailer for the ride home.

We get over there and she is laid out flat (cows normally lay on their chest, not flat on their sides) and I thought "oh shit she's dead!" But then she picked her head up and flopped it down again. We go over there and god damn it, she was having a calf!

What a mess. I'm pretty sure she's going to die now (or I will have to put her down) but for yesterday and today she's got a strong, tough little bull calf that has figured out how to get a little feed out of her, even if it is at the wrong angle! I let him get whatever colostrum she had and will switch him to a bottle today. Oh joy, we are going to have another yard calf. It has been a few years.

meet the Earth Day calf. Suggest a name! (I'll get some dry pictures later today if I think of it)

[txwhitedove]

1. Try an Indian name for earth: found Cherokee = E-lo-hi, E-lo or

E-lo-hi-no. New life to celebrate Earth Day. We pass a small field on the drive to daycare each morning, and surprise this week there was a mama Indian Paint and brand new baby. We stopped Thursday evening and the owner let us closer, even put the kids on mama 'Mariposa' which is Spanish for Butterfly. She has a yearling colt and the new baby colt. I thought of taking a picture to share here.

[Kali]

9. hmmm kind of close to ee-aye-ee-aye-oh

;-)

I have a real paint problem, I can admit that now. (have two at the moment plus a paint dog, and many scars from other paints)

[yellerpup]

15. Elohi = Earth

Good name! Hope you will post a photo of your colt! Osiyo! :hi:

[JitterbugPerfume]

2. Kali , you are a treasure

[Kali]

8. ...

this smiley is kind of inadequate, but I just want to send a virtual hug your way:hug:

[rug]

3. I would name him Shocking Meat Video.

[Kali]

10. ...

:spray:

doesn't really roll off the tougue too well, but I will consider it (yeah, right):P

[Ptah]

4. Should be named MFM

Moo For Mamma


:hide:

[Kali]

11. ...

:thumbsup: :rofl:

[Flaxbee]

5. poor momma cow ...

why do you think she's going to die? Is she old? Or just weak?

I know it's not your doing, Kali - you're a gem - I just hate to see female animals who really do so much goddamn hard work, often alone, die after giving birth, or not being able to handle 'child' birth.

[Kali]

12. she is not THAT old

but not young either. It has been a bad winter, nutrition-wise for these girls. NOTHING green since late October and the mainstay in a dry spring, the mesquites are late leafing out this year. But mainly it was that big old steer that was just literally sucking the life out of her.

The new one was about 80 lbs and is strong as hell so he took whatever strength she had left. Motherhood - it is all about sacrifice I guess.

She is hanging in there but I think we are into crossing the suffering boundary too far now. Probably going to put her down today or tomorrow, she is giving up. :(

[david13]

6. Beef! It's what's for lunch. Just had lunch.

I wanted to go for a hike in Topanga Canyon to Eagle Rock. But I had to go with a friend out to Ontario to tcb with him.
Last Sunday I did stop near Old Stage Road, and the road to Posey, near Jack Ranch Road. There was a huge pen of what I thought was cows. I didn't take off my helmet. Apparently they were of the bull persuasion, and I don't know if they didn't like me, or the bike, or each other. Anyway they were making one large noise of long grunting. Several times I looked at the fence and thought ... I hope they can't get out of there.
There was a house across the road. Nothing else around. A truck in the yard. On the truck was a bumper sticker. "Beef It's What's for Dinner"
Ok, I thought, and rode on, after checking the map.
dc

[Kali]

13. they probably thought you were there to feed them

which CAN actually be as dangerous as an "attack" - they are large and can be rough on upright pink animals, even their care-takers

[david13]

16. I didn't know if they had been doing that when I pulled up, or if it

was a response to my presence. I thought maybe they were fighting in the pen, as a good many of them appeared to be of the bull persuasion.
I didn't really pay that much attention to them. And the last thing I wanted to do was get up to the fence, and aggravate them, and have them knock down the fence. I think they could have done that easily, if they had been so inclined.
And I couldn't really tell if they were looking at me, or each other. One did look at me a little bit.
I don't know much about farm animals. And I don't have any particular interest in finding out much about them, either.
I did have a nice steak yesterday, tho'. I do have that interest.
dc

[liberaltrucker]

7. Depends

If the boy calf is destined for a dinner table
(hopefully mine), then Smoker (I bought an electric
smoker a couple weeks ago).

OTOH, if he's good for stud, then Viagra.

:)

:hi:

[Kali]

14. eventually the table

we haven't had a dogie to bottle feed in several years. When the kids were little they called them whappies instead of dogies because when you feed them their tails go back and forth so fast and hard the sound is kind a whap - hence whappies. Calf will probably get named "the New Whappy" if I know how these things go.:eyes:

smoker isn't bad

[MiddleFingerMom]

17. Stu. n/t

[Kali]

18. stuwie!

oh yes, I likey

[MiddleFingerMom]

19. Now, I would probably name ALL my cows Stu... as in Stu834, Stu29, etc.

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Well...
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...except for Count Stroganoff over there.
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[Kali]

20. circle of life and all that

had to put the cow down, she quit trying

but the new guy is strong and doing very well (he has smashed both of my big toes and regularly slobbers ALL over me) I have him with another bum cow and her calf. (I am such a sucker) He is on a bottle but if he tries hard enough this cow will probably let him have a little of her milk too - her calf needs to be weaned soon and I am fairly sure she isn't bred as she got a severe injury right around the time her current calf was born and she has been mostly isolated in the corrals ever since.

my regular camera batteries were dead and probably just as well, it isn't slobber proof so this is a quick cell phone pic

[Ptah]

21. young uns, who can'tlove young uns

Thanks for the update.

:hi:

[denbot]

22. Umm, what's a "bum" cow?

Wild? Abandoned? Aren't they valuable?

[Kali]

23. I just mean one who is getting fed and not really producing anything

she was actually a bottle baby herself, but after she was weaned whe went back out to the herd. Last summer/early fall after she had her second calf she came in carrying her left front leg - all swollen at the elbow. Thought it might have been a snake bite, but then it seemed maybe broken, now husband thinks maybe somebody shot her. At any rate, a cow can do ok with a back leg broken if they aren't real big or heavy and are pretty tame, front legs are weight-bearing and while it is amazing how she gets around (she will run you over to get hay) but I am afraid to let her out. She might get down in some rocky low spot and not be able to get out, plus a big bull might really hurt her. She was a yard pet so it is kind of hard to take her to the packing plant, although that is what we should probably do.

She is a bum because she isn't making her living on her own and I'm even afraid to have her get bred for another calf. The other un-PC term is she is "on welfare."

As crippled as she is she wouldn't bring much at the sale, maybe a couple hundred bucks where the last couple months a healthy young cow like her would bring 700 or more.

[denbot]

24. OK. Makes sense..

I could not be a rancher, I'd end up with a ragged herd of cast offs and lame-O's.

[Kali]

26. yeah that is a constant problem for me - not just bovines either

:blush: :hide: horses, pets, kids, freaking PLANTS ffs! I have a 5 year old apple tree a guy started from seeds or a cutting or something that has NEVER bloomed:rofl:

[GoCubsGo]

25. He looks like a "Chuck" to me.

I'm sorry to hear about his mama. He's a cutie.

[Kali]

27. oh yeah that is a good one

seems to be heading towards Stuwie (Stewie?) at least I tried it at the last feeding. shit that reminds me gotta go crap how did it get to be 8:30????