Could have lost one today

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Why would a cow decide to calve on the edge of a ravine with a 20 foot, rocky decline? (rhetorical question). Found her just as she was licking off her calf and had a baaaad feeling so I camped out to make sure the calf could get up and over to a relatively flat, grassy area. He got up all right - and immediately fell down the ravine, landing on his back between two rocks with his head facing downhill. I'll be darned if that cow didn't just follow him & continue licking, like she had no clue. I bolted down the other side (okay, I actually slipped on the leaves & went the rest of the way on my a$$) and climbed up to the calf. I was able to get him out of the rocks & flipped over but he was a big, slippery calf, no way could I drag him up the ravine - especially since his mama was blocking the only logical way up - so I drug/half-carried him down to the bottom. He's doing fine now, I'm extremely fortunate his mama is docile (I had the adrenaline shakes for an hour) but I seriously doubt he'll be able to get out for a few days.

We're halfway thru Spring calving - here's hoping no more drama!
 
Glad you were able to get there in time and save it. Good thing you trusted your gut and stuck around. You would have kicked yourself if you hadn't and came back later to a dead calf. Never ceases to amaze me the trouble they can get into.
 
Had a heifer calve right next to a fence this morning. Little bull calf rolled over to the neighbors side and i had to drag him back under to our side. Wonder if he'd have got back back cross without help
 
I would have liked to have seen that TC, you'll have to get a calf cam on your bike or something so we don't miss your antics slipping and sliding. Seriously though glad you were on hand and able to save the day, hope you have got over the shakes and not too much skin off.

Ken
 
Son of Butch":23kij11j said:
Guess you'll just have to hand your husband a shovel and tell him to get off his lazy a$$ and fill in that ravine. :)

Ha! When I got back to the house I was a dirty mess with twigs in my hair and afterbirth soaked through my jeans. He asked why I didn't call him to help and I just had to roll my eyes: he's currently jacked up on pain pills, steroids, muscle relaxers and is hooked up to a Tens Unit 3 times a day. (side note: those things are super powerful - I inadvertently turned the knob the wrong direction the other day & shocked the snot outta him. Oops!)
 
(side note: those things are super powerful - I inadvertently turned the knob the wrong direction the other day & shocked the snot outta him. Oops!)[/quote]

That's your story and you can tell it however you want. :D
 
Some cows are just plain stupid some times. I got home from church yesterday and had one do almost the same thing. About 2 foot from a 10 foot drop off in to a creek / pond. I was going to try to move her away from the pond but all that did was make a mad Brahman cross momma so my son came and backed the P.U. up to the calf and I jumped off grabbed the calf jump back on the truck and head for the lot, with a mad cow blowing snot at me. Now she is in the lot for a couple days. This is her third calf and the first time to do something stupid like this.
 
True Grit Farms":sxhg9dh1 said:
(side note: those things are super powerful - I inadvertently turned the knob the wrong direction the other day & shocked the snot outta him. Oops!)

That's your story and you can tell it however you want. :D[/quote]

Yeah, that's what he said :hide:
 
BRYANT":2qdouicz said:
Some cows are just plain stupid some times. I got home from church yesterday and had one do almost the same thing. About 2 foot from a 10 foot drop off in to a creek / pond. I was going to try to move her away from the pond but all that did was make a mad Brahman cross momma so my son came and backed the P.U. up to the calf and I jumped off grabbed the calf jump back on the truck and head for the lot, with a mad cow blowing snot at me. Now she is in the lot for a couple days. This is her third calf and the first time to do something stupid like this.

Well done! My friend fished one out of the creek last week, it was the cows 6th calf. Still thankful my little mama is a sweetheart. She did get him out, found them in the woods this morning and she just stood there while we tagged/banded/shots, etc.
 
I think they feel safer that way. Nothing can easily sneak up behind you through a creek or ravine. Easy for mama to take care of her calf with her back to the creek and the newborn in front of her.
 
BRYANT":c1uvaejo said:
Some cows are just plain stupid some times. I got home from church yesterday and had one do almost the same thing. About 2 foot from a 10 foot drop off in to a creek / pond. I was going to try to move her away from the pond but all that did was make a mad Brahman cross momma so my son came and backed the P.U. up to the calf and I jumped off grabbed the calf jump back on the truck and head for the lot, with a mad cow blowing snot at me. Now she is in the lot for a couple days. This is her third calf and the first time to do something stupid like this.


I had to put up an electric fence to keep them from going down to the creek to hide out and calve
There'd be no getting out if one fell in
Plus I doubt a new born could swim

I gathered this one up and put in my lap on the UTV. Her momma tried to get in with us :shock:

 
I had two do that lasr year. Found a premie laying in the water on a 40 degree day, and found one that tumbled in a pond a month later. Banks were to steep for the calves to get out or for the cows to get to them. The premie laid in the rain like it was dead for hours, but I somehow managed to keep him alive.
 
A newborn absolutely can swim! March 11, 2010 (the date is seared in my memory): A cow had calved earlier in the morning, went to check around 11:00. She was in the woods, near the top of a bluff leading to a 60 acre watershed lake. Walked towards them & the calf jumped up and took off running through the woods, down the bluff and didn't stop when she got to the lake. Calf wasn't more than 4 or 5 hours old and swam (dog paddled) towards the middle of the lake. I freaked & told my husband to go in & get her but he decided to bolt to the barn & get the boat while I stayed to watch. Calf turned north when she got to the middle but she was starting to struggle so I stripped to my skivvies and went in. Yowza, that water was cold, it was 40 degrees! Got to the calf & by that time she was so tired she didn't fight me, made it to the shore and carried her up the bank. My feet were so numb I didn't realize they were completely cut up from the rocks/branches. Meanwhile, husband gets back with the boat & doesn't see me or the calf but sees my clothes on the bank & has minor heart failure. He hears me calling for him but couldn't see me because I had draped myself over the calf, rubbing her & trying to keep her warm. Finally finds me & carries the calf back up the bluff to her mama, who evidently had no clue her calf took off in the first place.

Bebe just had her 6th calf (finally, a heifer!) and is beyond obnoxious, spoiled rotten and one of our best producers - she can't be more than 1400 lbs & her bull calf last year clocked in at 820 lbs when we sold him to a neighbor at 7 months.
 
TCRanch":2npnlurf said:
A newborn absolutely can swim! March 11, 2010 (the date is seared in my memory): A cow had calved earlier in the morning, went to check around 11:00. She was in the woods, near the top of a bluff leading to a 60 acre watershed lake. Walked towards them & the calf jumped up and took off running through the woods, down the bluff and didn't stop when she got to the lake. Calf wasn't more than 4 or 5 hours old and swam (dog paddled) towards the middle of the lake. I freaked & told my husband to go in & get her but he decided to bolt to the barn & get the boat while I stayed to watch. Calf turned north when she got to the middle but she was starting to struggle so I stripped to my skivvies and went in. Yowza, that water was cold, it was 40 degrees! Got to the calf & by that time she was so tired she didn't fight me, made it to the shore and carried her up the bank. My feet were so numb I didn't realize they were completely cut up from the rocks/branches. Meanwhile, husband gets back with the boat & doesn't see me or the calf but sees my clothes on the bank & has minor heart failure. He hears me calling for him but couldn't see me because I had draped myself over the calf, rubbing her & trying to keep her warm. Finally finds me & carries the calf back up the bluff to her mama, who evidently had no clue her calf took off in the first place.
:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: this has got to be one of the best stories I have heard on here.
 
BRYANT":1f1gb5dv said:
TCRanch":1f1gb5dv said:
A newborn absolutely can swim! March 11, 2010 (the date is seared in my memory): A cow had calved earlier in the morning, went to check around 11:00. She was in the woods, near the top of a bluff leading to a 60 acre watershed lake. Walked towards them & the calf jumped up and took off running through the woods, down the bluff and didn't stop when she got to the lake. Calf wasn't more than 4 or 5 hours old and swam (dog paddled) towards the middle of the lake. I freaked & told my husband to go in & get her but he decided to bolt to the barn & get the boat while I stayed to watch. Calf turned north when she got to the middle but she was starting to struggle so I stripped to my skivvies and went in. Yowza, that water was cold, it was 40 degrees! Got to the calf & by that time she was so tired she didn't fight me, made it to the shore and carried her up the bank. My feet were so numb I didn't realize they were completely cut up from the rocks/branches. Meanwhile, husband gets back with the boat & doesn't see me or the calf but sees my clothes on the bank & has minor heart failure. He hears me calling for him but couldn't see me because I had draped myself over the calf, rubbing her & trying to keep her warm. Finally finds me & carries the calf back up the bluff to her mama, who evidently had no clue her calf took off in the first place.
:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: this has got to be one of the best stories I have heard on here.

We have a lot of them - think "Green Acres". Head north some time & we'll have a beer :)
 
TCRanch":3s05823s said:
A newborn absolutely can swim! March 11, 2010 (the date is seared in my memory): A cow had calved earlier in the morning, went to check around 11:00. She was in the woods, near the top of a bluff leading to a 60 acre watershed lake. Walked towards them & the calf jumped up and took off running through the woods, down the bluff and didn't stop when she got to the lake. Calf wasn't more than 4 or 5 hours old and swam (dog paddled) towards the middle of the lake. I freaked & told my husband to go in & get her but he decided to bolt to the barn & get the boat while I stayed to watch. Calf turned north when she got to the middle but she was starting to struggle so I stripped to my skivvies and went in. Yowza, that water was cold, it was 40 degrees! Got to the calf & by that time she was so tired she didn't fight me, made it to the shore and carried her up the bank. My feet were so numb I didn't realize they were completely cut up from the rocks/branches. Meanwhile, husband gets back with the boat & doesn't see me or the calf but sees my clothes on the bank & has minor heart failure. He hears me calling for him but couldn't see me because I had draped myself over the calf, rubbing her & trying to keep her warm. Finally finds me & carries the calf back up the bluff to her mama, who evidently had no clue her calf took off in the first place.

Bebe just had her 6th calf (finally, a heifer!) and is beyond obnoxious, spoiled rotten and one of our best producers - she can't be more than 1400 lbs & her bull calf last year clocked in at 820 lbs when we sold him to a neighbor at 7 months.

:lol:
Great story
I'd of waited on the boat
 

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