by Jan Fielden
A couple of weeks ago, I told you all that I would not name the bull calf we had in the corral because I knew we would have to eventually sell him, and I didn’t want to go through that. Naming a calf eventually ties your emotions to that calf. Well, I guess, you all should forget what I said. A few days ago, we discovered in the Yearling Pasture, a Momma who had just given birth to twins: a bull and a heifer.
They were premature and the little bull, who was much larger than the heifer, was having problems. He could not hold his head up, could not even try to get up on his legs, and the big problem he was having was some deep down breathing problems. The little heifer was just that, little. She could get up and follow her Momma, look around, and seemed to be healthy. I hurried to the house, mixed some colostrum and hurried back to the Yearling Pasture to give it to the little guy and the little princess. He took very little, but she took a lot.
The next day The Colonel drove down there to check on them and the bull calf was dead. It was so sad because the Momma was accepting both of them, sometimes they don’t. The little heifer followed her Momma and was very alert. Next day, The Colonel went to check on the Momma and the little girl. The Momma had died. We took the little girl up to the corral, made her a little bed. Well, her name is Sweet Pea. I couldn’t resist. She is now jumping around like little calves do, taking the bottle with no problems, and is just cute. The Red Oak Ranch suffers but always manages to pull out of things with something to celebrate.
