by Jan Fielden
We had the Middle Herd locked up for a couple of days to work on some equipment and check it out. The Colonel didn’t want to be bothered with them being too curious for their own good and for making it almost impossible to check things out on equipment. So, off they went to the East Pasture. It is kind of nice not having to close the yard gates when they are unable to get to them.
But he only wanted to keep them in there for a couple of days and in that time, another problem came up. I looked down to the East Pasture and noticed only one cow was left in there. I asked The Colonel if he had let the cows out and he said yes, he was done with the work he was doing. I told him there was one cow down there by herself but we wrote it off to her having a baby. She was lying down and didn’t seem to want to get up, but I did notice that the one time I saw her she was walking funny. After I fed Sweet Pea, I drove down to the pasture and checked her out. I thought she was trying to have a baby. After a while, The Colonel went down to the pasture because she has had babies before and should not have had a rough time having one.
He was able to get her up and he noticed she was not having a baby but had been bitten on the leg by a snake. That was the reason for her walking funny. He said it was either a Copperhead or a Cottonmouth. So glad the Red Oak Ranch has a diagnostic cowboy!
