by Jan Fielden
Sometimes the simplest things can become the hardest things to do. Something that you have done before many times just suddenly doesn’t work out. Last week we had a calf from the Middle Herd get into the Yearling Herd. Its’ Momma was bellering and acting as if she was totally panicked, which I suppose she was. I tried to reunite them but somehow they simply wouldn’t take direction. They ran up and down the fence line, but the calf wouldn’t come over and the Momma couldn’t get it to because she didn’t know how to convince it to come home. I ran that calf with my truck, I walked up and down the fence line trying to get it to just go through the fence if nothing else. All to no avail.
I tried to get the calf to come in to the pen behind the hay pen; I thought then I could open that gate out into the Middle Herd’s pasture. Forget that! The calf wouldn’t come in. So, I tried to get the Momma to come in to that pen thinking the calf would see her in and would go in the pen with her. I could then open that gate and put them both back out into the Middle Herd. Nope…nothing doing. They just squalled and bellered but acted as if there was no solution to the problem. I tried to get the Momma to go in to the Horse Paddock when the herd moved down that way with the calf trailing after them. I opened the gate and the Momma acted as if she didn’t know how to walk through a gate. The Colonel came down and helped and of course, they were reunited in a short time but even he had to work and work to get them together. Never know what is going to be going on at the Red Oak Ranch.
