CATTLE BUSINESS 2021

As we started 2021, we were hoping to continue our luck of not losing any cows/calves. Unfortunately, after two and a half years of no deaths, our streak ended.

Our first calf was born in mid-January, followed by two calves in February, two in March, two in July, and the last one in September. A total of eight calves this year. We had to rescue one of the littles that got itself stuck in the hay ring a few hours after being born and mama couldn’t coax her out. This was the second rescue. The first was immediately after birth when buzzards descending on the mamas afterbirth. We had to “babysit” them until they left the area where the calf was born.

The two that were born in July have a special story. The big old cow that escaped from the corral when we were loading them up to go to auction last year, was still with us and delivered her calf in early July. Her daughter that came with her when she joined our herd 2 years earlier, delivered her first calf as a heifer, two days later! We broke our rule about heifers, and kept her instead of sending her to auction since she was big, and we were willing to take a chance on her. She did great! She had a little white faced bull and he immediately got up and started running around, it was crazy! So there we had it, mommy, daughter, and grandson all together! Unfortunately, the old Mama’s calf did not do well after birth. She laid out in the pasture in the heat of the day and would not respond to her mother’s mooing. We went out, nudged her up, and she did go to her mother, nurse, and stay beside her. Second day, repeat of the first. Finally, after the third day she seemed to “get” it. All was well until two and a half months later, when she couldn’t seem to walk and died.

Our second heartbreaker was having a downer cow in August, it took us a bit to figure out it was the mama that had the first calf of the season in January. Our neighbor, a dairy farmer, gave her a calcium IV, and she was up about 30 minutes later. We thought all would be good, but that was not the case. Same situation the next morning. And the following day as well. Obviously, she had more than a calcium deficiency and we made the decision not to treat her anymore. Fortunately, her calf was old enough and nursed the proper amount of time. We found a family that could slaughter her and feed their many children and grandchildren.

August would continue to be a bad month. A micro burst storm came though and took down a huge tree in the back pasture along the fence line. Unbeknownst to us, the downed tree took out over 100 feet of farm fencing. Imagine when the local sheriff knocked on our door early one morning and told us our cows were out in the road! Ugh, first to gather them up and get them back in the pasture. Then to close off the side where the downed fence was, cut the tree up and out of the fence line, then arrange for new fencing to be installed. Too much excitement for one day!

When it came time to gather the calves in the corral for auction in November, we were determined to make sure our old cow that escaped last year WAS GONE THIS TIME. We also still had two white faced bulls that were held over from last year and they were constantly fighting with the black bull we decided to keep. Three bulls together is not a good combination. With help, we had cornered them all in the corral, and were getting ready to push the old cow onto the cattle carrier, when she shoved herself under the panels again and lifted two sets of them. The exact same thing she did last year. Every single calf, and the two bigger bulls escaped again. Everyone was speechless. There was no way we would be able to get them back in the corral again this year. We were defeated.