Mar. 11, 2003 ~ The new kid
It wasn't until almost all the cows had passed through the gate that I noticed the baby in the field. She rose up and stood alone but not silent, as that tiny body let forth a loud, forceful moo. Now, I could have gone in there, gotten behind her, and tried to force her into the back pasture, but I decided to wait and see what happened. At the sound of her calf's voice, Mama Cow turned away from the hay and mooed back at her.
"Come quickly!" she seemed to say.
But the little girl stood her ground, there in that great big pasture, and mooed a couple of more times at her mother. Finally her mom came running back to the gate. There was more mooing back and forth. Each wanted the other to do her bidding. We've learned from experience that it's bet to try to move the mother, not the calf. Safer and easier. The mom at least knows her way around in the pastures, while the babies usually get scared and wind up running through the fences, getting cut up and hurt in the process.
I gently told Mama Cow to go to her baby, and eventually (when she was good and ready) she went through the gate and toward her calf.
They nuzzled each other and a few "mrrrs" were exchanged, then the baby trotted briskly after her mom, back to the hay meadow. She's really pretty cooperative, for a new kid. This makes two days in a row that she's gone through the gate, not the fence.
I'm thinking of printing up a diploma for her. She's certainly smart. I told Husband how small she was, but when he saw her, he said she was a BIG calf. Hmmm. Maybe she only looks small because she's the only really little one we have. The other calves are several months old, so there's no one to compare her to.
She's a cutie, large or small, and she has a very big voice. And a strong will!
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