Oct. 01, 2006 ~ Uh-oh...
The heifer calf is not doing well. Yesterday we thought she was just wobbly and new and unable to stand because of that. Turns out that her back end doesn't work properly. I don't know if it was a birth injury or a birth defect, but she can't stay upright. Her front legs seem to work, but her back legs do not. Unless she somehow gets better, I don't know if she'll survive. At this point she can't run from predators, and even if we had the calf in our back yard and bottle fed her, predators have been known to come into our yard.
It's a sad thing, looking into this new baby's eyes and knowing it doesn't look good for her. The other calves have all come around to greet her, have sniffed her and licked at her, giving her gentle calf kisses. We've petted her a lot, and rubbed her legs and hips. Even worked her little legs back and forth. We wonder if she's nursed. She doesn't seem weak or sick, just... partially paralyzed. Poor baby.
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