Identity Theft

She’s the tiny little twin we’ve been bottle feeding.

Today, we found her a new mommy.  Unfortunately, that meant another calf died… one we’d doctored for scours (severe diarrhea) and he eventually succumbed.  But life on a ranch isn’t easy and we know that.  Turning a misfortune into a lucky game is the goal if it can be accomplished.

For Half-Pint… she is lucky.

For those of you easily disturbed… you might want to stop reading now…

La la la la la.

OK.

For the rest of you… here’s how we turn misfortune into good luck by playing a trick on Mother Nature.

We make a jacket.

A new smelling coat for Half-Pint.

This is my job.

I skin the dead calf to the appropriate size for the small twin.  No, I won’t show the dead calf, nor me skinning it, but here is the new “jacket”.

Behind me is the other necessary equipment… baling twine.

Left from all the hay we’ve fed the heifers… it is the ranch item with 1001 uses!

I slice a few holes and insert the twine.

Each corner will get a section of twine to tie around Half-Pint’s legs.

OK!  I’m ready!

Whoops.

No, I’m not.

I need one more thing…

Oh…. Haaaaallllff – Pinnnnnt!

Quit playing with that gate and come try on your new jacket.

Aaaaah!

Aren’t you sweet?

Well, if not sweet… at least you smell like the dead calf… somewhat.

So…

We put Half-Pint and her new mom together in a pen…

The cow smells her lost calf on Half-Pint and doesn’t kick the strange calf away… which she would have had Half-Pint not been wearing her new jacket… and Half-Pint soon figures out she can drink from 4 *bottles* whenever she so desires!  By evening, they are both happy.

Sometimes it doesn’t go this smoothly… but today was a great example of a successful Identity Theft in action… Wyoming style.