Sometimes… cows can remember a hole in the fence they went through ages ago, sometimes… they can’t remember where they left their calf. Insert eye roll here.
Was it on this side of the road or that side?
Victoria and kids are here over spring break and when we finally arrived to see if the guys needed help… Brandon was on the search for this cow’s calf. It has been born yesterday and with the snowstorm and an absent minded mother, they had become separated. He had already been walking through the sagebrush looking. Victoria and boys joined in. Around we went. Back and forth. Then a short run up to Vernon to see if he needed help with the 12 calves his bunch had calved yesterday. Nope, he was good. Brandon’s calf would take priority. Had it gotten through the fence? Staggered to the creek and drowned? Frozen and covered with snow?
Conversations were held. Theories tossed about. Finally, Vernon arrives to join the search… and finds the little bugger in under a minute. Nestled in a tiny patch of grass you wouldn’t think could hide a calf… we’d been by it three times.
While we were happy with that part, the cow had now decided she was leaving the territory, positive those other calves over the hill MUST be hers. Insert that eye roll emoji one more time here…
Getting them back together could be a challenge.
To be continued…
Sometimes if you bring out a dog to look for the baby…….Mom will suddenly find it!
Eye roll indeed! Don’t they call each other? Glad he’s safe and sound. Hope mom comes around soon.
Ohhh. Frustrating. Hoping you can pair mama and baby soon.
I have had somewhat the same incident. Baby takes a nap while Mom is off eating. Baby wakes up. Mom is gone eating. Baby heads off looking for Mom to the spot where it was born. Mom returns looking for it. No Baby and has fit. The calf pulled that routine for weeks on Mom and us, sometimes traveling hundreds of yards. As it got older, it stayed with Mom and problem solved