Miracle!

The first week of February was cold and wet and ICY!  Not as bad as last year or the year before (Snowmageddon!) but certainly disagreeable.  We prepared for the predicted weather on Monday of last week by giving the cows an extra ration of hay and cubes.  While the cows were chowing down on their cubes, I walked around them, as I usually do, to see that everyone looked healthy.  I immediately noticed that B1, age 13 and the last of the Bonsmara calves that have been such good mothers, was clearly expecting a calf.

Based on when her red, white-faced heifer (G1) was born, she should have calved several months ago.  We assumed that, due to her advanced age for a breeding cow, she wasn’t capable of again becoming a mother.  We were clearly wrong; her udder was the size of a laundry basket, and her vulva was clearly ready to birth a calf.  John observed that, because of the expected freezing precipitation, she was about to give birth.  (Cows are sensitive to the changes in atmospheric pressure that occurs when a cold front arrives, and often calve in very inclement weather!)  

On Tuesday morning, the roads and trees were covered with a thin sheet of ice and the temperatures were in the mid-20s.  John went down to check the cows, and, sure enough, B1 was brushed up by herself several hundred yards away from the others.  She had clearly been up and down in labor, as the ground under the cedar tree where she stood was disturbed.  But, there was no calf.  On the contrary, B1 was standing calmly with a small foot protruding from her back end, encased in its amniotic sac.  

We didn’t know what to do.  The roads were icy, and we had no way of taking B1 into town to the vet.  And, no vets were making ranch calls in such weather.  We took a bucket of cow cubes, and B1 was only too happy to follow us back to the lot.  We gave her food and water, and called on God to take care of the situation as He saw fit.  

We checked on B1 several times during the day.  Other than being aggravated because she was separated from her friends, she showed no signs of distress or concern.  We were convinced that her calf…being half-born for several hours, was dead.  One of John’s veterinary friends speculated that the calf’s head was turned backwards, and the only solution was for a vet to surgically resolve the situation.  We were distraught.  There was nothing we could do, and we feared the cow would die along with her unborn calf.  

I guess God had another plan.  Just at dusk, John went down to check the cow one last time.  He called me with the message, “You better come down here now!  We have a calf!”  When I got to the barn, B1 was licking a strapping black baldy heifer calf.  Thank You, God!

The following day was bitterly cold.  The calf seemed lethargic, and we were afraid she wasn’t nursing.  We tried several times to feed her a colostrum supplement by bottle, but she only suckled a couple of times and refused the nipple.  Finally, we spoke to God again and went home to bed.  

Miracle of miracles!  On Thursday morning we found a strong, lively calf bounding around the lot and periodically nursing the cow.  We will call her Miracle, or perhaps Glory, or maybe Blessing, as Laura suggested.  

As I write this, Miracle and her mother are with the other cows and calves, and Miracle is in the care of her older sisters and brothers.  We are truly blessed!