I guess you are probably wondering why we just don't sell, well, there are a variety of reasons why we shouldn't: it’s the middle of winter, they won't bring much, but the main reason is they are our babies. They are everything to us. Each one has a name, personality and his/her own story. Like for instance, Meet Chiquita [insert pic] Chiquita came to us from a local farmer. She was a twin and her brother was the stronger one. We tried everything to get that cow to take the calf but she would just walk off. So, we brought her home and put her on the back porch. She lived there for about three weeks, until she was going good. We built a 'duplex' calf hutch and set it right outside the back door, so we could feed her every 4-6 hours. We were told over and over that she would be barren and wasn't worth anything. Well, we had decided that if she couldn't breed, than we would just have a very expensive 'lawn mower'. She wasn't barren and has had two very nice calves.
Then there is Pinky. [inset pic] She also came from the same local farmer. Her mother, kept kicking her in the head and wouldn't let her eat, so the farmer brought her over to the house. She was not frail, just hungry, so she moved in with Chiquita into the calf hutch. She has also had two very nice calves, the first calf she had was Purdy. [insert pic] Purdy has just had her first calf Princess. [insert pic] Princess was born the morning of our first snow storm this year, she is growing, and just like the others will be here for life.
Then we have Kelly[insert]; we bought her about three years ago from the sale barn with Jasmine [insert]. Kelly had Kiki [insert], and Kiki had Kitty last spring. Jasmine has not had a heifer yet.
Here is Lucy. [insert] My Grandpa bought three small heifers from my uncle and was going to keep them till he got $1000 for my Grandma. He waited and waited and refused to sell them until he thought they would bring $1000 for Grandma even though he had no business or time to mess with them because he was in and out of the hospital. Well, my Grandpa passed away, and Grandma asked me if I wanted to sell the calves. I told her I would buy them for $1000 like Grandpa wanted. The other two were Lilly and Loppy.
Here is Iris [insert] who had Izzy [insert]
Fancy
Dandy
This is Brutus. [insert] Brutus is from Bessie, our very first cow, who past a few years ago. He was the first calf born on the property. He was so tiny we thought we ought to give him a big name and just hope he would grow into it. And he did.
Then we come to Petey [insert]. Petey is what make all this worthwhile. We went out one day and noticed that China (who has also past) had had a calf. Our house dog had smelled of the cow and darted off through the wood. We followed and hidden under a cedar tree was a little calf that couldn't move. She had cleaned him up and just left. We rushed him to the vet and gave him the milk he needed, the vet stuck her finger in his mouth and said that he may be a 'dummy baby'. A 'dummy baby' is a calf that forgot how to suck after each time. Well, I looked at him and I knew that he was not a dummy baby. The vet showed us how to tube feed him and told us to keep him warm. When we got home from the vet, we put him on the back porch and turned the heater on. Every two hours we fed him using the tube and a syringe. After three days we tried to get him to suck a bottle but it was too big, so we got a beer bottle and a lamb nipple, that worked very well. We worked and worked with him, at first he would fall asleep while eating and we would have to wake him up and he would start again. Then we would hold him up while he ate to help build his leg muscles. He finally got to where he could stand on his own. But one day he was standing and had a bowl movement, he was so tickled. He looked back and looked at me and just kicked up, and then fell. He finally got to where we could take him out to go to the bathroom and give him some time to test out his feet. We put him in the pen while we worked outside. After three months we thought that is was time for him to move to the barn. He was in the pen and after about 30 turned around and he was gone! We looked and called and couldn't find him anywhere. So I got in the car and drove up the road and there he was, he was so excited that he darted across the road and ended up in a fence with some horses. By the time I got the car turned around the horses had already spotted he and was chasing trying to stomp on him. Petey was running as hard as he could, one horse was gaining on him so I honked the horn and it caused the horse to pause just enough for Petey to get a lead and dive through the fence. I parked the car and ran to him in the field. He walked right between us the whole way home. He was walking so fast it was hard to keep up. When we got to the orange gate he knew we were home, he kicked up his heels and headed for the house. We were kinda worried about the traumatic event altering our plans of moving to the barn, but he seemed ok, so when we went to feed him, as soon as we walked in the door it thundered. That calf would not take that bottle for anything. So back to the porch we go. And as soon as those little hoofs hit the floor, you couldn't get that bottle to him quick enough. He stayed for two more weeks on the porch. He is still just as sweet and loving. It's unlike anything I have ever seen, the only thing is, Petey does not know he is a bull, He thinks he is a person. But I'm not going to break his heart and tell him, he lives with all the other cows but prefers human company.
So now you know why selling is not an option.
Will you help us feed our cows.
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