Diamond K Ranch Wyoming

Babies are coming! If you want to actually see one being born, watch the first video!

We already have a couple babies!

We are running a regular bovine infirmary these days.

First off - how is the calf we saved from dehydration and dying? Alive! And living in a barn stall at the house. He is blind, however. If he can see anything it has to just be shadows. However, he is still taking a bottle and he has learned where his hay is. We'll be trying to sell him at some point, but for now he's alive and doing well.

Yesterday afternoon, Todd randomly decided to check how the water was doing at one of the windmills. He and our friend Ron had been working on this windmill recently and he wanted to make sure it was still working alright. Todd said he heard the tiniest weird sound. He looked around and happened to see a flash of yellow - an ear tag - INSIDE of a tire. The tire is a temporary way to keep the cows from going between the windmill tower and trough, busting pipe up along the way. A permanent exclusion is in the works.

Anyway...this yearling heifer was INSIDE the tire. Todd went home for the skid steer and was able to get the tire off of her and pull her out. She wouldn't stand, however. After being cramped in a small space for who knows how long her legs didn't want to work. He called the house for extra hands and a bottle of water.

I went out, but no matter what we did she couldn't stand. I went home to get some electrolytes and my sister, who is visiting this week. We tried lifting her with the skid steer. Didn't work. We tried giving her the bottle. She doesn't like it in her mouth. Todd had been giving her water that he poured out of his cowboy hat over her. We tried to trick her by pouring the water from the hat over her and when she would open her mouth we squeezed the electrolyte water in. That worked for awhile then she wizened up.

We eventually left her there for the night. Todd and our son went to check her this morning and she was still there and more weak. We loaded her into a livestock trailer with the skid steer and brought her home to share the stall with the blind calf.

They're now keeping eachother company and we're running a hospital wing!

Memorial Day.