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Twin calves on the farm. Despite twice daily herd checks, sometimes a twin calf will be born and go unnoticed. Sometimes, without extra encouragement to 'mom' to take care of and feed both calves, she will simply abandon the weaker one. Currently we have two in our herd that started out life as very lucky, abandoned twins. Both were very near death when found and both are now doing great. 'Tuck' had a little heifer calf of her own last year (2008) and ended up being a very good mother.

~ Tuck ~ It was the week-end just before the 4th of July, 2005. My husband and son were off camping with the Boy Scouts, and my daughter and I were out checking of the herd. Just up from the barn, my daughter spotted a sickly looking calf curled up and hidden from sight in a group of cedar trees and bushes along the creek bed. I never would have seen it. It was obviously very ill. Its naval was full of maggots, common in a sick calf that's been unattended in the summer. While my daughter sat the truck bed with the little heifer her lap, I drove them slowly up to the house. We took a garden hose and washed out all the maggots. We cleaned her up and started her on milk replacement down in the barn. Within a few days, almost all of the calf's head hair and patches on her body, fell out leaving soft pinkish exposed 'baby' skin. After consulting with our vet, we learned that the loss of hair is sometimes a result of a very high fever. That certainly could have been the case for this little one. Because of the hot July sun, she was kept in a barn for most of the day until her hair grew back enough to protect her skin. Every day we would let her out into the barn lot for the short bit of time while we cleaned up her stall. It wasn't long before she was running and kicking up her heels. A ring of hair was left around her head, similar to 'Friar Tuck' of Robin Hood....she's been called 'Tuck' ever since.

			Tuck at about 18 months

~ "740" ~ I was unrolling round bales of hay to feed the herd on a brisk day, late March of 2007. While driving by a small group of trees, I noticed a very small curled up calf. It is not unusual for new calves to stay put where the mom 'hides' it. The herd fell into line along the long row of hay I unrolled in the next field. I was driving off and noticed the calf still 'hidden' so I went to investigate. I found this poor little creature, just skin and bones. Alive, but just. She didn't seem to weigh more than a hefty cat. I picked her up with one arm and carried her down to the barn. I brought her into the 'nursing stall' I have set up in the barn and started her on some milk replacer. She responded well. She had a definite will to live. A short time later, we had an orphan calf who was fed next to her the rest of the summer, I found it easiest to let the truck do the work of holding those large milk bottles:


Spring 2009: Today, both Tuck and 740 are alive and well, living in the herd along with 740's twin sister, 720, and 717, the other orphan calf from that year. Tuck had her first calf, a little heifer, last year. She turned out to be a good mom.