Bad News

Troubling news at Nacke Farm's.

Remember our new baby?

Well, before I left my parent's house last night I decided to go check up on him.  He was laying in the doorway of our barn and as I approached him I could tell something wasn't right.

First of all, he was all splayed out like he had been trying to get somewhere but couldn't.  So I straightened his legs and after some prodding and poking I got him to somewhat stand up.  I could see he was ganted up majorly which, means he definitely hadn't eaten for a while.  He also couldn't stand by himself for more than 3 seconds with out tumbling back to the ground.

I went out to get Momma who was grazing in our front pasture.  As soon as the little guy saw her he gave it all he had to feebly get up and move towards her.  He looked like he had been hitting the whiskey pretty hard as he staggered around, finally falling about a foot from Momma Robin.

At this point I was really concerned so I yelled at my mom to tell Dad to come outside, something was wrong with the calf.

I heaved the calf up and helped him make it the next foot to Robin and he immediately started nursing like he was starving. 

By this time my dad had made it out to the lot and he supported the weak little baby while he ate as fast and as much as he could possibly guzzle down.

We let him nurse for about 15 minutes and then gave him a little break.  He was breathing hard.  All afternoon he had been laying, baking in the barn doorway bathed in the hot summer sun.  I'm convinced he had tried to get up and move, but was too weak to do so.

My dad and I decided to go ahead and give him a shot of Baytril, which helps sick little calves with scours or a respiratory cold.  And the way wobbles (as my dad called him) was breathing, we were pretty sure he had some sort of baby calf cold.

Once we returned and administered the shot the little dude was feeling much better.  In fact, with a little help getting up, he managed to stand by himself to finish nursing.

After he finished and plopped down in the shade, my dad had the bright idea to get a towel, soak it in cold water, and cover his neck.  This would cool him down because he was still really hot from an afternoon of unneeded sun bathing.

This picture cracks me up! I said he looked like a sheik.

Meanwhile, Bandit grew envious of the cold compress for the calf and decided to take a front paw dip in the water tank.

And of course, Bandit can't do anything without Elsie wanting in on the fun.  She's a water dog and loves dunking her head under... just plain crazy.

Also, you can't do anything for too long without the nosy cows ganging up and watching with interest.

The calf seemed to be feeling better after getting a much needed meal and cooling off.  I'm really hoping he makes it.  Right now, he probably has a 50/50 chance.  I wish we could have caught him sooner... I'll be kicking myself if he doesn't live.