Help! My baby has been stolen!
The morning started out like any other morning during calving season. We loaded our gear and headed out on the beat. First stop will be the North Bottom pasture which houses 60 bred heifers. We had noticed a heifer acting like she was going to calve last night so we are expecting at least one new baby.
We find and tag a new calf as soon as we go through the gate, but not the one we were expecting. We find another new one, but not the one we are looking for. Finally there is number 4, but she doesn’t have a calf. She doesn’t act like she is trying to have a calf and she looks “empty”.
Hmmm, this is a puzzle. Detective work is never easy with cattle since you can’t question the witnesses. We do a routine search of the neighborhood, but don’t find any unidentified bodies dead or alive. The next step would be checking outside the pasture in case the calf had somehow gotten under the fence, but maybe we need to take another look at the heifers.
This time through we find #4 staring longingly at the first calf we tagged this morning, #14. We took a closer look at #14. She does not look like she has calved. Could it be that she has taken #4’s baby? We sit back an watch for a few minutes. Every time #4 tries to get close to the calf #14 circles in front of her. Now the clues all make sense. #14 thought she could take #4’s baby and we fell for it. The calf is wearing #14 in his ear!
Time to straighten this mess out. We settle for the ATV team instead of SWAT to force #14 to release the kidnapped baby. As we drive #14 out of the pasture and to the pen #4 rushes in and starts licking her baby. It’s a joyful reunion.
#14 will do her time in the house pen where there are no babies for her to steal until she has her own.
This story is actually not that unusual, particularly with first calf heifers. Remember they are all close to calving so hormone levels are high and that urge to “mother” is a strong instinct. That instinct means survival in all species. These girls will all make good mothers, but sometimes it takes a little help from us.
Until next time.
Don’t forget to close the gate!