I had a crazy busy shift at the hospital and got home from work late this morning. Then Tom tells me that we have a cow down in the field who can’t get up. It’s Marji, and she’s hypothermic. We found her laying in some mud, shivering. She would try to get up but couldn’t.
It apparently dumped cold rain last night, and she’s soaked through to the skin. There was even hail this morning. So we had to come up with a solution to move her to the barn, out of the weather and get her warm. We tried quite a few things to get her up, none of which worked, using the tractor, strap and chain. So we ended up dragging her with the tractor. It wasn’t pretty, but there was no damage to her. We successfully got her in the barn and the doors shut against the cold wind. And she started eating!
I tried drying her off with towels. Thankfully she was feisty the whole time. I left some towels on her for a little protection from the wind that could still get in the barn. She is looking perkier and shivering less. The hope is that she will warm up with rumination and stand up.
We finish the chores and got into the house after 1:00. We are preparing sandwiches (my first food of the day), and the power goes out. I had wanted to grill the sandwich but ended up eating it cold. Now I will huddle in bed and try to take a nap. It’s been a weird day.
Addendum:
Here is a video from our driveway showing the weather just after midnight last night.
Glad the cow and you are okay!! Sounds like you need some major rest and warmth!! Take care, thinking about you!
Rita
Thanks Rita! I do need major rest and warmth. With the power out, I couldn’t warm up after the cow struggle and therefore couldn’t nap. The power is back on now so I am now warming. Marji has stopped shivering and is moving some but not standing up yet. But still eating hay well. Still hoping she will improve further.
I’m sorry you had such a rough day. (Not to mention the night at work!)
I’m sure you and Tom would have gone out to the barn to check on Marji before bedtime. I’m wondering if she had been able to get to her feet. I was really concerned for Marji. She’s beautiful!
That video of your weather from last night is awesome! I’m glad you got a video of it!
I don’t think Tom had checked her before bedtime because she had been fine the day before. She is beautiful and a treasured matriarch of our farm. The video was impressive. I hadn’t realized that the weather had been that nasty.
🤍 oh my all that after a busy nightshift 😳 not sure how you do it. I guess the mindset of you just have to. Glad you got the cow in the barn hope she pulls through with it getting colder and hope you get power back on! I worked
The past two nights at Joes and am exhausted without additional farm work.
Thanks Amanda! Not what I wanted to do then, for sure. I am not sure how I do it either sometimes. She is getting better but not back to normal. I wanted her to be standing and walking better before this really cold weather hits. Belated happy birthday!
Glad to hear that Marji is improving. That must have been quite a thing, getting her to the barn. Hope she continues to recover and is back to her normal self soon!
Thanks Denise. She is still struggling to stand up. I am worried about her with the cold weather that is coming tonight.
Testing