Disney didn’t prepare me for this!

Confused BESS was and we knew it might take a while for her to realize the two calves were both hers so we fed her an enormous share of sweet feed to make her happy. She talked to her calf in short bursts of sound and it came near. But when the other calf came near, she would head butt it away or kick it with her hind foot. This was a calf that, IF it had gotten initial colostrum from her, was in danger of getting dehydrated beyond saving if we didn’t act fast. We would leave them together with mama but meanwhile, a borderline high-speed drive to the feed store 14 miles away, consulting with a vet by phone, to get freeze-dried colostrum, dried replacement powdered milk and a giant bottle. $84 bucks later and with the vet saying it would be nip and tuck (maybe there was something wrong with this calf and the mother knew it, maybe it didn’t get that first 24 hour important anti-body colostrum from her) we tried to feed that calf. Nature can be cruel…not the Walt Disney world of cartoon animals nurturing each other.