So we have this adorable little baby in a nice dry pen with her momma. Life is good. The next cow due to calve is Miss Piggy, due in another week or so. Tremendously rotund, plenty of winter fat and hair. Little Sprite, who will be a year old next month, is keeping her company. Unfortunately, they have also been kicked out of the barn / pen since baby was born, leaving them both to sleep out under the stars, which really isnt a major problem, except we now have cold icy rain mixed with snow and wind and temperatures dropping through the 20's......not good.
Poor little Sprite was shivering as she stood eating, and with the winds coming from the east, the barn did not afford any protection from the driving snow and cold winds....both were crusted with snow, icicles hung down their sides and off their bellies. They were clearly NOT HAPPY.
Nor was I.
At least a good hour later Miss Piggy was moved to the other side, where the four of them can figure out the barn sleeping arrangments....the barnyard was somewhat shoveled out and the gate removed from the pen...little Onxy shot out at a full run, never stumbling once, absolutely thrilled with the freedom of the barnyard paddock (even if it was covered in 6" of snow). His momma had quite a time keeping track of him as he zipped around and Sprite seemed very interested in a possible new playmate!
So some shoveling, some feeding, some cattle re-arranging, a minor repair to the pen divider, and lots and lots of dry straw bedding, everyone hopefully will be in and undercover on this cold and stormy night.
My family was not quite as understanding as I had hoped as dinner was later than usual and no one really seemed to interested in what was going on with the animals or the barn ....*sigh**
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