The Escape Artist

One of our baby calves must be part vagabond.

"Are you missing a calf?" our neighbor, Gary, called Randy to ask. It was almost dark, and as we pulled into his driveway, the calf romped through one of Gary's cattle pens. Gary is in the midst of calving season, too, but none of the mamas seemed to want to claim this one. And, as we got out of the pickup, we could hear a cow bawling from the pasture about a quarter mile away.

Since Randy and I weren't ready for a rodeo at dark, we left the calf there overnight. The next day, we went back with an ear tagger.

Little 441 decided to get up and talk to us then. Or maybe he was calling for his mama.

One of Gary's calves watched the process as Randy got No. 441 moving in the right direction.

Randy had an audience as he helped the calf to the pickup.

Since Flat Aggie had enjoyed playing hide and seek with a calf at the pasture the day before, we brought him along for the ride. (Flat Aggie is visiting from a fourth grade classroom in California and is helping us out on the farm for a few days.)

Randy and the calf rode in the back of the pickup back to the pasture. Since Flat Aggie didn't have a coat, he rode up in the cab with me.

The mission was almost accomplished.

Randy and I lifted No. 441 out of the pickup and put him down behind a windbreak.

Flat Aggie needed one more photo op, so he'd remember his friend from Kansas when he travels back to California. 

One mama cow, 070, came up and check out No. 441.

She sniffed him all over.

 But she wasn't his mama.

Would the real mama show up? Yes, she did. It was Mama No. R22. They were reunited and the baby had to have a snack or two since he'd been away for awhile.

Thanks, Flat Aggie, for helping us round up the baby calf. It's always easier with three helpers than with two!