So, ready for another cow story?
Had to work in town all day. So at 330, was heading out to the western pasture - round bale in the bed of the truck. I get out there, check the old hay status, check the creep feeder, hear a noise from the woods - don't really pay attention.
Walk back to the truck, hear the noise again - a moo. It is different though. It is not a 'come on everyone - foods here!', it is not 'calf, where are you?', it was a lot more dramatic, and hate to say, anguished.
I know that I cant rip through the gullies with a bale in the back, so I leap up into the bed (well, lurch and slip actually) and get the bale off. Then I'm trying to cut the wrap off - more moos.
That's it! I rush to the truck - wrap still on the hay. Now I am tearing down the first gullie, back up onto the flat, down into the second gully - the one behind the dam. The cows are meeting me. There are the first two heifers, then the third. Phew! The babies are all ok.... but what about the summer calves?! First heifer, bull calf...oh crp.... oh, good, there is the second heifer. So now, out of the truck - another moo...walking down the into the area right behind the dam - everything looks good - start counting the big cows - then notice where some of the big girls have their attention. I heard the moos - and was trying to figure out who was doing it (as they all have their own voices) but it didn't help.... I look across the way. There is a raccoon creeping its way across the space. Hmmm, that's odd. This is what has them riled! A raccoon. So I run up to it...get out of here! (even though I know that this is NOT the individual that chases my cats away from their food - or that deguts my chickens). It looks at me and kind of licks its paws...something is weird. Then one of the bigger cows, a mom of an older heifer, yells that angry killer moo again, and rolls the raccoon. It doesn't even move away. There is something seriously wrong with the guy. I tell the ladies that they are good moms, that the raccoon cant hurt their calves, a couple more make runs at it. So now I am thinking what if it has rabies, what if it bites a nose, what if..... In the end, a neighbor comes, we look for it, eventually find it again. It looks right at the neighbor, then starts walking towards him, kind of wobbly. The neighbor, a retired police officer, puts the raccoon out of its misery.
Its certainly possible that the raccoon was injured by the cows, but a healthy one wouldn't have allowed itself to get hit in the first place. Plus, I am sure that they see these all the time... why all the drama? It sure had me scared!!!!
