You never know what surprises await you on a farm when you have livestock. Sometimes you just can't believe your eyes.
One beautiful, warm spring mid-afternoon I decided to go and check on the cows. Calving was starting and I liked to check a few times a day to be sure that all was OK with the maternity barn. And it was so nice in the barn too, since Russ had gotten it all cleaned out and fresh, new straw was spread all around. There were a few cows in the barn and the rest were outside enjoying the spring sunshine. Two or three calves were running around playing with each other.
As I scanned the barn I saw a sight I just was flabbergasted to see. One of our Angus-Holstein cross cows was in the water trough. On her back. All four feet straight in the air. I just stood there staring for a couple of minutes wondering how the heck she got in there like that.
As I went close to her she started to try to thrash around. I backed off a bit since this wasn't one of our most friendly cows. Then I took another look to see if we could just tip the trough over and roll her out. No way. She was stuck in there so tight.
Of course, Russ was at work at the steel mill and the kids were still in school. So I went to the house and called Russ and told him to get home as soon as possible. No cell phones then, you know, since this was in the late 70's. I also called a couple of our neighbors and the vet.
The neighbors came right away. Neighbors do in the country. Especially for a special occasion such as a cow in a water trough. They stood around scratching their heads and were trying to figure out a way to get her out of there. Soon, Russ got home and more head scratching went on. Then the vet got there and said a lot of things that can't be said here.
The poor cow was laying there with all this commotion going on and you could see the fear in her eyes. I tried to calm her but that didn't work so well. Finally, after lots and lots of discussion and trying to make a quick decision the guys decided to get the tractor and tip over the trough and see if they could pull her out. With all of us pulling a leg-there was nothing else to hold on to mind you- and one person trying to push the trough off we found that wasn't going to work. So now the men had to turn the trough around so there was room for the tractor to maneuver but that wasn't so hard.
Now Russ got some ropes and we tied them just above the cow's hooves and then attached all four of them to the tractor. Russ gently pulled while the lot of us pulled really hard on the trough. Finally, our cow rolled out. We all laughed and cheered for joy. Now we just had to get her up and standing so the vet could check her out.
However, the cow couldn't get up. The vet checked her closely and decided she was paralyzed from being on her back and stuck for however long it was that she had been in the trough. Now what to do. The vet thought she would die. But not me. I wasn't about to let that happen. The vet said we'd have to keep her in an upright position but she kept wanting to fall over on her side. She was exhausted. (When an animal is allowed to stay on it's side when injured it will give up and die eventually.) So Russ got a lot of straw bales and we propped her up so she couldn't slump over. We put water and food right in front of her. I spent most of my time in the barn for the next three weeks giving her pep talks and encouragement. Russ and I would turn her to her other side every day so she would be able to get feeling back on both sides. I also would massage her back, sides and legs.
One morning I came down to the barn and there she was just starting to stand up. I held my breath and watched her as she slowly rose to her feet, her legs shaking pretty bad. Then her body started to shake some too. I stood there quietly afraid to make a sound and startle her. After she was up for a couple of minutes she began to get her feet placed properly and had gotten her balance. I couldn't contain myself any longer and I went in to her and hugged her and cried over her accomplishment. This formerly unfriendly cow didn't seem to mind either. The family had a little happy party too. We were so proud of her. Of course, I called all the neighbors and they were amazed because no one expected her to get up ever.
We kept her penned in for several days until she could walk normally and then put her out with the other cows. By this time they were all out on pasture. We have a lane that leads back to the woods and the cows were all put back there.
I hadn't mentioned that the vet had told us she probably lost her calf from all the trauma. But it turns out he was wrong. One day we looked out and there she came down the lane with a calf that was a couple of days old. Bless her heart. She had given birth with no problems. Goes to show you what a "woman" can do! That called for another happy party.
Sometimes one of the old time neighbors will say, Remember that time that cow was in the water trough?? Boy that was really something. It was but it had a good ending and a farm memory none of us will forget.
