The intention was to leave our house in Batavia this morning to drop meat off at Helene's and visit my father, but my cellphone apprised that one of our cows was "down" at the farm. An hour later I found Red Devon W92 on her side in labored breathing. Cole and Whitney were on the morning shift, and had done their best to right her, but she resisted. I then struggled for three more hours with tractor, ropes, and bales of straw to bring her to an upright position, so she could breath, which met with mixed success. The vet showed up in the fourth hour, and together we righted her another time. He applied an IV of magnesium & calcium, but did not leave feeling optimistic. By the time his taillights disappeared, she had gone prone again. Into the fifth hour of hugging, pushing, and pulling, with her manure and saliva all over my front, I tried again to bring her upright and buttress her with large round bales on each side. But other cows were crowding around, pushing the bales askew, and licking the cow... Something was clearly just not right.
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