Bad leg

One of the reasons I chose to sell cow #60 this past Fall and not Maria was that #60 would get a limp each Winter.  Or twice.  Why?  I don't know.  And I would have to put her in the corral for a while so she didn't have to walk much to eat and drink and could recover.  I thought I was over this situation since she is gone.

Yesterday when I let the cattle into the corral for hay, and to get out of the cold wind, I noticed Diamond had a bad limp in her front right leg.  She was the last to walk into the corral.   Her leg was angled out a little bit when she stood.  It looks like she may have strained a muscle in her shoulder as I don't see swelling in her leg or ankle. I don't know for sure.

This afternoon I put out a large hay bale into the pasture, as while it is cold (temperature in the single digits) no wind was blowing.  I noticed Diamond still had a limp, and while better, she needed more time to recover.  So I had to make sure she and her calf didn't get out of the corral when I opened the gate to let the cattle out.  Diamond and her calf wanted out and mooed after all the other cattle left the corral and she was still in the corral.  I put hay in the feeder by the barn for her and her calf.  Eventually she came over to eat the hay after I made an effort showing the hay to her.

It was dark by the time I was done.  I then heard mooing out in the pasture and saw a cow by the middle pasture gate.  I had closed that gate after I thought all the cattle had gone into the middle pasture to the hay bale.  This cow, the last one I let out of the corral, must have gone past the gate and further into the north pasture.  I went out and let her into the middle pasture.  I closed the gate again.   Then in the darkness I thought I may be seeing another cow halfway down the north pasture near a tree.  Yup.  I opened the gate and walked a little way to get the cow's attention.  She came and went through the gate.

Always something with cattle.