Gracie's Story

[genebo]

In late summer of 2011, Oklahoma was going through an intense heat wave. Cattle were suffering.

One Dexter cow was pregnant, and struggling with it. She went into premature labor and delivered a tiny heifer, several weeks prematurely, weighing 21 pounds.

The calf was struggling, too. A vet helped her through the worst of it, Mama supplied plenty of milk, and the heifer bravely struggled. Miraculously, she not only held her own, she began to show signs of improving. She was named Grace, for it was by the grace of God that she continued to live.

She had good days, and she had bad days, but her will never faltered. Here she faces off with her mama:

Gracie stuck close to her Mama, her source for nourishment:

Mama was also her protection from all bad things:

Gracie began to prosper and gain weight. She had a sister born 6 weeks later, and almost right from the first, they were like twins. Here is Gracie and Maxine:

It's hard to tell them apart.

By the time she was 5 months old, Gracie had put all her troubles behind her. She was a vigorous little heifer:

A check back at 21 months old showed that Gracie had become a typical little Dexter heifer, bringing lots of joy to her owners:

The photo of Gracie peering from between her mother's legs was so widely liked that it was entered in the ADCA Photo contest and won second place.

[genebo]

The story as I told it sounds so antiseptic. It doesn't relate any of the difficulties that Gracie went through. The following is an excerpt from the email that accompanied the photos.

I'm writing to let you know that Rosie had her heifer calf 6 weeks
premature. The baby was born Sunday morning, we heard Rosie bellowing in
the woods and went to see what was going on and found the little calf
already cleaned up and dry. She was a bit too weak to hook up to nurse
and Rosie wasn't sure what this nursing stuff was all about so we took
them up to the paddock and put Rosie in the chute and let the calf
nurse. She nursed very vigorously. Monday morning we called the vet but
she couldn't get out here until yesterday. They told us the little
heifer was unlikely to make it being born that early but she was soon
nursing on her own and running around the pen with her tail held high.
Then Tuesday night she started taking a turn for the worse and we
figured we were likely to lose her before the vet even got here. We were
prepared for the vet to tell us she didn't have a chance but when the
vet saw the calf she said she was in much better shape than she expected
for being born that early. The calf does have a bad infection so she
gave her some antibiotics and a fever reducer and it's already made a
big difference. She thought we ought to know in a week or so if she'll
survive.

Needless to say, although we've tried to temper our hopes, we so want
this little calf to make it. Rosie has amazed us with her mothering
ability and how she's transformed from a confused new mama to a gentle
protectress in just a few days. The calf weighs 23 pounds but this
morning after yesterday's antibiotics and today's nursing, she ran
around the pen kicking up her hind legs. The funniest part is when she
squares around on mama with her head lowered like she's ready to take
her on in a head-butting contest. When the little one ran around acting
like a rodeo bull, Rosie watched for a few seconds and then started
following her kicking up her heels. It was wonderful.

We know little heifer's still got long odds but I wanted you to see her.

[jamshundred]

Those are the cutest darn pictures.  I was reading and realized I was smiling ear to ear.  I love that photo of the little turned up face looking out from Mom's legs.   What photo beat it?

Judy

[genebo]

I complimented her on the beautiful picture of Gracie (not yet named) and her mama. She sent me a reply, along with an update:


I know what you mean about that photo. It just absolutely captures her little personality. What a stroke of luck catching it.

Anyway, about posting about her, I'd be very happy for you to post about her along with her photo, but I'd rather wait a week or so. It's just that it will break my heart if we lose her, and I'd like to feel more sure that it's going to be a story with a happy ending before sharing it. In addition to what you put up, if all goes well, I'd like to write a bit about our experience with AI. It was really such a great experience with both girls only having to be AI'd once (it's that stout bull, I'm thinking!). I thought I might go back and put together some info about the costs involved and the procedure for anyone else considering it.

If you remember, we took the girls to a facility and left them to be AI'd. The vet who came out to check our little heifer on Wednesday is the first we've found who makes farm calls. She has a new partner coming who does AI so we're hoping next time, we'll be able to keep them here.

The little heifer got a bit of a chill yesterday morning and didn't nurse much which worried us. And then it got very warm and she really slows down in the heat. But, by yesterday evening when it cooled off, she hit Mom on all four teats and was acting like a little rodeo bull again. The vet said there'd be some ups and downs but she thought in a week or so we ought to know how she's going to do.

[genebo]

A short time later I got this email:


Just a quick note to let you know that the little heifer isn't out of
the woods yet. She still seems to be struggling with an infection and
just when we think she's turned the corner, her fever comes back and we
have to give another round of antibiotics. Sunday she got antibiotics
and steadily improved. Yesterday was her best day ever, very active and
seemed to be tolerating the heat much better, but today she seems a bit
lethargic so I took her temp and it appears to be going back up. I'll
take it again later and if it is up I'll call the vet again.

When she's feeling well, she is an absolute joy. Full of bounce and
running around the paddock with her tail held high. We're enjoying her
good times very much. Just wish we'd started our adventure with a small
farm, goats and Dexters a bit earlier in life! At 63 years of age, I
don't remember finding more entertainment than watching the hijincks of
a goat kid or now this little calf.

We are calling her Gracie.

[genebo]

Gracie's story continues in the next email:


Gracie had a great weekend. Definitely growing and maturing. Today is the fourth day since her last antibiotic shots which is usually when her fever returns. This morning she was just full of energy so we do so hope she's going to beat her infection. I'll take her temp later this afternoon in time to go get more shots from the vet if they're required. She mostly sleeps during the hot part of the day and she sleeps so soundly, I can usually get her temp without her waking up! We can't help but be hopeful since she's done so well. I'll send you a note later re: her temp.

I have to brag just a bit on Gracie's mom, Rosie. Can't remember if I wrote you about Rosie ... of our two heifers, she was the most skittish. She has just settled so amazingly. We handle Gracie daily including picking her up to carry her from one pen to another and Rosie follows along behind (Gracie doesn't herd very well; she definitely has a mind of her own). We have to separate them at night since it's too cold for the baby to sleep out and Rosie won't sleep in the shed. If we didn't pen the baby up, Rosie would lead her out into the paddock. As a result, my husband and I take turns going out to put Gracie with mama so she can nurse through the night. When she was still pretty weak, I'd carry her out of the pen, Rosie would come over and I'd hold the baby up to a teat to get her started. Sometimes Rosie's front teats were so full that Gracie couldn't get hold of one. Rosie would let me kneel beside her and milk the teat out a bit so Gracie could latch on. Rosie is really just what I thought having a Dexter cow would be like! And to think that a few weeks ago, she didn't like me even to touch her. I am delighted with her.

[genebo]

The next update follows:

A quick update on our darling little Gracie. She did fine all week until
yesterday and began showing a few symptoms of digestive upset plus
somewhat lethargic. The vet who first treated her was not available to
see her so we decided to take her to the teaching hospital at our state
university. Best decision we ever made! They are doing a full workup on
her and so far the results are overall encouraging. She probably does
have pneumonia and signs of an infection at the navel but so far at
least nothing that can't be cured. Her mama is with her and when we
left, Gracie was nursing vigorously and they both seemed quite content.
She appears to be the darling of the large animal clinic as they think
she is adorable and we couldn't agree more. We feel quite relieved that
she is going to be thoroughly evaluated and is getting the best care
available to us.

[genebo]

More of the story, with insight into the amount of help that is avilable:


Just a quick note to let you know that Gracie is obviously feeling
better today, more active and nursing well. She has a viral pneumonia
but the vets at the teaching hospital gave a long-acting antibiotic just
to cover any secondary infections. X-rays and ultrasound showed no
significant abnormalities; they've sent off blood work to check mineral
levels and any disease problem that might have caused her premature
birth. She did have an infection at the navel but we're watching that;
she also has swollen stifles so they're considering joint ill. She
doesn't show any lameness at all though so hopefully that will resolve
with time. We were really pleased with how thorough they were and we're
cautiously optimistic about her continuing recovery! The last note on
the discharge paper was "Gracie is just downright adorable!!!"

We're now less than 3 weeks away from Wendy's due date. Hoping she
carries the baby full-term and we're looking forward to that. We have a
kind of odd situation with Rosie and Wendy. They are half sisters, born
just a few weeks apart and inseparable. However, since Gracie's birth,
Rosie has been really aggressive with Wendy, so much so that we are just
keeping them separated because we are afraid that Rosie is going to butt
Wendy in the side and cause a potential problem with the birth. They're
still actually inseparable and spend most of their time across the fence
from each other, but we've tried a few times to put them back together
and each time Rosie just really gets after Wendy. Rosie is incredibly
protective with Gracie and we're guessing that her behavior is related
to that. We're hoping when Wendy has her baby, Rosie won't feel so
threatened or whatever it is that's causing her to act like this. We
wish we knew more about cow psychology!

[genebo]

Here, to close the story .....


Just wanted to share with you that the photo you encouraged us to enter
in the ADCA photo contest won 2nd prize! We're so thrilled; we got a
lovely red ribbon and bragging honors for little miss Gracie.

Hope you and all yours are keeping well. We're mighty warm here and dry
again so we haven't bred Rosie and Wendy back yet. We still have Brenn
straws in storage and we intend to do the same breeding when the time comes.

Thanks for encouraging us to send in the photo. What a kick it was to
get that ribbon in the mail today!

[lonecowhand]

Hi Gene, I can see why you lamented the removal of this thread from the Olga Board.
But now we have it, and it warms the cockles. Great photos! And a great little story of hope. Thanks!
Any epilogue?

Bill

[genebo]

About a year ago I heard from Gracie again. She had been doing quite well, but her vet advised against breeding her, since she is so small. The vet was trying to get them to use a bull from a breed that has EPD's so that a low birth weight bull could be chosen.

Sheesh! What do you do when your vet doesn't know Dexters? I advised them to go ahead with Dexter straws, and don't wait too much longer. Heifers that delay breeding sometimes experience trouble breeding. Brenn's straws are great for the Mama cows, but I suggested they get some semen from Armstrong of Paradise for the young heifers. A low birth weight bull from another breed would most certainly produce a larger calf. Our little Dexter cows have been doing this for a long time.

Before they could have her AI'd, she came down sick. After a lot of tests it was determined that she had "wooden tongue", probably caused by biting down on a stick or maybe a sand burr. This is a serious disease and it took a lot of time and care to cure her. It abscessed and went into her lymph nodes. She had to stay at the vet's while her nodes were drained and packed with iodine every day.

Gracie's mama, Rose, stayed with her. They have never been separated. When they came home, Gracie's half sister Maxine and her Mama came running and they had a long reunion. Now that they have settled back in, more thought will be given to breeding them.

Judy,

I don't know which photo won the 2012 photo show. I don't think the photos were ever posted on the ADCA web site. I guess you had to be at the AGM. That's a good reason to go to the one this June in Harrisonburg, VA.

Bennan of Paradise won the Adult Senior Heifer class at the ADCA AGM that year, but Gracie gets more people writing here to ask about her.

[lakeportfarms]

I'm happy you took the time to re-create the post about Gracie Gene. The photos are great, and it's hard to believe the one between the legs was only second place!

Good for Gracie that she's made a recovery from her recent illness, and hopefully she'll have the opportunity to become a mom to her own special calf sometime soon.

[Donlin Stud]

Gracie’s story is not only an awwww factor but it gives others hope, and an action plan when they end up in a similar situation.