Welcome to the World, Baby Boy!!!

About a month ago Mama was letting the dogs outside to play and she noticed something going on across the road from our casa.

A cow had just dropped a calf.  The baby was still attached to the mom via her umbilical cord.  The baby was trying to stand and it finally managed to but it took many tries and about a half hour for it to happen.  The calf and Mama were in a field across from our home and we assumed it belonged to the lady that owned the land but lived in downtown Cumbe and not at the small home on the property down from us.  I walked a few houses down and asked a neighbor to contact her and let her know about the birth.

 

 

 

 

Turns out the lady across the street sold her land and that the people I had talked to were the owners of the cows.  They went over and after several hours managed to cut the umbilical cord and they moved the baby away from the mother and tied her up so she could not get to the moms milk.

This continued for over 18 hours.  The baby bleated and mooed the whole time.  A cold day and night passed with no milk going to the baby.

We discussed the situation.  It was clear that the baby was suffering and very hungry.  Not knowing the laws here in Ecuador we were hesitant to do anything for fear of breaking the law.  We all know that there are almost no laws about animal cruelty here in Ecuador.

After posting on Facebook and asking what we should do, it became clear to us that no one else knew what we should do.  An idea of buying milk and giving it to the calf would not work.  We knew if we paid them to feed the calf the field would be full of hungry calves in a days time.

The mother was milked several times and we saw the milk being sold.  Still the calf loudly protested its hunger.  The owners teased the calf even as they milked the cow.  This was very upsetting to all of us.

Finally, I decided I would risk jail and help the calf eat.  Seriously, both Mama and Heather fell asleep crying over the situation.  I walked over and untied the calf, so it could nurse.  About ten minutes later the owners went out to see why the calf was so quiet.  They were angry with the calf for getting loose and nursing.  They separated the cow and her calf and re-secured them about 15 feet apart again.

This pattern continued for the rest of the day.  Finally, I spotted the land owner and went over and told her what happened.  She was outraged and said she would talk to them.  The calf now gets to nurse once a day after the mama has been milked.

We looked back at why we think this happened.  The calf was a male.  I think it might be a reason why the calf was abused.  Males don't make money other than for making cows pregnant.  So there is almost zero value in a male.  I can't be sure but I believe this was the reason for its mistreatment.

We understand life in a different country, different cultures, and different laws.  Micro farming is common in most of Cumbe.  We like it and embrace it!   And having seen other calf’s being raised in the same field we know the abuse we heard and saw was not the normal.  It is upsetting to see this happen and to not know if there is anything we can do about it or if we can report the owners.  We did enjoy this new life entering the world and standing up for the first time.  It was truly amazing and beautiful!