i went down to the feed store early this morning to ask them to put the word out to the farmers that we were looking for an old cow again. leanna called her friend who runs the auction and there were alot of old cows there (once there we discovered the auctions idea of old is 5-8 yrs!) and the auction was going to start in an hour.
so i rushed home and grabbed angelina, renee and kirsten and told them they were all fired if they let me buy more than one cow. and then nicole and meghann were on their way out to saints so they met us at the auction too.
ok..this was one of my worst ideas...i was almost in tears the whole time we were there and was in actual tears twice (mostly because i knew i was in big trouble and NEVER should have come near there in the first place)
anyway..i know nothing about auctions, i don't even have a clue how to bid and i can't understand a word that auctioneer is saying so things were about to go from bad to worse.
all i can say is...thank god today was not pig day, cuz if it was i would have been lost...cow day was bad enough.
i hooked up with the boss guy there and he was really nice and did all the bidding for me.i told him who we were interested in and said only to bid if the meat guy was bidding. i didn't want anyone who would go off to a farm or a home, just whoever was headed for slaughter.
there were two brood mares, both crippled, one with an injury and one with HORRIBLE feet. both were obviously very stressed and very in love (they came together.) renee started pushing, she couldn't stand it that they were there, the auction guy asked around and the only ones who were going to bid were the ones who were buying meat. i said if her sister who had acreage and a barn was willing to board them indefinitely, i'd buy them. her sister said ok. luckily this very nice woman felt sorry for them too so she out bid the meat man and then there were 2 less for us to worry about.
then there were the two sweet jersey heifers..they came together too. i really wanted to get another jersey...they are smaller than holstiens and calmer too. they were not seniors but the meat man was bidding on them. i just could not take them both so we only bid on one... her name will be "joy" and i am just waiting for the transport tonight to bring her. i am so sorry her sister was bought for the slaughter, like a hundred others today.
animal control dropped off three little goats...the meat man wanted them too and the bidding got pretty furious (raw feeders like to feed goat and some human cultures like it too so the price for goat meat is pretty good)...anyway...the goats won, luck was in their house...and are on their way to saints with Joy. we have named them after the three stooges, curly, mo and larry and i don't know why but none of them have ears.
(the transport just called, they will all be here in about a half an hour.)
anyway, they are small and cute and i am really hopeful that once we neuter them, we can find them a real good home. (cuz i don't want them to stay here!)
and finally...two newborn calves...just a day old. both still with their umbilical cords...both sick and weak...todd was bigger so we paid $10 for him...little emily was tiny so she was only $2 (she was part of a set of triplets but i just could not take them all)...the bigger healthier 3-7 day old calves went for $60-$80..more meat on the bone. how could emily's life cost less than a cup of starbucks?
so today we saw about 50 calves...all less than a week old. all torn from their mothers and facing death because dairy cows can't feed babies and still have milk left.
i don't know if todd and emily will survive...the vets are coming tomorrow...these babes have been thru alot in the past 24 hours since they were born.
they both have fevers, todd is dripping pus from his nose. but they are the most beautiful babies. if they don't survive, it will still be with full belly, a safe bed and wrapped in a warm fleece.
we couldn't save them all...but we did save these.
i will never go near the auction again.
editted by nicole to add photos (again):
Emily
Todd:
Me and meg with the calves:
This story has brought tears to my eyes. I am so appreciative of organizations like SAINTS, please keep up the good work rescuing these innocent animals.