That night, I woke up nearly every hour and couldn't help but go outside and check on Fighter. It was eerily silent outside each time I went out. It didn't help it was completely pitch dark outside except for the light a small flashlight provided me. But, each time I up to the hay feeder, Fighter would be there, snoring away, usually in a different position. He was strong enough to drag himself around the hay feeder. Perhaps he'd have enough strength to stand up on his own the next day.
When the next day finally dawned, I went outside with another warm pint of milk and fed it to Fighter on my own. Fighter still wouldn't stand no matter what I did, so I just positioned him so he was sitting up. I didn't want to make the poor calf feel sick by feeding him when he was laying on his side. His breakfast would be digested easier if he drank it while his neck and back were above the ground rather than laying right on it.
That day, I had planned on spending time in town with Kael, aunt Stacy, and grandma. However, I didn't want to go to town unless I knew the calf was under someone else's care. So, we waited until after lunch to leave for town so uncle Wade could watch over the calf.
Unfortunately, Fighter's condition rapidly deteriorated from 6:30 in the morning when I fed him, to the time we were ready to go to town. I feared he got sick from his breakfast, but uncle Wade knew that probably wasn't the case. The little bull calf refused to move from his spot in the straw, just sprawled out and breathing heavy. Healthy calves sleep curled up in a little ball, regardless of the temperature, and they certainly don't make grunting noises with each breath they take.
Wade figured poor Fighter just didn't get enough colostrum in time to survive, and the fact he was laying out in the hot sun without a breeze just made his condition exponentially worse. He was too weak to stand, when his brother was out with mama cow already running. In fact, after I fed Fighter in the morning, I went out to the pasture to find mama and her calf. Since Wade Jr proved to me mama cow was gentle, I felt comfortable approaching her alone in the morning.
I had to walk all the way to the other end of the pasture, which was over a half mile away from the farm, to find the cattle. All of the cattle except for mama and her calf scattered when I approached. Mama also went with the herd, but she didn't want to leave her calf behind, and she wasn't afraid of me, so she just plodded along. I didn't want to stress mama out by preventing her from being with the other cattle. That was a really good way to get myself killed. So, I just followed a little ways behind mama and her calf until we got to the water trough in the yard, where the rest of the herd had congregated.
Mama laid down a little ways away from the rest of the herd, and her calf laid down beside her and curled himself up. I cautiously approached them and then knelt down beside the calf when I got to them. Mama didn't mind me one bit. She knew who I was. As I scratched her calf behind his ear, mama turned her head towards me and began licking my boot in a very affectionate way. In her mind, I was cleaning her calf, so she returned the favor by licking the dust off my boots, returning the shine to them.
