Moolan & Ellie
Moolan made a surprise entrance to the world on January 6, 2018. No one knew that her mother (now named Ellie) was pregnant until she gave birth to this girl. When we received a call regarding a new calf born into a frozen pasture we knew we had to help.
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Thankfully it was an uncomplicated birth, however Moolan’s introduction to the world was a a difficult one. She was born into subzero temperatures and the other members of the herd prevented her mom from caring for her. Alone and cold, her caretakers decided to bring her inside, and when we arrived we recommended she be taken to the University of Minnesota for a check-up. After spending about two weeks at the University, she came home and is now a thriving Farmaste resident. This sweet girl loves to play, nap, and eat – she is a baby after all!
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Gertie
At about 1,700 lbs, Gertie is actually considered a small Holstein! Ultimately, her small size is how she ended up at Farmaste. Upon birth, the farmer that owned the dairy farm at which she was born determined that she was too small to carry calves and produce milk at the rate that he needed. Since he no longer had a use for her, the farmer gave her to a neighbor who raised her as a companion cow for the first several years of her life. When Gertie’s rescuer was unable to keep her, Gertie was taken in by the amazing Beca Thompson at Tiny Hooves Rescue in Kenosha, WI. While small for her breed, Gertie still isn’t exactly “tiny.” So Beca worked to find her a home where Gertie could run and explore.
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We couldn’t be happier to have Gertie as part of our Farmaste family. She is such a loving and playful girl – her antics keep us constantly smiling.
Steel Magnolia (Mags)
Mags was born at a small organic dairy farm in eastern Wisconsin. She was born with a spinal deformity. As a result, the farmers made the compassionate decision not to breed her for dairy production. Despite not being able to produce, the farmers kept her at the farm as a “pasture pal” – happily living out her life with the rest of her herd.
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Unfortunately, autumn flooding in WI hit Magnolia’s farm hard. A change in farm finances made it impossible for them to continue to support Mags given that she was never going to be a “working” cow. That left Mags facing slaughter. Having been close to her since birth due to her special needs, the farmers were desperate for another solution. So they reached out to Farmaste for help. With us looking for a companion for Timothy – the timing was perfect!
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Timothy
Timothy and his mother Luna were rescued by SoulSpace Farm Sanctuary from a cattle farm in Wisconsin. Both mom and baby had been severely neglected and medical problems had been left to fester. SoulSpace negotiated their release and got them the best possible emergency medical care. Ultimately, they made the difficult but compassionate decision to euthanize Luna due to advanced cancer that was causing her pain. Happily, they learned that Timothy the calf still had a fighting chance at life. SoulSpace isn’t configured to accept bovine residents, so they reached out to us for help. We were so happy to be able to offer this sweet little guy home at Farmaste!
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Timothy went blind and had both of his eyes rupture due to untreated pink eye. He was also severely underweight and malnourished – he was about the size of a one-week-old calf despite being about 2 months old. The first week he was with us he underwent surgery at the University of Minnesota to remove both of his eyes. Removing his infected eyes reduced his discomfort and allowed his body to continue to grow stronger as it no longer had to fight that infection.
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