We arrived the morning the owners were leaving for their short break and were treated to a beautiful BBQ breakfast on the deck.
What a peaceful and relaxing property this is. The owners have 400 acres of land and run beef and dairy cattle. During our stay they had some of the land leased and would put their own stock on it upon their return. We were woken each morning by the sound of the kookaburras and had kangaroos passing through at dawn and dusk.
We were very excited to be adding to our list of animals that we have cared for, Stan the Poddy calf. Stan had one of his legs in a cast due to a mishap while being born. The owners assured us that Stan would just need to be fed and watered and that he would just hang out in the area around the house. What could go wrong?
It turned out that Stan had a few behavioural issues, on the top of the list was that he didn’t think he was a calf, he thought he was more of a human we think. We found Stan in numerous areas that he was not supposed to be in. The laundry – not doing the laundry but eating it! Rearranging the owner’s boots and eating the laces. Doing a spot of exploring in the shed and his favourite spot being the garage to escape the heat.
Stan was at the end of being fed his milk formula and when it ran out there was to be no more. We were able to give him his milk right up to the day before we left.
We woke one morning to find that after a night of rain his cast has softened and he had licked through the cast exposing his injury. A quick call to the owners and a visit to the neighbour, we sprang into action with the neighbours help to remove the cast, clean the wound, bandage his leg and tape it. He certainly wasn’t impressed at first with our doctoring/nursing skills but after a while settled and allowed us to go ahead and do what was needed. Thankfully this all happened the day before the owners returned as he had nearly eaten through the new taping and on their return, they would recast his leg.
Alfie and Smirky were no trouble at all and were our TV companions at night. They both had lovely natures and were a pleasure to look after.
Responsibilities Included:
Feed/Milk Prep for Stan
Keep Stan Safe & Sound
Feeding Alfie & Smirky/Water
Security of The Home