Hella's Ordeal Continues

    This blog began yesterday.

On Sunday we carried Hella outside, and held her underneath Flossie,  hoping to get Hella to nurse from her mother, but she didn’t seem to understand what to do.   Her energy did seem to be a little better.  Hella seemed to be a fighter, but we began to worry on the fifth day of her illness, because she slept most of the day.

However, later in the afternoon, I carried Hella in my arms, outside and let her nibble on some willow leaves, which she took a real interest in.  We were encouraged that night because Hella became more active.

I began feeding Hella more willow leaves, but probably too many, because she threw up some of them.  Hella, who was very thin, did seem to be coming more coordinated.   By the ninth day, still in the living room, Hella began to show how spoiled she was getting.  She would bleat out, “Ma” every time we would get out of her sight.

By her eleventh day, I began to take Hella outside and lay her down in the grass and roll her over onto her bad side and she would almost stand, trying to flip back over to the side she usually laid on.   Two days later, still very thin and her neck still feeling like a thin cable under the skin, Hella began to sit up by herself instead of just always laying down.  She kept trying unsuccessfully to stand, but still couldn’t quite make it.  We began feeding her calf manna, which she really liked.

The conclusion of Hella’s story tomorrow.

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