Author, blogger, food writer, and television personality Ree Drummond has documented the rescue and recovery of a calf amid the snowstorms currently bombarding the Eastern United States.
Drummond, 57, known as “The Pioneer Woman” — the name of her cooking show that’s aired on Food Network since 2011 — took to her Instagram account to share a positive update with her 4.4 million followers.
A few days earlier, on Sunday, January 25, Drummond had posted about the initial rescue of the calf. She explained the little one hadn’t nursed at all and was too weak to follow its mother, which is why they took it in in the first instance, to strengthen it up before returning it.
Ree Drummond Reports the Calf Is ‘Getting Stronger Every Day’
In the 179-second clip, Ree Drummond and her husband, Ladd Drummond, are seen tending to the calf. They feed it, pet it, pray for it, and take it back to its mother.
The initial reunion with mom didn’t go well, so they had to take the calf away again. However, in more positive news, they successfully got the weak calf to stand on its own and even walk a little.
Ree captioned the video in great detail, writing, “Calf update from Drummond Ranch. Ladd tried to get her back on her mama the next morning, but the calf was weak and after a few hours, she still couldn’t get up by herself to nurse. So Ladd and Ree had to take her back to their heated garage to warm her up again and try to get her to eat more.”
The caption continued, “The calf had a few hours where she looked like she wasn’t going to make it (she’d been born in the winter storm and had a rough start), but after the mama’s colostrum, 2 bags of colostrum replacer, and the first round of milk replacer, she started pepping up a bit. Now she’s in a warm spot in the old barn where she’ll stay for the next few cold days. It’s highly unlikely she’ll be able to nurse her mama (the mama would have to be gathered and milked down again) but Ladd isn’t ruling out trying one last time. But for now, the calf is alive and getting stronger every day. 🙏 Shout out to all our fellow ranchers and farmers who have undoubtedly had their share of extra work (including bottle calves) over the past week. 🙌”
It’s not the perfect update, but it’s largely positive and undoubtedly hopeful.
Drummond’s Followers Are ‘Cheering That Little One On’
GettyRee Drummond’s followers commented on the video in their droves, praising her and her husband for rescuing and looking after the cow, and wishing the creature well.
One follower wrote, “My heart breaks for all these animals during these storms! Praying she can pull through!”
Another said, “Not me crying. 😭 Thank you for sharing this beautiful (tireless) practice of love and care. Cheering that little one on! 🥰”
Someone else commented, “Oh my goodness… I’m not crying, you’re crying. 🥹 Bessie Lou is too precious! Prayers for sweet B.! 🙏🤞 Good job, Lad & Ree!”
Meanwhile, one person simply wrote, “Sweet baby!”
It’s great to see the calf is doing okay. Here’s hoping the little one goes on to make a full recovery from its traumatic ordeal and can ultimately be reunited with its mother.
