The Life of Pie

"I'm downsizing. I wondered if you want to buy Raisin Pie back."

It was the winter of 2019 when we received that call. In 2017 Shat Acres Raisin Pie had been sold at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO, to a breeder from Virginia. When she was sold, Raisin Pie was 19 months old and a big girl, weighing 992 pounds. Pie left Denver for Virginia without us having received a penny. Over time the breeder did pay us for our heifer, but not without much prodding and begging. Lesson learned--our Highlands do not leave our farm or possession without being paid for.

"What are you going to do with her if we don't buy her back?" we asked.

"Probably kill her."

Shat Acres Raisin Pie was special from the day she was born. All calves are special, but Pie's mother was Shat Acres Cinnamon Raisin, the most winning Highland cow in the US. When Raisin Pie was a calf she would trot along beside Cinnamon Raisin in the show ring, winning Grand Champion Cow/Calf with momma Cinnamon Raisin, as Raisin did with most of her calves beginning in 2011 when she won her first Grand Championship at the NWSS with twins Crimson and Clover by her side. In 2017 Raisin Pie was back in Denver, being shown at the NWSS in the heifer class without Cinnamon Raisin at her side.

Shat Acres is the oldest registered fold of Highland cattle in the United States, with the oldest closed herd. That means we have not brought a female we did not breed into our fold for over 45 years. But Raisin Pie was a Shat Acres female, from our breeding. We could bring her home!

"We'll buy her back. What do you want for her?"

Pie was now four years old. We had not seen her in over two years. We were anxious to see how she had grown, breed her to our bull, and let Pie have babies of her own. Transport was arranged and we were to meet a trailer at Yankee Candle in Greenfield, MA to bring her home to Vermont. At around midnight our trailer backed up to the trailer with Pie in it. Ray went in with a halter as I stood outside anxious to see our girl again.

"I'd like to ***** punch that guy in the nose," boomed from inside the metal trailer.

I was confused. But not for long. I gasped when Raisin Pie was led from the transport trailer into ours. Our beautiful Pie, who had been so robust and healthy when we sold her, was nothing but skin and bones. Her once bathed, blow dried, and lovingly combed hair had fallen out, and her eyes were sunken in. She wobbled into our trailer on unsteady legs. On the way in she stopped to smell Ray's hair and cap, and soon was eating the good hay we had brought with us for her ride home. When we got back to the barn Pie was unloaded from the trailer into a pen with fresh straw, clean water and plenty of hay.

The next morning, we weighed her. At four years old, she weighed 971 pounds, twenty pounds less than she had weighed at nineteen months old. The vet was called to come to check Pie out.

"She's pretty poor. It's a miracle that she is alive." After a more thorough examination he said, "I've got some good news and some bad news. As thin as she is, she is six months pregnant, too late to abort the calf. But I am not sure she can carry this calf to full term in as poor condition as she is." Turning to me he added, "If anyone can save this cow, Ray can."

With good hay, fresh water and some daily supplements, Pie's hair started to grow back, her eyes got brighter, and she began to fill out over that bony frame. Early in July 2019 Ray made his usual trip to the barn to feed Pie and check on her progress.

"Well, congratulations Pie! You have had a healthy calf!" As Ray headed around the corner to get hay, he added, "Oh ###, you've had two."

Highland twins are not unheard of, but not common. Sometimes the mother will reject one of the twins to ensure success for at least one offspring, as Highlands generally produce enough milk to raise one calf. But Pie's momma, Cinnamon Raisin, had raised twins, and raised them well enough for them to become Grand Champions in Denver, CO. Like her momma, Pie eagerly accepted and loved both of her little black Highland bull twins, but initially did not have enough milk to support both of them. Some mommas do not take kindly to humans handling their calves after they are born, but not Raisin Pie. Every 12 hours we would swap one twin out of her pen to get a bottle and leave one twin in with momma to nurse. After twelve hours, the bottled calf would go in to nurse and the calf that had been nursing would come out and get a bottle. We were fortunate that both calves would accept both a bottle and momma's udder. That does not always happen.

Pie continued to get stronger and gain weight even while raising her calves. When the calves were eight weeks old, Pie was producing enough milk to feed both calves. They were let out of the barn, and with lush green grass available, Raisin Pie and her twins flourished. The twins were super cute and had became super tame, from all the handling required. Even though the bull in Virginia that bred them had been a well-known Champion, it was not the genetics we wanted for a Shat Acres breeding animal. Pie's boys were castrated and became Ray's pets. Rob and Roy, those tiny little twins birthed and raised by their emaciated and starved, but loving, momma now weigh over a ton each. They live on our farm with all the other Highlands. They are still as gentle as they were as calves, and bring awe and joy to so many. They look almost the same, but not identical. Roy is a little bigger than Rob, but they are both massive and impressive. Their heavy black coat is thick, soft and shiny.

Rob's horns are 64" across, Roy's 65.5".

We are so grateful that we were able to get Raisin Pie back. Many of the cattle on that farm were not so lucky. When Pie was rescued, there were dead cattle carcasses in the field and dead calves left in gated pens. The animals had been sorely mistreated, but until we got Pie back, we had no idea. We were heartbroken with how she had suffered. We had trusted the breeder who purchased Shat Acres Raisin Pie in Denver when she was a young heifer, to love and care for her as we care for our cattle. He had not. It was a painful lesson to learn. We are much more careful now about who we sell our cattle to and conduct more thorough research before an animal is allowed to leave our farm.

Since birthing twins Rob and Roy, Raisin Pie has had several other healthy and beautiful Highland babies from our bull, who have gone to wonderful and caring homes. For 2024 I had recorded Pie due to calve on April 25th. Our bull tells us when a calf will be due. The bull will "tail" a cow when she is cycling and ready to be bred. He will follow that cow and stay close by her side for 24-48 hours. Approximately nine months and nine days or 283 days later the cow should give birth, give or take a week similar to humans. Pie did not calve on April 25th or for several days after that. Bovines cycle every 21 days. The breeding date I had for Pie had clearly been incorrect. I had missed that Rocky had returned to tail Pie twenty-one days after I recorded her breeding date.

As mid-May approached, Pie was brought to our maternity pen in front of the barn. We like our Highlands to calve in the barn so that if any assistance is needed, we can be right there to help. If the vet needs to be called, the cow can quickly be put into the squeeze chute for safe vet care. We want to watch to be sure the cow is accepting of its newborn and want to be certain the new calf is successful with nursing. We also like the calf to get used to being in the barn, the sound of our voice, our smells, and our hands touching them. Once they go out to pasture with momma, we will likely not be able to touch them until they come back to the barn for weaning at six months.

On May 19th, just a bit past the twenty-one days I had predicted her due date, Pie was acting different. She was by herself, laying down and getting up, and looking a bit uncomfortable. I went to the nearby garage where Ray was working on equipment.

"We'll need to put Pie in the barn tonight," I told him, and went back to check on Pie. Things had changed rapidly in just a few minutes! There was a big puddle on the ground and Pie's water had broken. A mature cow should produce her calf in about 22 minutes after the water breaks and a foot appears. Pie was quickly put into a clean pen in the barn. Less than fifteen minutes later her calf arrived. A simple and textbook delivery! The beautiful black bull was standing up less than fifteen minutes after he was born. Pie began licking him and mooing to him. And then Pie did something most unusual. Instead of standing to lick her calf and get him to nurse, she lay down in the straw and continued to lick her newborn from a prone position.

And then we saw it. A second water sac appeared. Not again, we thought. The water sac bobbed about behind Pie as she licked and mooed softly, but no progress was being made to produce a calf. Ray and I both knew something was not right. Twins often get tangled up in the tight space of the womb, sometimes losing both calves, sometimes just one. But Cinnamon Raisin had successfully birthed twins, and so had Pie. In this case we knew we would have to intervene quickly if there was a chance of saving the calf. Worse, we did not want to lose Pie after all she had been through and fought so hard to survive.

Ray sliced open the water sac. A foot was visible. When calves are born, they should exit the womb as if they are diving into a pool. Front feet facing downward, the nose between the front legs. This foot exposed when the water sac was ruptured was not facing down. That little hoof was upside down, the bottom of the foot turned toward to ceiling of the barn. That meant one of two things. Either the calf was upside down or coming backwards. Neither was a great option.

"Get the chains and the lubricant. Bring me a glove."

Running to get the calf chains and the lubricant from our calving toolbox which was already nearby, I put the glove on Ray's hand up to his shoulder. Pie is such an amazing cow. She let us assist her while lying in the pen with the first-born twin. We did not even need to put her into the squeeze chute. Making a loop in the chain, Ray put it on the protruding upside down foot, above the hock. Squeezing his arm up into Pie, he found the other foot and pulled it out far enough for me to make a loop in the other end of the chain and slip it onto the second foot. Applying lubricant, I slid my hand around the vulva, enlarging the opening as Ray pulled on the hook that looped over the chain. Each time Pie had a contraction Ray pulled and I enlarged. Pie lay there groaning periodically, trusting that we wanted to help her as we always had.

Ray tumbled over backwards as, with a pop the calf exited Raisin Pie, its little bum following the legs that had been upside down. Getting towels to wipe it down and stimulate its breathing, Ray cleaned out the new calf's nose and mouth. It was much weaker than the first calf to arrive--but it was alive! A BoSe (Vitamin E and Selenium) shot was given, the navel trimmed and doused in iodine. Thank you's were showered on Pie for letting us help her in such a calm manner, and words of encouragement to the second twin to be strong and fight to live. The backwards arriving boy did not stand in fifteen minutes. He did not stand in twenty minutes. But with Raisin Pie licking him and mooing him to stand, he got his wobbly legs under him, and after a few awkward tumbles twin #2 was standing next to his brother within a half hour!

And of course, Pie loved them both. Weighing in at 1450 pounds, Pie was in great condition. This time, with fluffy hair, muscle on her bones, and bright, shiny eyes Shat Acres Raisin Pie was ready and eager to raise both calves on her own. Five years after rescuing Pie from the fate so many of her Virginia pasture mates had befallen, and five years after birthing a set of black, bull Highland twins, Pie had done it again.

Raisin Pie's Green Mountain Boys, Shat Acres Ethan and Shat Acres Allen are off to a great start. They are super tame, super healthy and are already bringing awe and joy to so many. In August they will travel to the Champlain Valley Fair to McDonald's Farm for ten days, where Shat Acres has shared a Highland Cow and Calf for fifty-one years. The last time twins were in that barn was 2011 when Cinnamon Raisin and heifer twins Crimson and Clover brought joy to the over 120,000 visitors to the Fair. Ethan and Allen and momma Raisin Pie will follow in Cinnamon Raisin's hoofsteps this year.

Highlands are resilient animals. As the oldest breed of bovines, they have survived 1600 years living by their instincts and incredible genetics geared for survival. And while they can manage well on their own, they allow us to tame them and care for them. Highlands are unique among bovine breeds in that they enjoy and want to be in relationship with humans--one of their most endearing traits. For that reason, we are obligated to care for and protect those animals that allow us to have dominion over them.

We are eternally grateful to have saved Raisin Pie, however we are the lucky ones who get to be in her gentle and majestic presence, watching her love and raise her Green Mountain Boys Ethan and Allen, as they frolic in the green grass of our Vermont pastures.