Farmer’s kids cuddle up to freezing calf

SNOW and freezing rain were falling fast on Tanner Sorrell’s family farm in Mount Sterling, Kentucky.

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Sally the calf cuddling with the Sorrells' son, Gregory.

(Macey Sorrell)

Tanner went out to check on a pregnant cow and saw that she had given birth but was struggling to clean her newborn calf.“I don’t know what it is about bad weather, but it seems like it triggers labour,” Tanner said.

Tanner was reluctant to take the calf away from her mother, so he gave them another 40 minutes to see how they fared. He called his grandfather, who Tanner said taught him everything he knows about farming, and his grandfather told him to trust his instincts.

The family had lost a calf to frostbite the year before, so he didn’t want to take any chances when the situation didn’t improve. “It’s a tough decision to make,” Tanner said. “You don’t know if you’re doing right or wrong. You’re just doing the best you can.”