Driving down to Upolu for a walk, I noticed this cow behaving oddly, so I pulled over to take a look. The reason quickly became clear: a pair of hooves sticking out below the tail. She was about to give birth. I thought this would be a good photo op, so settled in to watch.
The poor cow was up, down, walking, lying down. The pair of hooves did not budge. A couple of times I thought the delivery was nigh, but they were false dawns.
I wasn’t the only one watching the action, or lack of it. Other cows looked on from a safe distance, chickens pecked the ground around the struggling cow, and a cattle egret flew in to see if any bugs might be being stirred up by the activity. In the end, I could wait no longer. I went off for my walk. On my return, nothing much had changed so I went home.
I didn’t contact the dairy. Early in my time here, I tried that, but they weren’t interested and soon after, No Trespassing signs went up on the driveway! I grew up on a small farm and, for us, a new calf was an important arrival to be carefully ushered into the world. But this was a bigger operation, and I’ve learned that the cows are left to get on with it. Truth is, she was probably fine. These things take time and, as every mother out there knows, it’s never easy.
Graham's Island 
Yup I am not coming back as a cow!
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Good decision, though I like cows a lot.
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Sometimes help is needed. I can’t believe the dairy farmers attitude. The No Trespassing sign says it all.
Dairy farmers here are some of the best, kindest people with their cows and would never leave a cow to”get on with it” by herself.
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No sure if it was the dairy owner or the hired hands that put the sign up. Mostly, the cows seem to pop calves out without trouble. Someone might have been keeping an eye on proceedings when I wasn’t around.
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True. His response should have been different though.
Of course it would be the help told to bung the sign up
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A great little story, Graham. I would have contacted the dairy, too, so lucky I now know that if I’m in Hawaii and see this, don’t bother.
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It’s the only dairy on this island currently. I don’t think they’re heartless. They might have been checking in at times when I wasn’t there.
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I think it’s interesting how the other animals appear to be gawking – or offering sympathy, perhaps
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The other cows seemed sympathetic, the birds, not so much.
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Poor soul. How miserable!
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Not the easiest of births, that’s for sure.
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