That 2nd Blog Post About Lovey

Before we begin, if you haven’t already, go check out Part One of Lovey’s story.

If you’re a rebel and didn’t read part one, the CliffsNotes version is that in June of 2023 we had a calf born with her heart in her neck. Our vet advised us to monitor her quality of life, and we did just that. Everything seemed fine, until the calf was about 5 months old…

Lovey’s Close Call

At the end of November 2023, we had my parents over for Thanksgiving and I showed my mom where Lovey was laying out in the pasture. The next day, I looked out the window and saw Lovey in the exact same place she was the day before.

Could it have been a coincidence? Maybe. But I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right, so we went out to the pasture to check on her.

When we got to her, she was still alive, but not moving much. We then decided to wean her from her mom a few weeks earlier than we typically wean calves and bring her into the barn. Our hope was that being more sheltered from the cold would help with whatever was going on. 

And guess what? It worked! Within a few days, she was back to normal. We also brought my Holstein heifer, Socks, into the barn so Lovey wouldn’t be alone, but I’ll share more about Socks in a bit.

Looking back, we believe the problem was simply that she got too cold. Since her heart isn’t in her ribcage, it doesn’t have the natural insulation other cows have. Instead of being protected by ribs and body fat, her heart is mostly under skin and surface fat. Our best guess is that she was either hypothermic or very close to it.

Now that we know this, part of Lovey’s winter care plan is to come into the barn whenever temps drop too low. She’s a special little heifer and gets a VIP pass to stay cozy. 😅

Lovey’s BFF

Here’s where Socks comes in… but let me start by sharing her back story.

2023 was a hard year on the farm. We lost more than a few calves, and at one point we bought a dairy heifer (Socks) from my aunt and uncle to try grafting her onto a cow who had lost her calf. That plan didn’t work out, so we were left with a little bottle-baby who didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the herd.

Enter: Lovey.

You see, cows are herd animals who don’t typically like being left alone. Since we weaned Lovey early she was the only calf in the barn and we felt like she could benefit from having a buddy to hang out with, so we put Socks in the pen with her. And those two? Instant besties.

They’re now practically inseparable. Sometimes it seems like a parent/child relationship with Lovey mooing for Socks just like a mama would for her calf. But other times, it looks like they’re madly in love with one another. 🤷🏻‍♀️

How it started in November 2023…

… how it’s going June 2025.

Whatever kind of relationship they have, it’s adorable and it works.

Lovey’s Name

I’m sure by this point you’re wondering why this calf’s name is Lovey. To be completely honest with you, I don’t really like her name. 😅 But again, being completely transparent here, I truly thought she was going to die and I didn’t want to get too emotionally attached to her, so I avoided giving her a “real” name.

But trying to talk with my husband about “her” as in the calf with her heart in her neck got confusing especially because of how much we talked about our bottle baby, Socks. With both of them being girls, we kept saying “she” and “her” and nobody knew who we were talking about. Eventually my brain was basically melting so I tossed out a pet name for her: Lovey.

It just seemed right because it felt lighthearted and not like an official name. “Lovey” is something you might call a sweetheart or significant other, and with her heart condition, it was a pretty punny name which is very much my style. But again, I honestly didn’t expect her to survive long enough for the name to stick.

Except she did. She’s still here, still thriving. And now I have a semi-famous heifer with a name I don’t even like that much. But oh well. 💁🏻‍♀️
Lovey she is.

Lovey’s Future

We’re a cow-calf beef operation, which means our animal’s job is to have calves every year. But that’s not the plan for Lovey.

Even though there’s at least one documented case of a cow with ectopia cordis successfully having a calf, we’re not taking the risk. Pregnancy puts a lot of strain on the body, and on top of that, Lovey is still smaller than most calves her age.

So for now, she’s just hanging out, living her best life with Socks, and being a little ambassador for resilience. We’ll keep monitoring her, making sure she’s healthy and happy, and letting her grow at her own pace.

Lovey on her 2nd birthday. 🥳

Well there you go. That’s the (not-so-short) continuation of Lovey’s story. 

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