Mama Cow Enlists Farmer's Help To Find Naughty Runaway Calf

Some babies are like Velcro—they seem to be permanently attached to their mama’s sides and cry at the very idea of being separated from their loving parent. Other babies are escape artists, and always seem to be running off somewhere, much to their parents’ consternation. Sometimes, you don’t know what kind of kid you have until you have one of each, and have to recalibrate the way you interact with your child in all public places.

This poor cow was blessed with an “escape artist” calf, and even had to enlist the help of the farmer himself to get her baby back. Honestly? So real.

In this video, we see what happens when a baby calf gets itself lost and the mother has to get the farmer involved in retrieving her. According to the farmers, she came to them, clearly distressed, and led them to the thick tangle of branches where her calf was hiding away. The farmer picks the cow up and starts walking back home, hiding the entire baby cow in the air while mama trots obediently behind.

Related: Calf's Adorable Protest Over No Longer Being Bottle Fed Is Everything

A close up on the baby’s frowny face, though, reveals that this calf is none too happy about being found, and is definitely planning his next great escape.

The Pros and Cons of Air Jail

In the comments, people are quick to call what the farmer is doing by carrying the calf “air jail.” But is it?

“Air jail” is a slag term for a popular behavioral technique for misbehaving dogs or cats. If they are being reactive or rambunctious, some dog trainers suggest holding them up in the air in a position called “air jail” until they calm down. It is not dissimilar in many ways to the way that a mother dog or cat will naturally correct their young by holding them down with a paw or a gentle use of their jaws until the little one goes still and limp.

But it’s a controversial technique. Critics of “air jail” say that it’s an unnatural position for animals to be in and may cause them further stress or that they may hurt themselves by wriggling around too much.

And in this case, I’m not sure if the farmer is holding the calf out of anything more than convenience. He may not have a rope lead or other means to take the young animal back to the pasture without carrying him.

How to Train Cattle

I was “today years old” when I learned that the stereotypical cowboy slang “hee haw” actual has real meaning when it comes to cattle training and cattle behavior.

Cows are social animals and as amenable to training as horses. Think about it—much like horses, sometimes oxen would pull carts an thus they needed to be able to respond to voice commands. Hee (sometimes spelled and pronounced “gee”) means to turn right. Haw means to turn left.

Who knew?

(Okay, farmers.)

No word on what to say to a cow when what you want them to do is “stop running away from your mother and hiding in the underbrush.”

I guess that will come a little later.

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