Indy is getting plenty of exposure to the other farm animals at Summerseat. Photos by Ron Bailey.
Mechanicsville, MD — The bison herd at Summerseat Farm in Mechanicsville was increased by one on the 4th of July with the birth of a baby appropriately named Indy. According to the herd’s owner Dick Wildes, unfortunately the mother died for unknown reason four days after birth. He said the birth went fine and she was nursing the baby when suddenly the older bison passed away.
After the mother bison’s death the herd of approximately 20 gathered around it. After burial in the field by a crew from Summerseat, the bison lingered around the grave for about a day.
The death of the mother left the dedicated volunteers at the non-profit educational farm with an unusual task – bottle-feeding a baby bison. According to Wildes, about a half-dozen volunteers regularly come to the farm several times a day to feed the baby a special “milk replacement” formula. The powder specially formulated for animal such as cattle, bison and buffalo is mixed with warm water and fed to the baby by bottle.
Indy is housed separate from the herd for the time being. Since this has never happened on the farm they are not sure how he will be integrated into the herd and how he will be fed when he gets older until he is able to be fed on his own.
The bison are favorites of visitors to the farm. There’s an open house there Sunday, Aug. 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Indy will not be on display yet as he is still skittish around people, except for the bottle-feeding crew. When he sees the bottle he comes running up for the feeding.
Visitors can not only view the bison herd at the open house but also the many other farm animals and tour the historic manor house. You can bring a picnic and enjoy it on the grounds.
Although Wildes says they have enough volunteers for the baby bison bottle feeding project, they can also use more volunteers to help with the other animals. He can be reached at 301-643-1996. For more information on Summerseat go to their website http://www.summerseat.org/
Please enjoy the attached Photo Gallery from The Bay net Photojournalist Ron Bailey of the bison feeding July 28 by volunteer Deb Lewis.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
