Roll call for cows

On Monday we had a sunny break from the cold nasty spring weather we've been having, so I went out to check the beasties.

Matilda nursing Pearly.


Peaceable kingdom...


I decided to check on our newest calf, Nebuchadnezzar. Peekaboo...


Mama Jet is being watchful. (With good reason. We lassoed Nebuchadnezzar today with the help of a neighbor, and castrated him using an emasculator which slips a tight rubber band over the testicles. Jet was not amused. Neither, I suspect, was Nebuchadnezzar.)


I thought this picture turned out quite well.


Lunch time!


Here's Smokey, Ruby's calf.


Pearly, Matilda's calf...


Nix, who belongs to Ebony...


And here's the culprit behind all the calves being born lately.

(My neighbor calls this "farm yard porn.")

Random pix and a surprise

The day started with some residual wind from yesterday's storm, and it was very cold. At 26F, I had to break ice off the cows' water tub this morning. Coupled with the wind, it made for a miserably cold day, even though we got some sunshine. The woodstove felt good.

The cows teasing the dogs.




Sunshine on daffodils. See them bending in the wind?


A neat-looking isolated squall in front of the butte. You can see the sheets of roofing tin that had been flung around by yesterday's gale-force wind. The tin pieces had been stacked neatly in a pile and anchored with a two-inch thick ten-foot board - and the wind still tossed them.



Believe it or not, these chicks are not eating. They're sleeping - with their heads tucked into the food trough. Silly.


About 7 pm, Younger Daughter went behind the barn to fill the water tank. She came back and reported that Ruby, one of our herd matrons, looked a bit hunched over and had a turgid udder. Yep, those farm kids...able to identify when a cow is going into early labor. I went around the barn and confirmed that Ruby did, indeed, look like she was in very early labor. So we all armed ourselves with poles and herded a reluctant (and frankly pissed-off) Ruby into the barn. Into Matilda's milking stall, actually. Ruby is a testy cow with not exactly the sweetest disposition (let's put it this way: she has horns and knows how to use them!), so she wasn't at all pleased to find herself locked in the barn. But though the wind had finally died, the night promised to be cold and I don't like calves being born in the woods - too much chance of predation. So into the barn she went.

At 10 pm, Don came in and announced, "Want to go see the new calf?" Wow, that was quick! The kids tumbled out of bed and threw on warm clothes, and I took these awkward photos of a slimy calf. Ruby is still drying it off. It was shivering in the 30F temps, but it's a whole lot better off in a protected barn than out in the woods!

Can't tell yet if it's a heifer or a bull calf. It sort of has a "heifer" head - longer, more elegant than bull calves. We'll find out by tomorrow.

The joys of country living

Here's one of the annual joys of country living - calves!

Our cow Ruby dropped her calf on Sunday afternoon. Here she is, about two minutes old:



All the livestock milled about, watching the new arrival:






The first thing a cow does is lick her calf vigorously. This accomplishes three things: it cleans the calf, it stimulates its circulation, and it familiarizes the mother with the scent of her new baby. This is an important bonding time.





First shaky attempt to stand, about ten minutes old:







Boom, she's down!



Another try:





Our horse, Brit, couldn't contain her curiosity any longer:



Mom's still licking:



We were concerned when the calf stumbled toward Brit, apparently mistaking her for mama:



She got right between Brit's back legs.



But with the utmost care, Brit disentangled herself from the calf and stepped away, to Ruby's (and our) relief.



Meanwhile, Matilda - who had been grazing elsewhere - came over to see what all the excitement was about. She couldn't believe her good luck - a calf to spoil!







Searching (a little inaccurately) for a first meal:





And that was our excitement on Sunday. We named the calf Raven.