Double dipping

Maybe it's because we had so many calves born so close together, or maybe it's because we had turned our corral into a close-knit nursery for a few weeks, but it seemed to me that there was a lot of milk-sharing among the cows and the calves. While obviously each cow tended to nurse her own offspring the most, the babies weren't above sneaking a drink from whatever udder was available.

Here Dusty (whose mother is Sparky) is sneaking a drink from Lily (whose calf is Leto).

Here Rosy (whose mother is Victoria) sneaks a drink from Sparky (whose calf is Dusty).

And on and on it went.

So on Saturday, I was amused to step outside and see little Chester (whose mom is Raven) sneaking a drink from Polly, along with Polly's calf Petunia. A little double dipping!

Polly just stood patiently and chewed her cud while the youngsters took advantage of her tolerance.

From the cheeky expression on Chester's face, he seems to know exactly how sly he's being...

...before diving in for more.

We call Matilda our Universal Donor because of her willingness to nurse any calf. Now it seems Polly has the same penchant. I wonder if that's a Jersey trait? Either way, Polly's continued transition from carefree heifer to mature and patient milk cow is going beautifully.

Loose livestock

Up to this point, the livestock have been confined to the wooded side of our property. This is where they stay for the winter (it's accessible from the barn for easy feeding), but as spring has emerged along with green grass -- which means we're feeding less --the critters have been eating down the grass in the woods pretty rapidly.

Before putting them in the pasture for the summer, we decided to let the livestock loose in the driveway area in order to crop down the grass (less work for us -- we don't have to mow or weedwack). They could also eat down the triangle pasture where we had grown wheat last summer. It's fallow this year, so keeping it trimmed would be nice.

Before letting everyone loose, however, we needed to cordon off the garden, the barn, and the end of the triangle pasture (where the fence is down). Out came the wonderful trusty cattle panels, moved from one spot to another (in this case, reinforcing the fence near the bull pen).

Here's the tip of the triangle pasture, now fenced off.

Driveway gate, closed.

Garden, cordoned off.

Barn, off limits.

Then we opened up the gates from the wooded side, and let the animals roam.

Brit, of course, was the first one through, cropping the fresh green grass as she went.

But she was under the mistaken impression that she was being allowed into the pasture. Nope.

Same with the other critters. Nope.

But that's okay -- lots of yummy fresh grass on this side.

What is it about dirt piles that makes animals want to rub in it?

Cow kisses between Raven and her daughter Shadow.

Early the next morning, the animals discovered the triangle pasture.

This drove the dogs nuts since the pasture is right next to the yard.

This morning Ruby met Leto through the gate. Very cute.

We'll keep the critters in the driveway area for about another week or so, before releasing them into the pasture. For that amount of time we'll have to watch our step for all the "landmines" in our way!

Mother's Day calf

We've been keeping two critters in our corral for the last week or so because they're close to calving. Lily is half-Jersey, half-Dexter; and Sparky is full Dexter. This will be a second baby for Lily but a first baby for Sparky.

It's always convenient if calves are born in the corral for two reasons; one, the animals have the shelter of the barn if they need it; and two, we can dehorn or castrate the calves without having to embark on a wild goose (calf?) chase across the pasture to capture them.

Anyway, we came home from our neighborhood potluck last night -- and saw that Lily had had her calf! She had just dropped it, and I mean just. The calf was still wet and hadn't gotten to its feet yet.

Altogether now: "Awwww...."

My parents flew in to visit last week and are staying in Coeur d'Alene. My Dad came in for last night's potluck, though my Mom wasn't feeling quite up to it. So Dad -- a city boy from birth -- got to see a newborn calf and he watched enraptured as the baby struggled to its feet and took its first nourishing meal of colostrum. He'd never seen a newborn calf before.

Lily spent a good deal of time licking her baby. This accomplishes three things: (1) it cleans the newborn; (2) it stimulates the baby's circulation; and (3) it familiarizes the cow with her baby's unique scent.

The rest of the herd was eager to catch a glimpse of the newcomer.

While we're not positive of the gender, the elegant long head makes me think it's a girl. Boys usually have shorter heads. Younger Daughter tentatively has named her Leto, after the Greek goddess of motherhood (since she was born on Mother's Day).

As a new mama, of course, Lily is fiercely protective of her baby. We kept our distance.

First attempt to struggle to her feet.

Careful now.... steady....

Not bad for a first try!

"Let's see... I know there's an udder around here somewhere..."

Getting wobbly...

Crash and burn.

Sparky, wildly curious about the baby, got too close...

...and was chased off.

"MY baby!"

Still wobbly but getting stronger.

Aha -- jackpot! All that good colostrum is getting inside.

What a nice Mother's Day gift for Lily.

I checked the calf this morning, and Leto looked strong and chipper and was nursing well.

Here's the dropped placenta, a good sign. (We'll dispose of this.)

An ever-watchful Lily.

First time in the barn.

Sparky still wanted to meet the baby...

...but Lily wouldn't have it.

Last night I noticed Victoria is bagging up too, so we pulled her into the corral (she's the red heifer). This will be Victoria's first calf as well.

See how bagged up she is?

Victoria has two supernumerary teats. These are harmless.

Looks like we'll have calves coming out our ears in the next couple of weeks!