It's A Boy!

If you've followed the blog, you know that I've had trouble with my cows not getting pregnant with artificial insemination and rented a neighbor's bull for two months over the summer. But there was one cow, Scarlett, who might yet have been pregnant from A.I. and she was due in the middle of winter. Her udder began to swell about a week before she was due, then one morning I went out to do chores and found this little red cutie curled up on a bed of hay:

Of course I worried about how such a little thing could survive the rigors of our north country winters, but it seemed to be OK, even though it couldn't stand very well:

Two of Scarlett's teats always swell up too big for her newborn calves, but they use the two small teats until their mouths get big enough to handle the others:

Scarlett has never acted hostile, but she is clearly protective of her baby, so I don't push my luck. Instead, I took photos of the little one's rear end, then enlarged the photos to see if it was male of female. Alas, I still couldn't tell:

I watched the little thing struggle to get a teat. It wasn't successful and I wanted to help but knew I'd upset Scarlett and do more harm than good. So I went back in the barn, glancing back just in time to see the calf connect with a teat:

Gracie came over and lay down on the bed of hay with Scarlett and her baby. The other cows act as aunts to the new calves, keeping an eye on them while they're very little:

I went out frequently the first day but Scarlett was always standing over her baby so I never got to determine its gender:

Being an inveterate worrier, I fretted the second night as the cold winds swirled past my bedroom window. Could the baby survive the winter weather. The next morning, I saw that indeed it could. In fact, it was already looking stronger:

It was a cute little thing, the only purebred calf I'll have this year:

The second morning, I called the cows into the barn for grain, then walked outside to examine the calf. It was clearly a bull calf. I had a guy two years ago who wanted to buy one. I'll contact him and see if he's still interested. Of course there is no hurry, as this boy won't be ready for six months:

I worried a bit about how the horses would treat him, but they were careful not to step on him:

I named the little guy "Windswept Rocket" and will be watching him closely as he gets on his feet and gains strength. For now at least, all is well: