Progress Report On The Two Calves

You may recall that Rosella gave birth to two opposite sex calves, which means both will be sterile and can never be used for breeding. And then she rejected her first born, the heifer calf. I brought the little girl into the barn and began bottle feeding her:

Unlike last year's bottle fed calf, this sweet little girl was friendly and sociable and playful. I knew I was in danger of becoming too attached and might wind up keeping her:

I advertised her for sale at a bargain price, but before I got even the first call, my neighbors stopped by, a nephew and uncle, and wanted her:

The little heifer was not too excited or fearful, but she did manage to get her front legs stuck over the folded seat. The uncle extricated her and then climbed in with her to keep her company on the short ride home:

They know she will be a freemartin (sterile) but love her anyway, planning to keep her as a pasture pet. That white bag behind her is the $70 bag of milk replacer which I included in the sale:

I advertised the bull calf also, and got a number of calls on him. Someone tried to buy him but we were unable to catch him. Despite his young age, he could already run like a deer. My fat cows surprised me with how fast they too could run:

Luckily, I'd put the caveat of "contingent on being able to catch him" in the ad. I had to turn down all the people who wanted him:

Of course now I may have to wait until autumn, when I can lure him into the barn. I'll have to charge more then, but whoever buys him won't have to bottle feed him:

So for now the little fellow is happy and free to run with the herd. Rosella, his mom, is an attentive mother and life is good for her little boy. I'm even more pleased that the heifer calf will have such a good life:

I walk out to the field to check on the herd now and then, and all seems well:

I haven't named the bull calf yet and may just leave that to whoever buys him:

He's having a happy childhood (calf-hood?). Some day he'll have to be sold, but for now he's a happy boy:

Spring Lambs!

I'd meant to go visit my neighbors' new crop of lambs for a few weeks but had been delayed. One day, though, I finally stopped by and took a tour:

The sheep were divided into numerous pens, some with many sheep and some with only a few. Old ewes, new mothers and handicapped mothers were usually put into small pens. Mothers with twins were often sectioned off so they could easily tend to and bond with their tiny babies:

The biggest, healthiest lambs in the large pens were having the most fun:

A blind ewe and an elderly ewe were given special consideration:

And all the animals were given exacting and merciful care:

The lambs, of course, were adorable. Some seemed afraid of me and some seemed to regard me with great curiosity:

There were two rams in the two biggest pens. One was dangerous and I was not allowed in that pen, but the elderly ram in the other big pen was used to people and oblivious to visitors:

The farmer went in to check on the sheep in one pen:

The ewes didn't mind her, but the lambs bounced around playfully:

There was much activity:

She told me that she had 48 lambs, only two of which needed to be bottle fed this year. One of the bottle babies had been rejected by its mother and put in with a ewe so old that she didn't do much of anything anymore. She had no milk to feed the baby, but served as a warm mommy substitute for the little one. The two of them had their own pen but the photo I took of them was not usable:

We chatted and watched the lambs. I said hello to Doug, her friendly horse, and then I took my leave:

The Red Poll Cattle

Rocket is growing into a majestic looking bull. He is sold, and I have a deposit on him. He's to be picked up in about a week and I can only hope I can get him into the barn on that morning. I've been encouraging him to come inside every morning, so he gets used to it:

 Little Lucky has reached the cute and curious stage:

 Life is good and there is much sleeping to be done:

 Gracie is a favorite aunt to little Rocket:

 Notice the sleeping position of the cow in the back (I'm not sure who it was):

 Rosella fed Lucky while Rocket grazed:

 Jasmine is very sweet but she still has hoof problems. I'm not sure how this will all work out:

 And Amy has udder problems. While she is drying off well enough, I don't believe I can or should breed her again. Sigh.

 Elvis was growing so fast, consuming so much milk replacer and taking so much time (not to mention the time spent cleaning his stall twice a day) that I decided to try selling him. But who would want a bottle baby calf? Lots of people, I found out when I advertised him. Now he has a new home:

 The herd loves to lounge beneath the Box Elder trees on the east side of the barn:

 Scarlett and Lucky, her grandson:

Cattle On Pasture

Lucky with his mother, Rosella. They make a handsome pair:

Seeing the cattle calmly grazing brings me a great deal of peace, despite the health, financial and work considerations involved:

They love to cluster beneath the Box Elder in the south field on hot, sunny days. If it gets even hotter and sunnier, at least in the afternoon, they move to the east side of the barn where there is shade plus soft hay on the ground:

The Red Poll girls are an especially nice sight when they're near the county road. Notice Amy's big udder. As big as it is, it's already much smaller than formerly:

Lucky quickly learned the best napping spot:

And now Lucky and Rocket have each other as playmates. They love to romp and carry on:

One chases, then the other, then they graze, then they resume play:

Then they climb back up onto the manure/compost pile:

Then they run over to make sure their moms are still there:

Lucky was never castrated, so whoever buys him will have a bull, not a steer. Rocket has been sold as a breeding bull, so he should go to his new home at the end of the month - IF I can get him into the barn on pick-up day:

Elvis continues to grow, with an ever increasing appetite for milk. He hasn't yet begun eating hay or grain, though I have them both available. He also is soiling his bedding at an ever accelerating rate:

Both Rocket and Lucky follow the herd when it is on the move:

It's Another Boy - But With Complications

Amy's udder had been so huge for so long that I was truly worried. One day, I walked out on the back porch to let the dogs out and saw a calf emerge from Amy's behind. I grabbed my camera and went out to see what was happening:

The calf was huge, possibly even bigger than Rosella's white calf and I'd estimate its size to be equivalent to a purebred Red Poll at 2 to 3 weeks old:

Amy is a good mother, and set out to clean her new baby:

So Teddy, the bull, has now produced one white calf and one black calf. He was half Charolais and half Angus, so these colors were not surprising. I was a bit surprised to not have a red calf, but perhaps it's just a matter of random chance:

Amy stopped for a mouthful of hay before she continued working on her new baby:

And then she continued:

I couldn't get a very good look but, from what I saw, this was a heifer calf:

The new calf struggled valiantly to stand up, but kept tumbling back to the ground:

Rosella, a new mom herself, came over to see what all the commotion was about. Amy was not concerned by her presence. They are all part of a herd, kind of like sisters:

The little one finally managed to stand briefly, but then its front legs began sliding out to the side and it went down once again:

The new calf was active and healthy, but I never saw it nurse. Amy's udder grew ever more swollen and sore looking, with gigantic teats, low to the ground. After much thought, research and prayer, I decided not to risk the little calf starving to death. Amy's last calf died mysteriously at the age of 3.5 days and I kept thinking that maybe she couldn't nurse from that giant udder and slowly starved. I didn't want another dead calf. So two neighbors came over and we stole the little thing from the field and put it in a stall in the barn. That's where we learned that it was not a heifer, but a bull calf. I named him Elvis:

I bought powdered colostrum for the first feedings and powdered milk replacer for thereafter (boy, are they expensive!). Elvis wouldn't suckle at first, but once he swallowed the first time, he was hooked. I've been bottle feeding him twice a day ever since, with a bowl of grain and a bucket of water available, just in case he wants to try them. I have a nipple bucket for when his appetite grows bigger than the bottle can handle: