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:

Rosella Gives Birth - Part 2

Rosella had just given birth to two calves (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). I left them alone for awhile, then came back out to check on how everything was going. Rosella, the second calf and the rest of the herd had moved across the field, but the first calf was all by herself:

I couldn't leave things as they were, so I picked up the heifer calf and carried her across the field to join the rest of the herd:

I found Rosella and the second baby, acting as if everything was just fine:

I set the heifer calf down near Rosella, hoping for a glad reunion:

Grandma Scarlett trotted over to see what was going on and the little heifer calf tried her out, hoping she was her mother. Rosella, seen behind them with calf number two, just glowered:

I got the heifer calf a little closer, but Rosella butted her away. After she had the second calf, she failed to understand that she now had two. Twins are rare in cattle and she was programmed only to care for the most recent birth:

I brought out the tractor and put the heifer calf in the bucket, driving her back to the barn. I put her in a stall with hay and then called the neighbor. She and two of her boys brought over colostrum replacer and a bottle, then mixed it in my barn:

And then the little heifer got her first meal:

The two boys got to feed her:

Growing up around animals is a blessing which will help them throughout their lives:

She also brought over a calf blanket, which she put around the little girl so she'd be warm during her first night:

At this point all is well with both calves. The bad news is that opposite sex twin calves are almost always sterile because they share hormones in the womb. Neither of them can be registered or used for breeding. I am attempting to sell them, hopefully to someone who wants them as a 4-H project:

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: