Monday, April 12, 2010

Oh, happy day!

This morning at about 7:15 a.m., Blackie gave birth to a healthy heifer calf.  Mom and babe are doing fine. Note that Daddy Sam is in the top picture.  Aren't genetics funny?  Daddy is a Guernsey, Mom is 3/4 Dutch Belted (but without the belt), and along comes daughter with her own unique markings!  So much white on her - big surprise!

She is already running.  She has gotten shocked by an electric fence.  Sounds bad, I know, but if she hadn't, she would be running around in the wetlands about now, as that is where she was headed.  If she had made it under that fence, we would have had a merry chase on our hands!

Kathy came down to help me get her moved to the nursing pen.  I will check hourly today to make sure that the calf suckles. We will keep an eye on both of them there for three days.  There is a small shelter in the nursing pen just in case it rains.  But this little darling is so big and so robust that I think she will just dance in the rain!

6 comments:

  1. Still waiting on my Dexter calf. Maybe next month.

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  2. I love Dexters! It was my first choice, when I just wanted a cow for myself.

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  3. My Dexter cow has still not had a calf. Can there be an Immaculate Conception in cattle? They were close to the manger.

    I am thinking she didn't take with the black bull intended, but maybe with my dun bull (not intended). She may be bagging up a bit. I am still hopeful I will get a calf from her this year. I need to write stuff down and get serious about my cattle.

    How are your cattle doing? How are you doing?

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  4. We're all doing okay. Our last little bull calf is going to the sale barn on Friday. I wish we could keep him, but it takes a lot of money to raise a calf, and we already have a bull. We still have three cows to freshen, but I think one of them is empty. If so, she will be in our freezers soon. I keep putting off calling the vet to have her checked. Don't want to be faced with that. I am friends with all of my animals.

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  5. I am unable to raise chickens to eat. I am challenging myself to change that attitude. When I visit my family in Iowa I usually buy 20 Amish raised freshly butchered chickens and bring them back frozen. It would be much cheaper to raise my own and I may do that someday. Right now I enjoy the sweet and tender Amish raised chickens. When my cow has a calf....I know...that if it is a bull calf....it will be castrated and raised for beef. I can eat that.....hopefully. Like my granddaughter informed me last year, ''Pappy, I don't eat anything I know." I hope I can. Our grandparents did....for survival.

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