heifers 9 – bulls 5

The boys are catching up in the tally count. And time for me to catch up, too. So here we go…

Update on Eva and the bon-bons. Eva’s full name is Eva Bonnie – we call her Eva Bon-Bon… now she has real bon-bons to take care of. But Eva is having a little trouble managing her twins. She sometimes forgets the exact spot she parked them while she browses the grass. And her twins don’t help her out much, they are independent little brats. She can call them but they don’t listen to her. They haven’t quite figured that out that when mama calls, you come. If they don’t ‘see’ mom (she could be standing within a stones throw) when they come out of their slumber they will attempt to grab a nip from the closest milk machine available. They may be rewarded for their rude behavior with a slow hoof to the face from the offended cow but overall the herd knows that the calves all belong to the herd, but there are boundaries. You don’t steal another calf’s supper.

Both of the bon-bons are in that mess… can you find them both?

Eva’s twins are really good at hiding, too. One night we had to help her find them so we could get some sleep otherwise she would most likely stand next to the house and moo all night. So in the dark we searched …they were right where they were a few hours earlier and for most of the day…. just laying there, a couple of feet apart. Her moo’s didn’t get any interest from the little brats and Mr. H had to roust them up onto their little feet and gave them a push up to mom. All was bliss again.

Eva knows she has 2 calves, but is fine with just one. It doesn’t matter which one, she doesn’t have any favorites, and it appears that if it is an even-numbered day she will have the odd-number calf by her side most of the day. She knows the other calf is somewhere within a mile radius and that it will eventually catch up to her. Most likely another cow is babysitting and if all else fails she’ll call upon her human attendants for assistance. Maybe she thinks her vision is off, poor girl, but she is a good mama… a little confused but overall a good mama.

4/27 – A first time mama and an experienced cow (dam of distinction… more on that honor in another post) each had heifer calves. Heifer #1006 and #1007 are now part of the herd.

The next day brought a little ‘excitement’ that no one who has livestock ever wants to have happen is when you are checking on the heavies in labor and notice the calf’s hooves coming out are pointing up. That means the back hooves are coming out first. Hoof tips should be pointing down for a normal birth. A quick phone call and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride back to the house to pick up Kirsten who was ready with ob chains and other items that may be needed. Mr. H stayed behind in case he had to jump in with help. We returned to find that her cow Bea calved without assistance, like a normal birth despite the calf coming out in reverse, and the bull calf already trying to get up. He is doing well, no after-affects so far that we’ve noticed. Sometimes they can have respiratory issues, injuries from coming out the wrong way, etc, and it does not always end up well …. Divine intervention certainly was in play. Meet bull calf #111

Following Bea later that afternoon was Dustee who had bull calf #112.

A little break in the action until 4/30 morning hours for a mother & daughter duo calving nearly the same time. Meet bull calf #113 and heifer calf #1008.