Tag: calving
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Calf Daycare
This is a pretty common scene in the morning at feeding time—one cow with a passel of calves. Even though it may look to some people that this cow had all those calves, she’s actually just the babysitter. All the mothers of these calves went to feed. Art and I joke about this scene when we see…
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Photos of Our Baby Calves After A Spring Snowstorm
Earlier this week we received around 10†of snow over the course of two and a half days. Since the storm finally broke by daylight yesterday, I remembered to grab my camera and got some photos of my favorite calves. Getting the day’s forecast is an important part of our cow feeding routine. We like…
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There’s More Than One Way to Pack A Calf to the Barn
When a new calf seems chilled or a little slow finding its grub, we sometimes opt to intervene and move the cow-calf pair to the barn and out of the elements so we can assist them better. Packing a new calf even 100 yards to the barn can wear a person’s arms out quickly (and…
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Calving 2012
Over the past week and a half, some of our kids’ cows finally had their calves and Wednesday, the most important cow in the whole herd finally calved. Annabelle, currently our only Hereford cow and the kids’ first bucket calf that started their herd, had her calf. Every calving season it’s a big deal in…
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Another Use for Duct Tape
Now that calving has begun, (as of last week) my husband and I started the process of every day, looking over the herd and making an educated guess as to which cows are most likely to calve soon. There are various signs to look for such as a cow looking “bagged up†(her milk is…
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Baby Fix
I don’t miss changing truckloads of dirty diapers, feeling half comatose all the time, and smelling like a dairy barn everyday, but I do occasionally get baby pangs. Spring calving is my oddball way of getting my baby fix. Unlike my husband, I’ve always enjoyed the newborn stage when our kids were tiny and dependant…
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Labor Pains
Sometimes the labor involved to help a cow out that’s in trouble is nothing but a big pain. I can relate to the motherly instincts cows have, just not their impulse to calve alone and unassisted. If a cow’s a first-timer, having complications during calving, or the calf is in jeopardy, her unwillingness to cooperate…
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Cheap Dates
There are two kinds of dates: the cheap ones and the spendy ones. Going out can get expensive for both parties. Guys should not complain about spending their paychecks on dates because the money women spend to impress a guy has been shelled out prior to the date. Before getting married, women will buy the…
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The OB Ward and Nursing Home Ranch
The problem with deferring replacement heifers too long is that you’re apt to end up with a lot of really old cows and a bunch of young, first time calvers to take care of simultaneously come calving time. Hanging on to cows too long and not incorporating younger cows into the herd gradually, creates more…
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Calving Season Survival Checklist
Prior to calving season, my husband always inventories calving supplies that we need to buy or find. Having everything on hand avoids the stress of discovering in the middle of the night that we don’t have what we need. His checklist includes mostly items like mineral supplements, veterinary, and doctoring supplies, but he tends to…