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| Babies are so sweet! |
Last year, we bought another Jersey cow to be Dolly’s pasturemate. The goal was to be able to stagger the cows so we can milk one or the other the entire year. Daisy (I’ve always wanted a cow named Daisy) came to us sick and with a calf, even though she looked like she was barely two years old. Long story short, her calf didn’t make it, it was clear she’d been mistreated for a long time, and she was just tired. We got the vet out to see her and gave her a nice long rest on pasture and sweet feed. She rebounded quickly and is one of the most charming cows I’ve ever met.
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| Dolly was hanging out with Daisy. |
When she was in good health and had enough time to recover from her previous calving, we had her bred so she could start producing milk for us. Normally, we would have had her bred to an Angus bull but the guy we had come breed her had access to Wagyu, which is a Japanese breed of beef cattle that’s high end. So, we decided, why not?
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| Oh. You’re having a baby right now? Three weeks earlier than expected? Oh. Okay. |
I had on my calendar when I was expecting Daisy to calve but earlier this week while I was cleaning up dishes, I saw Daisy out in the pasture, looking a little…”off.” Having had enough children myself, it was pretty clear she was in labor.
Her laboring couldn’t have come at a worse time. The week before was pleasant and warm. Next week looks pleasant and warm. This week? Freezing temps and rain. Gah! Feeling rather unprepared, Jack ran to the feed store to get bedding while I hurried outside to clean up a stall for her so we could bring her and her calf inside, preferably before she gave birth.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. Within the hour of spotting her laboring, she already had her calf. It’s amazing how quickly her instincts kicked in. She got up and immediately started cleaning him off and lowing in a calming moo to bond with him.
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| Already trying to get up, before he was even dried off! |
We didn’t have time for him to learn to walk before it was completely dark, so Jack gathered up Daisy’s calf and we headed for the barn. One of the things I love the most about our barn is there’s a nice big stall in the back that’s p-e-r-f-e-c-t for birthing and animals with babies. It was all set up with bedding, a big trough of water for a thirsty, lactating mom, and all the hay and sweet feed she would want, it might as well have been the Ritz.
Once we knew he was able to nurse on his own and that they were settled in, we left them for the night. This whole week, we’ve left them inside as the temps haven’t really recovered enough to want to send them out. That’s been okay, though. The little calf is friendly and loves some attention while he’s snuggled up. The kids are more than willing to oblige.
We take naming our animals pretty seriously. There are no Fluffy’s or Cotton’s (with the exception of maybe the chickens, because there are so many of them), and a new calf is no exception. It was remarked that the calf looks like Hershey’s chocolate but because we’re not so obvious, Jack looked up how to say “Hershey” in Japanese, in honor of the calf’s Japanese heritage.
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| Pip showing off for Hashi. |
Hashi has had a constant parade of other farm animals who’ve come to say hello. Pip struts by, Raven whines and wonders why they can’t play together, while Stoney wonders why his favorite stall is occupied. Of course, the two farm babies had to meet face to face. When it wasn’t bitterly cold out in the barn, we brought Peter out to say hello when we were tucking the animals in for the night.
We’re so glad the weather will be going back to springlike this next week, so we can put Daisy back out on the green grass and so Hashi can meet the rest of the herd. He’s frisky and wanting to run, and it’ll be so much fun to watch him stretch his legs. There’s something special about babies, human and animals alike, and we love that we get to watch so many of them grow up on our little farm.
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| Good job, Daisy! |
