Hello, everyone! I got up Monday morning and went in to make my coffee and dad said there was a cow in the hay field. Well, the electric fence issue still isn’t solved and I figured if one cow was in the hayfield they were probably all in the hay field. Maybe the calf was in the hay field as usual and the mother went in after her. I realized there was no use getting in a hurry because there wouldn’t be a whole lot I could do about it. Then dad said I should let them all in the hay field to get something to eat. I had a big question mark in my mind when he said that! “LET THEM IN THE HAY FIELD?”

After a few sips of coffee, I went outside to check out the situation. Well, sure enough, there was a cow in the hayfield. She was just standing there looking at me, not grazing. The rest of the cows were in the pasture under the mulberry tree. I decided to go ahead and feed and water the chickens as I thought over the deal because this was weird. Her calf must me in the hay field and she was with it. She is looking at me like maybe she thinks she is in trouble.

After I was finished with the chickens, I walked toward the gate to the hay field and the cow started walking toward me. I thought, “this is going to be easier than I thought.” Then the other cows noticed I was walking toward the gate and started coming, too. Then I noticed the cow in the hay field was NOT the cow that had the calf. I counted all the cows and there were eight instead of nine… GEEZ! So, I walked all over the hay field and the missing cow was nowhere. Then when I came back to the pasture, there were nine plus the calf. The insulators were all on the posts so I have no idea where the cow got in the hayfield.

BUT, one of the old cows was about to have a calf…  The other cows were heading toward the gate to the back pasture and she headed that way, too. I told them there was no way they were going anywhere, so the birthing mother went back and laid down under the mulberry tree.

I went back inside and after a while, she was making a lot of noise. I never heard any of the cows make so much noise while giving birth so I thought maybe she was having trouble. I went back outside and she had already given birth and was just talking to the baby. She was cleaning it off and pushing it around more than usual. Maybe she thought it was dead and that’s why she was acting like that.

After a good licking and being pushed around for a while, it started trying to get up. Now, folks, this cow was another one that doesn’t particularly care for human involvement, especially in the beginning, and she let me know several times she didn’t need my help.

So, after she had it all cleaned off and I determined it was a bull calf, I went back to the house.

I went back later, without the camera (GEEZ!) and the calf had managed to get up and was trying to nurse. If you haven’t been around newborn calves, I will tell you it is quite an effort. They look all over for it and sometimes it takes a while. Sometimes I can help out, but sometimes I am not allowed and this was one of “those times”. The cow didn’t like where the calf was, right out in the sun, and she seemed to be asking for my help. So, she let me help her guide the calf to the shade.

While I was mowing the yard they were along the edge of the pond laying down. Then later in the afternoon they were on the other side of the pond where she was grazing and the calf was sleeping AGAIN. Well, at least they were away from the pond.

Then, about sundown, they were laying down in another spot…

The little girl is doing fine.

As with all calves, she runs around with her tail in the air and practices bucking like a bronco. Her two back feet are white.

One thing I noticed about the little bull calf was his hairy nose. I need to get a photo so you can see what I am talking about. 🙂

All life is special and newborns of any kind are a miracle of nature. I always wonder what they must be thinking when they get squeezed out then licked all over. Then after a few days, they are walking around exploring and getting into mischief.

Well, I will close this post for now. Until next time, stay well, stay positive, get out and breath in some good fresh air. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you and realize how AWESOME this universe really is. And YOU are AWESOME and part of this AMAZING planet. GET DIRTY!