Going for a ride

This little girl is a twin. She and I were headed to my dad's so she could have a "goat mother". She only weighs about 40 pounds and she kept trying to get on the seat while I was driving!

calf grafting

This is what we hope for!

This calf's mother didn't have enough milk to feed it so we stole it from her and grafted it on a cow that her calf had died.
The picture below is of Shawn skinning the dead calf so that the "new" mother will smell her calf. The tail is very important because the new mother will lick the tail head quite a bit. We tie the hide on the calf, good and tight, and then put Orphan NoMo on the hide. It smells a little like black licorice and coffee and it's not something that you want to get on your hands because it lingers.
I should have taken a picture of the calf nursing the cow with his coat on but we like to leave them alone to bond. She will lick the hide and then she will let him nurse. It truly is an amazing process that we have great success with.

Sorry, another gross picture. It only takes about 10 minutes to skin the calf. The hide stays on the new calf 24-48 hours. This particular calf had the hide on about 12 hours. It gets stinky and a little damp and cold. It is the harsh realities of farm life but it is the life cycle.

Red 38

The girls and I went to the meadow to feed last Saturday. After all the cows were lined up and eating, this baby, out of Red 38 cow, was wandering around. I don't usually grab calves without some back-up, but her mother was busy eating (even cows are starving after giving birth) so I grabbed her. Cows can be very protective of their calves. We have 1 or 2 that will try to eat you if you bother their calf. I'll blog later about how we handle those calves. (we're pretty tricky)
She was only 1 day old, so she was soft, and clean and so darn cute! She was also cooperative and I got this cute photo of them. She weighs about 80 pounds and when we let her go she took off running and bucking toward her mother!

Calf Pulling (warning: a little graphic)

It seems like we have to do this once every year. We hope for a live calf, but we don't always get it. Then, we hope to salvage the cow. We usually can do that.
The vet has the chains on the calf's feet. This calf had his head turned backward. We tried to push the calf back in and straighten out his head, but couldn't. The vet had to come and give the cow a pain killer so he could try to get the head straight, but he couldn't either. Needless to say, the calf did not survive the process. The silver pole has a rachet attached to it so he can pull the calf out similar to how you would jack a car up. Cowboy Dan is trying to hold the cow up so she wouldn't lay down. It is a hard process to watch from a woman's point of view. I always feel sorry for the poor cow.

Bottle feeding

Savanna got to feed Alma's calf for him when he went out of town. It is her favorite thing to feel the soft fur of a new calf. I don't blame her. There is nothing quite like it.

New babies

A calf going to the warmer.

Remember that cute picture of our first baby hiding from me on my horse? Well she is now 2 weeks old.

This calf is huge, probably 90 pounds at birth! I love these "smokey" babies

Boon was trying to nibble this tired baby's ear. The calf didn't seem to mind. He is our first bull calf.
We get the ear tags in the calf within a day or two of birth. (while we can still catch them) It has their mothers tag number and color in it so when we have to pair them up, it makes the job a lot easier.
We still have eagles flying around when we arrive to feed on the East. I think they are cleaning up the after-birth and stuff. That is just fine as long as they aren't cleaning up a calf. They will be gone for the season in about another month. I'll be darned if I can get a good picture of them.

Cute baby!

This is our first calf at home! Isn't she cute. She is trying to hide from me on my horse. She just lays there with her head down trying to get warm on this south-facing slope.
I say at home because we've had others born out to Malta, but she is the first one that I am taking care of here.
She's gotten up, nursed (which is a miracle because of her mother's udder)and is now resting peacefully! What a day!

Bana is helping Alma feed his twin calf.

A twin is usually a blessing in disguise. It gets old feeding the twin on the bottle, and twins are typically smaller than a single birth. But, if you have another calf in your herd die then you have a calf that you can graft onto the cow!

Grafting is an amazing trick.

If you have a weak stomach don't read any further.

First, you skin the dead calf making sure to keep the tail attached, to not get holes in the hide, and not getting too much meat on the hide either. (it makes it stinky)

Next you tie the hide on the live calf-- good and tight.

After that you rub a little Orphan nomo on the calf's head and tail. This stuff smells a little like black licorice and coffee. It tricks the cow into thinking it is her calf. The cow will begin to smell the new calf and to lick it all over and then the calf gets hungry and knows where to get it's next meal.

And voila, you have love!

We usually lock the pair in a small stall for a couple of days until we're sure it is love (the hide still gets stinky!) then we turn them out with the herd. It is truly amazing.