Another first timer (Tina) with a heifer calf on the 18th.. I brought her to the corral on the halter on the 16th (Wednesday), that was a RODEO.. I don't think I'd ever haltered her before, so she had some learnin' to do.. Thought she'd hate me for it but she actually turned into a sweetie.
I had to leave for the weekend, and she was looking ready, so I just induced her with 2cc of dex on wednesday night, Friday morning she had her calf.. YAY!.. Nice little heifer
Trying to get the newborn to nurse with Zima and Klaus around was quite an experience, both of them trying to push and shove me, eating my ears, my hat, my gloves.. (Klaus is beating up my legs here)
So Saturday morning I'm getting ready to leave, look in the field and there's a cow with extra legs.. Bouncy had a heifer too.. she's got SUCH SHORT EARS... and they weren't frozen... Bouncy is the one that had the frozen-eared calf 2 years that I called "Stubby"
So I go on my trip and get an email monday morning that Robin calved, all's well.. I make it back home in daytime, go down into the field to bring them up.. Robin doesn't look like she calved, but Chroma is there with a big boy, goop on her tail, so I bring her up to the maternity pen, she's following me and the calf nicely (she knows the drill) and bed them down for the night
Midnight rolls around and I look out on the camera and what the heck, there's two calves there!
OK, now either the first calf is in fact Robin's, or Chroma had twins.. either way, she wants both of them, she's got a ton of milk, get the 2nd baby filled up and a blanket on it, I'll figure it out in the morning!
So in the morning, yes in fact Robin is kinda looking around for a calf, not really that nervous about it.. get her into the maternity pen as well.. Robin's calf seems to have drank everything Chroma had, so tie Robin up and make sure Chroma's calf get at least a good meal since it's cold, Robin is quasi-cooperative (she's really not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and neither is her daughter Hannah), I leave them all together for a day and it seems to settle itself out, Robin reclaimed hers, and Chroma takes hers
Robin's is a big stout bull calf, ~90 lbs (especially after drinking most of the colostrum from both cows).. He's a purebred gelbvieh
I apparently didn't get a good pic of Chroma's girl, I'll try and get one tomorrow
So far I think I have 3 candidates for replacement heifers, Zima and Kardi, both from Prada's line, and Chroma's calf could be really nice as well... Perhaps Tina's (Chroma's granddaughter), but being from a heifer she might not have the size come fall
One more heifer left to go (Mushy), I'll bring her up tomorrow, and I may induce her as well, her family is known to hold them in a little extra and throw big calves.. this is Mushy's momma when she was a month away from having her
Also coming up is Zippy, pictured next to momma (Zecca)
