Spring '09 Pics

[2/B or not 2/B]

CT friends ~ We only had 6 calves this spring, but we're still proud and I wanted to thank you for helping us along the way :cboy: There were 3 bulls and 3 heifers all born within exactly 30 days. No, our big, fat, lumpy shorthorn heifer didn't have twins, she had a 90 lb. bull calf, which we had to pull in the field at 3am on a very cold night. Those OB straps and handles sure came in handy and all that pulling was some exercise! After that between the two of them we had contracted tendons, scours, a sprained ankle, nerve paralysis and udder edema but hey they are both fine now! The other calves had more reasonable BW's and were born on their own. We have tons of green grass and all are fat and happy enjoying the spring weather. Just thought I'd share some pics.

The day before she had her calf this girl pulled out most of her switch while rubbing her butt on a manure spreader :?

This salebarn heifer was an impulse buy last year and not the smartest thing I have done so far...

Right now we have a lot of filaree, which is great to eat now and turns into awful stickers later.

We also have two kinds of clover and a lot of vetch. As the weather warms, we'll have oats and rye, plus tons of things I don't know and by summer it will all be dried up again.

California poppies on the hillsides look like lava and the snowdrops look like, well snowdrops.

I'd like to show you a picture of our puppy, Rey, but he hardly holds still. He's a 5 mo. old german shepherd mix and quite the handful.

Thanks for looking, I hope we do even better next year!

 

[hillsdown]

Looks like you have happy cows and healthy calves ,nice looking group

I am soooooo jealous of all that green..........

 

[grubbie]

Very nice calves. Why was the heifer not a good decision? From that pic she looks pretty darn good! And,....when you say you pulled a calf on a cold night, how cold was it? Just curious, I see you are in California, many of us see temps of -30F at times during calving. Anyway, that is a very nice bunch of animals you have there.

 

[CKC1586]

Nice pictures, thank you for sharing. And I too am jealous of your pretty green.....

 

[2/B or not 2/B]

CKC & HD, your green will come and by the time it does, ours will probably be gone. Then I'll be the jealous one! Happens every year...

Grubbie, the salebarn heifer is sickle hocked. It doesn't show too well in that pic and I didn't notice at the auction because it's hard to get a good look and things happen so fast there. I don't think I'm cut out to buy there so it was a good lesson I guess. You're right about CA weather and I certainly did think of some of you that night. It was in the 30's and I knew I was lucky since it gets so much colder elsewhere...but that's one reason I don't plan on moving elsewhere. I was wearing a couple of layers and a sweatshirt, but my hands and arms were covered with uh, stuff, and they sure felt cold to me.

 

[bigbull338]

those are some goodlooking pairs an calves you have there.

 

[KNERSIE]

A little sickle hocked in a commercial heifer really isn;t the end of the world. She doesn't appear to be badly sickle hocked and I doubt it will cut her productive life short much if at all.

I feel I have to comment on how well cared for your animals look, I know its probably the best time of the year for you, the same way November would be for me, but still its a sight rarely seen on CT. Well done! :clap: