Good old 2008 has come around again to "bite us in the butt." Because of a whole list of stuff, I do not want to go into, we are having calves in the dead of winter.
Obviously no one in their right mind would do this on purpose. To complicate matters, one of the list of "stuff", there is no way to get them into a protected place. Last night we played "round up" like cowboys trying to get Holly into the barn. One way or another, we did get her into a protected area and isolated from the others.
Birth is imminent. I haven't learned to tell when this is going to happen as well as I have with the sheep, but she is going to burst soon. She is a heifer; the first calf born at our farm. Kind of sybolic, I guess. I feel much better just having her out of the elements so that there is a place for her to give birth. It may not be inside, but it is out of the wind and snow, and we can get help if it is needed. I can't keep from just going out there and checking on her. It is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Like lambing only with much less control. (There is not much control with lambing that I remember.)
Just hope for a healthy heifer calf so she has someone to pal around with. She is not accepted by the rest of the herd, either their idea or hers. Her mom died last winter, so she has been alone since then. I just don't like to see even animals without companionship. I know, they are just animals. I am a big softy, and I can feel any way that I want about that.
2 comments:
Maybe she and Stuffin would get along, and have a big old laugh about how they are making us crazy waiting for their babies!
Oh I feel he same way. That's one reason I originally bought a "family" of goats. I couldn't take one twin without the other...and so on and so on..no one can tell me they don' have feelings. They feel more than some people. I hope the calf comes easy. Good job on that rodeo!
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