Calf 11

After a break of two weeks without any calves being born, another calf was finally born this morning.  Cow #80 finally had her calf.  She must have not gotten pregnant during her first cycle last year as this calf was born five weeks after my first calf was born.

A few days ago cow #7 came into heat.  Cow #80, very large and very pregnant, got all hot and bothered one evening over cow #7 as cow #80 kept following cow #7, and several times cow #80 mounted cow #7.

Calf 11, from an all black cow, looks just like his dad: a black baldy.  Calf 11 is a boy.

This evening Donna helped put a band on the new calf to castrate it.  We had to really work to find his second testicle.  Fortunately the calf didn't make a fuss as we worked to find both balls as his mother was very concerned and was circling us and sniffing her calf.

It was also time to put out a new large hay bale for the cattle.  To do so I put Red and Buster in the loading corral then let all the cattle into the corral but cow #80 and her calf.  They wanted to stay outside the corral. 

Once I got the new calf banded, and the hay bale put out into the pasture, I decided to take this opportunity to band the other boy calf not yet banded: Socks.  Panda's calf was born back on April 13, back when I was worried about spreading the scours infection.  Now it is time to band him before he gets any bigger, and harder to control and band.

First I had to get Mama and her calf out of the corral.  Earlier when I tried to get Socks into the loading corral Mama got excited as she thought I was going after her calf.  I had to run away from Mama once when she came towards me.

I let most of the cattle out of the corral, including Mama and her calf.

Buster and Red were still blocked into the narrow part of the loading corral runway.  I got Panda's calf into the wider part of the loading corral runway.  I tried to get Panda's calf down and flipped onto the ground. But he is already getting strong and I was a little tired from spending the afternoon cleaning up several pastures of fallen branches and chain sawed trees.  Rather than chance either me or the calf possibly getting hurt I asked Curtis if he would help me.

It took both of us to restrain the calf.  Curtis got kicked a few times as he had trouble holding both of the calf's back legs.  I straddled the calf and ended up holding one front leg and one back leg.  Once the calf was immobilized Donna then put a band around the calf's testicles.  Since this calf was older it was easier to find his balls.

I also put a blank (non-numbered) tag on the calf.  Blue for boy.  

I still had two heifers in the corral who I hadn't put ear tags on during the time of scours.  I got them into the loading corral.  These I didn't have to flip onto the ground.  I grabbed each one at a time, and straddling the calf, backed it into a corner.  Curtis and Donna helped hold them still, concentrating on their head.  With the head still I could look and make sure I punched the tag through the ear between the veins.

Again these tags were blank as I couldn't remember which calf was from which mother.  Orange tags for girls.

I only have two cows yet to give birth: Beulah and Sugar.

Of course, Daisy was in the corral to help us.