Sugar and her calves

Tuesday morning I checked on the cows and calves at 8 am.  No new calves.

Initially I only saw Sugar and her heifer calf.  I didn't see her steer calf.  I had to look around and around and finally found the steer calf a distance away laying by another tree.  It is nicer when Sugar can lay near both calves.  I carried the heifer calf over to the steer calf and Sugar followed us.

The steer calf stood up.  He walked around the front of Sugar looking for a place to drink from.  Usually the first time or two new calves act this way.  After they figure it out, they remember and immediately go to the cow's udder.   The heifer knew immediately knew where to go to drink.  I tried to guide and help the steer calf and Sugar would move sideways.  I got the steer to the udder. Sugar's udder was full of milk.  So full that one of her nipples had milk flowing out it to the ground.   Sugar's udder is huge and her nipples are large also.  The calf struggled to get the nipple in his mouth.  He didn't drink much milk.

Also distracting us were three of the replacement heifers.  Teenage females.  They were running around us checking things out when they could.  They wouldn't stay still.

Then cow 20 (the mother of the second calf) and Panda were fighting.  Around and around they went, each trying to reach the other's udder.  I tried to break up their fight but they didn't want to stop.  Finally I got Panda to run off and cow 20 ran after her.  I had to run after them to get them further apart.  Eventually I did.  And eventually they got over their fighting.

I decided I wanted Sugar and her calves to be in the main corral.   Just them.  So they wouldn't be bothered, and so the calves wouldn't end up so far apart.  Try guiding two calves.  They kept wanting to split apart and one go right and the other left.  I had to carry one calf to the corral, then carry the other calf.  They are not light.  Sugar followed us.

So they had alone time in the corral this afternoon.  Each time I looked at them the calves were laying in different parts of the corral.  But at least close enough that Sugar could see where each was laying.  Sugar laid near the steer calf in the loafing shed.

At the end of the afternoon it was time to put hay bales out of the cattle.  I wanted to put the next bale in the north pasture and not the middle pasture.  Less area to look for newborn calves.  That meant I had to get the cattle into the main corral so I could put a new bale out and not have to deal with the cattle while I unwrapped the bale.

So I herded Sugar and her calves into the south corral to be with Haynes and the others.

I then noticed Sugar had two "balloons" of fluid hanging out her back end.  There is afterbirth after a calf is born.  But that is a "ribbon" of material and not a "balloon" of fluid.  I gently pulled on one "balloon" and it came out a bit and then detached from the rest of the "ribbon" of tissue.  The other "balloon" remained.  I left it.   This "balloon" of fluid reminds me of what sometimes comes out before a cow gives birth.   Is Sugar having another calf a day after the first two calves?

One fluid balloon

Sugar and her heifer calf.

Wednesday.     Sugar's fluid balloon was gone.  Probably broken.  Still some "afterbirth?" tissue was hanging out back.

I checked on the cows and calves before 9 am.  No new calves.  Sugar's heifer was up and around.  The steer was laying and resting on the ground.  I checked again after 1 pm.  The steer was laying at the same spot and was stretched out and dead.  A surprise.   The steer was okay yesterday when I moved Sugar and the calf into the south part of the corral.  I never did see the steer drink from Sugar.   He should have as in the corral he had the opportunity.  But did he? Or drink enough milk?   I feel bad as in hindsight I should have made more effort to see/have him drink.    I got to remember, females are tougher than males.  Even though the heifer was born after the steer, and was smaller, she was tougher and more active.