2024: Calf 1: 8's

Last night, around 7:20 pm, the first calf of the year was born.  I've been watching the cows closer since March 10.  I went out last evening to look at the cows.  I've been watching Panda as she looks to be the closest to give birth.  Looks can be one thing, actuality is another.

I walked close to Panda.  Especially as she was standing alone away from the others.  Nope.  No calf yet.

I walked around, to the river and back.  On the way back a group of cows had spread out.  Then I saw a small figure.  I walked over.  Yup.  A calf.  It was born a few minutes earlier.  It was still mostly covered in goo as the mother just started licking the calf clean.  Through the goo I checked, and it looked like a female.   I left mother and calf to be alone together so the calf could be licked clean and then get up to drink from mother.

The cow and calf were under a large tree, so it was a drier place and would be warmer overnight.  After midnight I went out and checked on them and they both were standing together under the tree.  So I was sure the calf already had drunk from the mother, and they were staying under the tree, a warmer place overnight.

This morning I went out and checked on them, and for any more new calves.  No new calves this morning.  The mother was eating from the hay feeder and yesterday's calf was laying among the branch debris I hadn't cleaned up after chain sawing the fallen tree.  At least the calf was in the sun.  The mother came over and the calf stood up.  Everyone was fine.

In the afternoon Donna's daughter and her husband came over to help put an ear tag on the calf.  It took three of us as I didn't want to kneel on the wet ground.  I put the calf between my legs; Michael made sure the calf didn't back out from under me; and Kari held the calf's head while I put the ear tag in the calf's ear.  I like the head held so I can made sure I put the tag in between the veins in the ear and not through an ear vein.  No minor bleeding then.