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.

Cattle visit

This morning I woke up at 6:30 am to mooing.  I thought it was Big Red mooing or perhaps a cow giving birth.

When I went outside I found a brown bull calf in the backyard and a black bull calf in the plowed hayfield.  Another black animal was in the hayfield outside the corral and Buddy was interested.  I then realized the brown bull calf, while a Corriente breed of cattle, was not Mama and the black bull calf was not my animal.  I thought the black animal near Buddy was a cow but after a second look I realized it was a bull.  The bull had his horns cut off.  The other two animals still had their horns.  Another clue they were not my animals.

They came from a fenced field a half mile down the road.  The owner lives elsewhere and I didn't know who that was.  The phone number listed in the phone book for the brand inspector was not a working number.  I called the sheriff's dispatch and reported the cattle.  They could track down the brand inspector.

The brand inspector never called.  The sheriff's office called back 90 minutes later to ask if the brand inspector called me.  By then the cattle left and headed south down the road back towards their 'home'.

In the afternoon I learned from my southern neighbor that he woke up to find the three cattle in his yard outside his house.  He and his wife put the cattle into their pasture with their horses.  They were able to find out who the owner was and called him.  The owner came and got them in the afternoon.

So it all ended well.

Socks and more

I didn't notice it until the calf was a day old, but Panda's calf's back legs have white at their bottom.  So I named the calf: Socks.

No more calves have been born. I expected that Sugar wouldn't give birth until May. It appears Beulah and cow #90 missed getting pregnant on their first cycle with Buddy.


Big Red, Buster, and I have settled into a routine.  I help Buster drink from Red twice a day: around 9 am and 9 pm.  Red still has an attitude problem.


Buddy is so big I have decided to sell him in August after he has bred all the cows.  He is so big, and getting bigger, that I imagine the cows will have a hard time standing when he mounts them.

A relative of Donna's called.  He has a bull he wants to sell.  The bull is a registered Red Angus two year old bull.  He is supposed to have a nice disposition.  I had to decline buying the bull.  The owner wanted $3500 for the bull and I can't pay that and expect to make money.  So the next time you complain about the price of a steak keep in mind what bulls sell for when their only purpose is to eat and have sex for about one month out of every year.


I still do not have my hayfield planted.  It has been too wet to plant.  The past seven days have been nicer than usual; while the temperatures continue to be colder than normal, we did have two sunny days this week.  Sunny days are unusual this Spring.

Here is the 10 day forecast.  Today we got more than the predicted .02 inches of rain as we got .25 inches so far.

So Saturday may be the day I get some outside work done.

Buddy and temporary corral panels

I had a problem last night when I went out to the corral to have Buster drink.  Buddy was standing in the pathway between the south corral and the loading corral.  He pushed an end temporary corral panel to make an opening and got inside the pathway.  Then he pushed the panel shut.

I spent a long time carefully coaxing Buddy back into the main corral.  Once I got Buster and Big Red in the loading corral, Buster wasn't hungry.   I spent 50 minutes for nothing.

Early the next morning I again found Buddy in the pathway.  This time he hadn't 'closed' the corral panel.   But he wasn't interested in moving.  He just want to stand there and chew his cud.  After a bit I almost enticed him out but he changed his mind and backed in to the pathway.  He then rubbed his rear end against the south corral gate.  Fortunately this was the very heavy duty Powder River gate I installed last year.  I could see the gate straining but it held fast.

I gave up, took a shower and checked later.  By now Buddy was laying down in the pathway.

After noon Buddy came out to eat and I was able to close the panel.  This time I pounded a metal t-post in the ground to hold the panel in place.  Buddy is so strong he could bend that t-post if he really tried, but so far the post is holding the panel in place.

On the wrong side of the panels.

Buddy spent some time scratching against the metal slot that comes out where two panels can be pinned together.

Here is a 53 second video of Buddy scratching against the corral panel: https://youtu.be/kklmUDugmiE

Holstein molasses

To get Big Red to bond with Buster one thing is to get her to lick him to get her scent on him.   To encourage her to do that, over a few days, Donna and I poured molasses on Buster.  It worked as Red licked Buster.

The molasses is sticky enough that Buster usually now looks a little dirty.  The photos are after Red licked Buster.

Even though Red is bonding a little with Buster, she still doesn't like him drinking from her.  I use a bowl of grain to entice Red into the loading ramp.  Once the grain is eaten Red bounces back and forth against the boards holding her in place so Buster can drink.  Buster drinks from Red's back teats so Red can't kick him away.   So, then, she often urinates or defecates in an attempt to discourage Buster.  Red has a bad attitude problem.

Red is very stubborn.  As I write this a commercial is playing on the TV.  The commercial's song is a woman singing "You don't own me. You can't tell me what to do."    That sums up Red's attitude right now.

Buddy into the corral

It has been three weeks since the first calf has been born.  A cow can go into heat three weeks after giving birth.  Or after maybe longer.  I didn't want to take a chance so it was time to separate Buddy from the cows.

Buddy made it easy.  Last evening, after we checked on the cows and calves, Buddy came walking to the corral once Donna and I returned there.  He was alone.  So I opened the corral gate and let him inside.

Normally I would put Buddy in the corral south of the barn, but that is where Big Red and Buster are located.  They are doing fine but Red is still not letting Buster drink if she is not penned in the loading ramp.  So I let Buddy stay in the main part of the corral.  He can access hay and water and I just have to keep an eye on him whenever I am in the corral.  This I need to do whenever I tempt Red with a bowl of grain.  Buddy is curious and probably can smell the grain, and he is always on the other side of the fence when I feed Red grain.

Otherwise it is nice for Red to have adult company nearby.  Before Buddy came Red often would stand at the end of the corral and look out at the other cows in the pasture.

Buddy is a big boy.

Calf 10

Today is three weeks and one day since the first calf was born.  It appears not all the calves will be born within a three week period this year.

Late this afternoon, after Donna and I fed the last of the medicine to Buster, we walked out to look for new calves.  I discovered that cow #120 gave birth sometime today.  An all black calf.   I didn't get close for two reasons.  First, I still do not want to spread scours to these calves.  Second, the calf is already fast.  The mother moved the calf away from me when I attempted to get kind of close to the calf.

I think the calf is a heifer.


Initially Donna and I checked on the cattle from the middle pasture.  Seeing Donna, Mama was on high alert and constantly watched us.  Well, mainly Donna.  Once I suspected there was a new calf, I walked around and crossed into the north pasture so I could count the calves laying beyond one of the feeders.

Mama giving Donna the evil eye.

"Let's get out of here before the rancher does something to you."

"Don't you ever give up?!   Leave my baby alone."

"Okay.  Let's go back this way."

Buster licking salt

Buster is still improving.  Big Red and Buster know the routine.  I put some grain in a large bowl and both come walking into the loading ramp where Big Red eats the grain quickly and Buster drinks from Red.

While both spend time together I have yet to see Buster drinking from Red without my help.

This evening while Red drank water from the water trough Buster discovered the salt block.

I forgot to mention it before but the veterinarian's bill for Big Red and Buster was a little over $300.  So much for making a profit on Buster.

No new calves today.  Mama is still hyper-protective of her calf.  I got nowhere near the calves tonight when I walked out to count them and check for new calves.

Calf 6, Calf 7, and Calf 9

Before 9 am I got a call from a neighbor.  Looking out of her house window over to my pasture she thought a brown and white calf was in trouble and could not get up. Mama's calf.  Oh boy.

I went out to look.  The calf was laying by one of the feeders.  Mama was protective and trying to block me.  Eventually I made it to the feeder and jumped inside just before Mama got to me.  The calf slowly got up.  It was raining and the calf was wet and cold.  She was shivering.  But she was able to walk around.  Mama was keeping me inside the feeder.  Nothing more I can do.  I was able to slip out of the other side of the feeder.  Since I was moving away from her calf Mama did not follow me.

A short time later Mama moved her calf to be under the trees and out of the rain.  I got Donna, my neighbors Curtis and Rusty to help me, and we rode out in my pickup to check on Mama's calf.  My intention was to dry the calf off using towels.

When we arrived Mama start to move her calf away.  Curtis, Rusty and I jumped out of the pickup.  I handed my sorting stick for Curtis to use and I attempted to go after the calf.  Mama turned and charged me in full fury.  Donna later said she thought I was going to be tossed up in the air and trampled by Mama.  Fortunately, after handing my sorting stick to Curtis, I had picked up a small tree branch. 

I hit Mama really hard on the top of her head and she stopped and then turned back to her calf.  They both ran off.  Curtis and I started to chase them.  By now Rusty had my pickup door open and was ready to jump inside.  Rusty told Donna that I needed to eat Mama and get rid of her.  Rusty never moved away from the safety of my pickup.

The calf was easily keeping up with Mama and I called off the chase.  The calf was fine.  No sense risking Mama's anger any more.  And the rain has quit for a while.


Then I turned my attention to Buster.  I hadn't done anything with him before now - 10 am.  I had hoped he would now start drinking from Big Red.  Buster was trying but Red kept moving or brushing him away with a back leg.  So Donna and I got Red into the loading ramp.  It was much easily this time as we learned to bribe Red with a small bowl of grain.

Buster was hungry.  He drank and drank and drank.  He drained milked from all four of Red's teats.

After Buster was done drinking we poured some molasses on his back.  While we were there Red wouldn't go near Buster.  When we were gone she went over and licked him.  Later in the afternoon when I came outside she was licking Buster again.  Once Red saw me she left Buster and pretended not to be interested in Buster.   Typical female... she doesn't like to be told what to do by a male, even if it is for her own good. 

Otherwise Buster is doing better.  I just need Red's attitude and stubbornness to change.  Donna used to be fond of Red Angus cattle.  After Red's attitude Dona is no longer as fond of Red Angus cattle.



In the afternoon, after helping Buster drink a second time, I noticed Panda was off by herself.  She was showing signs of giving birth soon.  I grabbed my camera and my stick and went out to check on Panda.

From the video you can see Panda giving birth just as I arrive.  Watch the first few moments of the video.  You will see the calf enclosed in a thick membrane.  I went over and poked my finger through the membrane and tore it apart.  Once I did the calf was able to open his mouth and take his first breath.  The membrane hadn't torn apart as the calf slid out into the grass.

In other calf births I have witnessed the calf was slimy in goo and not enclosed in such an all encompassing membrane.  I wonder if Big Red's calf who died was also enclosed in such a thick membrane covering her head.  If Red didn't lick and break the membrane the calf may not been able to breath.  When I found the calf no membrane was in sight.  Was there a membrane and Red licked and eliminated it?

The membrane reminded me of something like the pods out of the movie, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The calf was standing within a half an hour and soon after was sucking milk from his mother.

In the evening when I checked on them Panda had gotten rid of most of her placenta as a long thick length of it lay in the grass..  Some placenta still was trailing out of her.  Panda didn't appear to have eaten any of it.

Here is a 2 minute video of Panda giving birth:  https://youtu.be/9dOrRNr0wfM

Calf 6 and Calf 8

Buster continues to get better.  He is perkier, and by this evening his diarrhea had ended as his stool, while still soft, is firming up.  When one's diet consists of just water and milk that is to be expected.

I fed him the last of his electrolyte added water at 3 am.  Since then Donna helps me place Buster and Big Red in the loading ramp so Buster can drink milk.  She doesn't like him drinking from her and will kick when Buster initially drinks from her.

Last night I read online about the ways to get a cow to bond with a calf not her own.  They include skinning the dead calf and tying that skin to the new calf so the new calf smells like the cow's calf, to smearing the dead calf's manure on the new calf, or the cow's manure on the new calf.  Anything to get the cow's smell on the new calf.  Or somehow get the cow to lick the calf to transfer her smell onto him.  Donna came up with a molasses and grain mixture and we tried it this evening.  I rubbed it all over the calf's back and put the calf in front of Big Red in the loading ramp.  Red loved the mixture.  She licked the molasses, but bit the calf's skin to eat the grain.  So tomorrow, molasses with some salt but no grain.

I do still feed Buster one batch of fluids still. I need to give him one batch of Probios a day.  I did it today at 9:30 pm.  His last milk feeding was at 7 pm and the 9:30 pm fluid feed should last him till morning.

It has rained off and on since noon.  In the afternoon after his 1:30 pm feeding we dried him off and put Buster in the barn.  Hard to bond with Big Red when separated from her.  Since he would now stay on the straw in the shelter next to the barn, I left him there after his 7 pm feeding.  Red and Buster were snuggled together when Donna and I checked on him at 9:30 pm.  Red had licked the rest of the molasses from Buster's back.

I just checked a few minutes ago.  It is raining, but Red and Buster are laying next to one another under the shelter attached to the barn.


Between 1 pm and 2 pm today cow #20 gave birth to a black white faced calf. Calf number 8. I don't know the calf's sex as I still don't get too near the calves.  Based on the calf's face Donna thinks the calf is a heifer.

Cow eating some of her placenta afterbirth just after it came out of her.

Mama was somewhat relaxed when I was in the pasture *somewhat* near her calf.  Her calf is the white object left of center and Mama is behind the two trees.  By 'relaxed' I mean, while alert, Mama did not stand, or shake her head at me, or try to run me off.

Calf 6 and Calf 7

Buster is doing better.  He is more alert.  This afternoon he was fairly persistent trying to drink milk from Big Red.  She kept moving and kicking to keep him away so Donna and I put both of them in the loading ramp so he could drink.  Buster still has diarrhea.

Donna overslept so Buster didn't have his fluid feeding until 4 am, not 3 am.  Buster likes to have his head rubbed.  Donna found the beginning of two horns.  I'll have to get rid of them later after they grow out more.


This morning between 10 am and 11 am Mama had her calf.  I am not positive of the calf's sex but Donna has an almost perfect record telling a calf's sex by looking at the calf's head and face.  Donna thinks Mama's calf is a heifer.

Because Buster has scours I decided not to approach the calves for the time being.  It is too dangerous to spread scours to the rest of the calves. The bull calves will be banded/castrated later even though that will mean running after them.  And the ear tags can be added later to tell the sex.  Later it may be hard to tell which calf goes with which mother, but while nice, it is not essential.

It was time this afternoon to give the cattle another two large hay bales.   Usually I feed a small hay bale to the cattle in the corral to allow me freedom to put the large bales in the pasture.  But I do not want the cattle, and especially the calves, in the corral where they could possibly be infected.

So Donna drove her pickup into my pasture and I tossed out two small hay bales to distract the cattle.  I was able to put two large bales into the pasture before the cattle finished eating the small bales.

Mama, ever protective of her calf, hung back in the far corner of the pasture while I put the hay bales in the pasture.


Look at this beautiful and interesting looking calf.  I wondered if Mama was part Jersey or part Corriente.  Based on the calf's colors I think Mama is part Corriente.  While I think the calf is beautiful, mostly likely I will be docked in price when it comes time to sell the calf.

Mama's udder is ginormous.

Calf 6 - Holstein Vet visit

We visited the cattle veterinarian this afternoon.   At 7 am Donna and I helped the calf drink milk from Big Red.  The calf had a bowel movement and Donna was able to see the stool's color.  Usually a new calf's stool is a bright solid yellow for a day or two.  Buster's stool was a chalky tan.  Yesterday Buster's stool was solid; today he had diarrhea.  It appeared that Buster had scours.

Also, Big Red still had her placenta / after-birth.

I called the vet and made an appointment in the afternoon.

The vet found that Red's placenta was still attached internally.  Still "buttoned".   He felt around internally and learned the placenta was firmly attached.  He didn't feel that he could "unbutton" the placenta without a risk of missing some internally.

Instead he gave Red a shot that triggers contractions.  This usually works in getting the placenta out.  I'll find out by Friday; else another vet visit.  The placenta needs to come out else there is a large chance of infection and/or future fertility problems.

After we returned home to the corral we could se that Big Red was having contractions.  I'll check tomorrow to see if she had gotten rid of her placenta yet.


The vet was more concerned with Buster.  He had a bowel movement and the vet could see the color of his stool.  Yup, Buster had scours.

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-resources/baby-calf-health/Calf-Scours-Causes-prevention-and-treatment-121277154.html

A calf can easily quickly die from scours.  The vet gave Buster some shots.  The most important thing is to keep Buster hydrated.  The vet showed me how put a tube down Buster's throat to then administer fluids with electrolytes.  This is a two person job.  I had to back Buster into a corner, hold him between my legs, then correctly put a tube down into his stomach and not in his throat.

I am to do this every 4 to 6 hours.  Tonight Donna helped me give Buster fluids at 9 pm. We will do this again at 3 am.  My first attempt went well.  We took it slow and we were successful.

It is also important to keep Buster warm.  After returning from the vet I blocked off part of the barn with two temporary corral panels.  I covered the floor with loose straw.  Earlier Donna had brought a large blanket to dry a wet Buster off.  Buster likes his "blankie".  He wore it to the vet visit.  In the barn we left the blanket on him.  At 9 pm we found the blanket still on part of Buster. In the barn Buster was out of the cold and light breeze and was warm.

In the trailer with a blanket to go see the vet.

Taking a nap with his "blankie" while waiting for the vet.

Big Red waiting for the vet.

In the barn after the visit to the vet.

Big Red and Buster had been bonding more and more even if Big Red was still touchy about letting Buster drink from her without our helping Buster. His staying by himself in the barn and drinking fluids with electrolytes instead of milk all the time will slow the bonding experience down.

Calf 6 - Holstein Day 2

It rained overnight.  In the morning I found the calf laying in the same place along the corral fence.  He was wet. And sometimes he shivered.

After 7 am Donna came over and we got the calf and the mother back into the loading corral so the calf could drink.  I put up four temporary corral panels to form a corridor between the south side of the corral and the loading corral.  it is good that I did so as the mother was in an excited mood.  She wanted to leave the corral to join the other cattle out in the far pasture.  Or maybe go look for her dead calf.

The calf drank some but did not drain the cow's udder like he did yesterday.

I still had some work to do on the loading ramp.  I added some vertical boards to four sections of the ramp's path.  With the vertical boards I can slide cross boards through the ramp preventing the cattle from backing up in the ramp.  This was something on my 'to-do' list for a while.  I only need it when loading the cattle to go to auction in the fall, so I usually forgot about it.

I also added a wire to the ramp's side gate.  When I first built the ramp I had the railroad tie post straight up and down.  So when I left the gate open, it stayed opened.  Now some years later the gate no longer stays open.  The wire allows me to hook the gate open.

By the time I finished these fixes I noticed the calf walking after the cow like she wanted to drink.  The cow would move her leg to brush the calf away.  After a few times of this the cow laid down on the ground.  Still, several teats on her swollen udder were accessible and the calf timidly went for them.  But the cow turned her head and gave the calf the 'stink eye' and the calf moved away and then laid down.

So I put the cow back into the loading ramp area and then brought the calf in there.  The cross boards kept the cow from moving and the calf drank.  He also had a good bowel movement, though the color was not as bright yellow as it usually is for new calves.

After 8 pm Donna came over and we put the cow back into the loading ramp and I brought the calf to the cow.  Unlike most calves over a day old this calf has no fear of humans.  He also wasn't interesting in walking.  In the morning I pushed him from the south corral to the loading ramp.  That was a chore as the calf didn't want to move its legs.  In the afternoon and evening I resorted to carrying the calf to move him.

The calf wasn't hungry.  The last I knew he drank after 3 pm.  I had seen the cow near him several times in the corral since 3 pm and she would sniff him or stand or lay near him.  Maybe he drank on his own and she didn't brush him off?


Buddy was curious as to what was going on.  He wanted to sniff the calf.  I wonder if he realizes the calf is not his.

The cow still has not sloughed off her placenta (after-birth).  This is a concern as the cows usually do so within 12 hours of birth.  Often the contractions to expel the placenta are kicked off when the calf drinks.  I don't know if the placenta hasn't slough off because the calf was stillborn, or whether too much time occurred since a calf first drank.

I'll have to call the veterinarian tomorrow.  If the placenta doesn't come out the cow can get a bacteria infection and maybe have fertility problems in the future.

It is always something.


Oh... by the way.  Donna suggested we name the calf: Buster.   This is not to be confused with the Buster named by my Uncle Larry and Aunt Diane some years ago for one of Beulah's calves.  That calf is long gone.

Calf 6 - Holstein

This morning I called the local dairy, Hedstrom's, and asked if they had a bull calf they did not want.  As it happened they had a bull calf born several days ago - Thursday, the same day my calf died.  The price for the calf was $150.

I got Donna and we drove over to the dairy.  The owner lifted the calf onto my pickup's tailgate and I tied it legs together to keep it from jumping out of my pickup bed.  I rode in the pickup bed sitting next to the calf as Donna drove back to the ranch.  I petted it's back as we rode and the calf liked that.  The calf is fine with humans touching it.

Once I got the calf home I banded it to castrate it.   Then I went to get Big Red.  She was still out in the pasture grieving over her dead calf.  I loaded the dead calf onto the pickup bed and slowly drove to the corral.  Big Red followed.

Once in the corral Big Red saw the Holstein calf in the loading ramp part of the corral and was interested.  We got Big Red into the loading ramp area.  She was interested in the calf and ok/friendly with it.  But when the calf went to drink from Big Red she would kick it away.

I went to move Big Red into the narrow section of the ramp with the gate.  I discovered I had forgotten the gate was broken.  Last Fall when I loaded the calves to take to the auction the gate's bottom lag bolt came out of the railroad tie.

So I had to fix the gate.  Simple, right?  Of course not.  This particular railroad tie had a rotted section - that is why the previous lag bolt came out.  A longer lag bolt was too large in diameter for the gate hinge.   I found a long bolt I could use.  I had to get a drill and bit to drill through the railroad.  The bit was too short.  I got a longer bit, though wider.

Then I found this bolt was a hair too large for the gate hinge.  I tried to hammer the bolt into the hinge.  The bolt broke at the bend.  *Argh!*  Then I found one other bolt long enough.  I drilled the hinge large enough to just fit the bolt in.

A few other annoyances and eventually I had the gate fixed and hung.  Well over an hour later.

While I worked on the gate Big Red came to see what I was doing and would get in the way.  Once I was done she had no interest on going to that part of the loading ramp.  After some effort we got Big Red into the gated area and then also the calf.

With no room Big Red tried to turn around to look at the calf and possibly get out.  I had to get and lift a wooden pallet in this area to eliminate the chance Big Red could turn around.

The calf went to work and drained one side of the Red's full udder.  After some effort and pushing and shoving I got the calf to the other side of Big Red and the calf then drained that side of Red's udder.

I let them out into the overall loading corral.  They were friendly enough but didn't lay together and Big Red didn't lick or clean the calf.   She knew from smell it was not her calf.

It was now 3 pm.  At 6:30 pm Donna and I checked on the calf.  Big Red's udder was again full of milk.  The calf hadn't drank from Red.  When the calf went for the udder Red would kick to keep her away.  We again put Red in the loading ramp with the gate.  This time had Red go up one additional section and then placed several boards behind her.  She could not move forward or backward.  This section was too narrow to put the calf beside Red but the calf immediately went to work and drank from the back.  With the boards Red couldn't kick back at the calf.

The calf drank Red dry again.

For the night we moved the two over to the corral side south of the barn.  I put out hay for Big Red in the feeder and they had shelter if they needed it.  When I last checked several hours ago the calf as laying next to the corral fence and Red was elsewhere in the corral.

Most likely in the morning I'll have to move Red and the calf back into the loading ramp and repeat this for a while until Big Red allows the calf to drink all the time.

Awfully relaxed after just having his balls banded.

Finally drinking

Jumping and kicking up his heels.

Friendly, but not friends.

A 36 second video of the new calf:  https://youtu.be/VyivlAGCdwY