Calf 13 - Red's calf

Red's calf - who doesn't have a unique number id or a name - had her first born calf this afternoon.  While she didn't have her calf when I checked a few hours before hay eating time at 6:30 pm, she had the calf a little before hay eating time.

A heifer.

While Red's calf is a Red Angus calf the newborn calf is black, like Toby.

The calf appear to be drinking from her mother and is doing well.  Again, another strong calf when it came time to ear tag her.

I put Red's calf and her calf into the south corral to be with Speckles and her calves and the steers.  That is because Red's calf is a first time mother and being separated from all the other cows probably would let Red's calf bond with her calf better.  While Red's calf seems to be bonding with her calf ("Yes, this is my calf."), at times it seems like she trying to understand that she is a mother ("Is that really my calf?").   So I put a few corral panels around the barn's roofed area so Red's calf and her calf can be alone together and not be interrupted by Speckles or the steers tonight.

A few hours old and already Red's calf's calf is much larger than Speckle's twin calves, Maude and Sally.

Red's calf was eating hay when I took the following photos.  It is Speckles and one of last year's heifers (Mama's) checking out the newborn calf.

Today I did not fall out of the pickup when I tossed hay into the cattle's metal feeder.