It's Twins!

We had a pair of twin calves born this week as our first calves of this fall calving season.
Most do Winter/Spring calving, but because spring is when my husband's 7-5 job gets really busy we do our calving in the fall when he's not as busy.

Hubby was out checking the flood water one evening and discovered the twins.  The next morning I went out to check on them to make sure the cow was accepting both. They sometimes don't realize they have two calves and will neglect one. I found the cow and one calf in the corner of the pasture. Fearful I'd find a dead calf, the dogs and I started a search for the other calf. During the search we discovered another birth. Cow 66 had a white-faced black heifer. After texting hubby that birth, I continued my search.

We found the other calf all by herself sleeping near a tree in the middle of the far pasture. I checked her out. She was perky, ears up, and eyes alert, so I left her be. When hubby came home that night, we went out to vaccinate and tag the calves. We caught calf 66 and tagged and vaccinated her, but the cow with the twins again had only one with her and the other calf was following 66 and while she was allowing it to hang with her, she wasn't allowing it to get milk.

Hubby picked up the twin and carried her to the alley way to the corral. Then we herded the cow and other twin to the alleyway and once they were all together the stray twin started drinking milk. I had to let the horses that were in the corral out and close soem gates, but we eventually put mom and the twins in the corral to keep them all in close proximity of one another.

We headed to Princeton on Thursday late afternoon and asked our daughter to check on the calf. We told her if the calf looked like it wasn't getting any milk from the cow, to take it home and feed and care for it. She told her girls this.  The granddaughters were ready to take the cute calf home! Fortunately for us, the calf was doing fine and the cow was allowing it to drink. The girls were so upset they were crying.

Hopefully the cow will continue to nurse and the calf will learn to stay with her and the other calf. We'll keep them in the corral for a week to make sure there is a good bond.

Friday Farm Fun- Photos

How we spend our winters. Cattle have to be fed every day when there isn't any green grass to eat.

Fixing fence is a never ending battle when you have curious calves that like to get out.

Looking forward to sitting on the deck this summer and watching the pivot go back and forth.

It's not always easy to fit a cow into the squeeze chute. Especially when she's a longhorn cross.

Thought I'd end with a photo of a cute calf. 

Friday Farm Fun- Fall Calving

Fall is not only my favorite time of the year because of the colorful foliage and crisp air, but because it's when we calve. We had it in our minds the calves would start coming October 1st. You should have witnessed our surprise when we arrived home from haying in Princeton and found six calves cavorting around in the field. Hubby rechecked his records and deduced we did indeed put the bulls in with the cows December 1 of last year so nine months is September.

A couple of the calves, the first born, were a little harder to catch to vaccinate, ear tag, and band. Especially the calf belonging to a red Angus cow. Every time the cow sees us, she heads for the trees, and using the trees as cover sneaks around us to keep her calf hidden. We have to match wits with her to figure out how to get in front and behind her. But we managed to catch her calf.

Guard cow Cori on the chase

We have a young man who is staying in a camp trailer on our place and he helped catch the calves. It was his first experience doing it and having a mother cow breathing, literally, down his neck as he held a calf. We're used to it and know that if you ignore the cow and not try to wave it away or bop it, she'll just breath on you, but if you show any aggression she'll try to butt you with her head. This group of calves are also more vocal when we grab them which gets the mothers riled up big time! If a calf doesn't bawl then the cow stays calmer.

Guard cow Cori being vigilant

To add to the chaos we stir up when trying to catch the calves, Cori, the Corriente cow my hubby purchased in the spring, has relegated herself to herd protector. She runs around bawling and chasing anything four-legged other than a cow. She kept Boots, the border collie, out of the field the whole time we were chasing down calves and tagging them.

Herfy and Myrtle

Thursday morning when I did my usual early morning walk through the herd looking for newborns, I had a fun time watching Herfy and Myrtle. They made such a cute couple walking side by side all around the field. I think it's real love! Herfy is the little Hereford bull we purchased this summer and Myrtle was the young cow hubby purchased and we had to watch to make sure she didn't have any complications when she had her calf .

We've had most of our cows long enough we know which ones have problems, which ones to be wary of when they have a new calf, and which ones could care less if you touch their calf. That's the fun part of having a herd, you get to see the different traits in them and enjoy their quirks.

Friday Farm Fun - Heifer Watch Ends

The pregnant little heifer my husband bought a month ago had her calf on Sunday morning. My hubby checked her at 5:30 and the feet were sticking out. He did some chores and returned to find the calf on the ground and the mama licking it. So for all our fears she didn't have any problems birthing. The calf appears to be about 60 pounds and healthy. She was racing around with her tail in the air like a flag yesterday.

The calf has a slight brownish hue to her, making us think the bull might have been red.

The cow is a good mother, she began licking it right away and acts like she'd charge us if we get close. Which is good for the well being of the calf but a pain for us because we need to vaccinate it and ear tag the calf. We're hoping we can lure the cow into the barn away from the calf, but it won't be easy with her protective nature.

Now we have a long horn that my hubby purchased at the sale yesterday. He says it's pregnant too. He just can't sit on his hands when something is going for a low price!