Sunday, December 13, 2009

An unexpected arrival!

This afternoon--around 3:00, I chanced to look out of our kitchen window towards the cows and saw something surprising... A heifer was in the process of giving birth! As it was very cold out (-4) we knew we had to get her in someplace--preferably before the calf was born. Dad thought it was probably one of Andrew's heifers as one of his was a little bit off by herself this morning, so I told Andrew the news. He then dug out the binoculars and announced that the ear tag was white (my color) and not yellow! As I look back on it, this whole process was a little silly, as we both knew that we'd dress up and go help each other anyway, no matter who the cow belonged to. :)

Dad, Andrew & I put on our many layers of clothing and then headed to one of the barns first thing to set up the calving pen that was still in pieces from when the boys cleaned the barn out this Fall. Then, we all went to try to get my cow in on foot, but she was too quick for us and, when we had her close to where she was supposed to go in, she turned around and ran past us, back to the herd. So, Dad decided to go get a straw bale to bed down the barn (where she'd be with her baby) while Andrew & I went to put a different battery in the Ram so that we'd have something faster to move around with out in the pasture. To make a long story short, after much bumping around and running around with the Ram and the tractor, we finally got her in a small pen and then into the section of the barn where the calving pen is.

Dad thought it would be best to pull the calf right away, as she was a heifer and the calf was good sized. He got a hold of one of the calves' legs and it pulled back, so that was a good sign! After a lot of pulling on Dad's and my part, out came a slimy, live bull calf. :) We pulled him over into a nice pile of straw; cleared the junk out of his nose; got out of the pen; and let his mama loose. She didn't know what to do at first, and was nervous about us being in the barn with her, so we went outside. A few minutes later, Dad and Andrew peeked into the barn windows (I would've too, but I'm too short to) and saw that Mrs. Heifer was licking her baby off. We left them be then until chores time. By the time chores were finished, the baby was up and walking around and drinking his colostrum like a good little boy. I imagine he and his mother will need to stay in the barn for a while if it stays cold like this...

I'm just so grateful that everything went well! New life is such a miracle!!!

I'll try to get a picture of the new baby tomorrow and post it here so you can see him. ~

6 comments:

Rachel said...

Dear Cora!
What a wonderful post !!
The calf must look cute! What are you going to call him?

Hope you have a nice day
God bless you richly

Lot of love from
Rachel*

Miss Grace Elizabeth said...

A new calf! It must be really cute.
I so glad that you were able to bring him out of the cold
Baby animals are so sweet!

Kimberly said...

Brrr! What a cold day to be born! It was Brandon's birthday, too. It was cold like this the year he was born and it seems it is every year as well. It looks like it will warm up a bit this week. After the severe cold it will feel almost balmy to us!

Rachel said...

Hurrah! :D So happy for you (and the new mama). :D How special! And what a nice surprise for you! :) Glad all went well with the birth and all! It's a good thing your dad caught sight of her, huh! :) This was a great post...very interesting to read, as I've never seen a live birth before...only seen animal ones on tv/, movies like little house on the prairie. ;) Ah, guess that's why I'm such a city girl. ;) HeHe!

Love and Hugs!
Merry Christ-mas!
~Rachel~

Hannah said...

Awe! I love little calves! Can't wait to see a picture of him!
~Hannah

Anonymous said...

Dear Cora,
I am so pleased with both you and Andrew for how you help each other in time of need. A friend in need is a friend indeed and you two are wonderful friends to each other. :) I hope that you know I'd have been there too, had I not been in the middle of a session!
Congratualtions on your new baby, Grandma Cora. Are you going to post the name that you chose? May I suggest Werner the Third? Do you remember how the first Werner ran around that Winter? Do you remember how your papa named him Werner because, "He Werner supposed to be here yet?" Well, whatever you decide to name him, I pray that he'll be strong and robust all Winter.
Hugs,
Marmy