A new addition to our Cow Family

The second day of November was a gorgeous day and as we stepped outside, we were greeted with a gentle northerly breeze, crisp blue skies and a brilliant sun.  We, and our animals, seemed to have an extra pep in our step, thanks to the most perfect weather of the year.  You just had a feeling it was going to be a good day.  I checked on Rosie and she seemed fine.  She was still limping and her swollen udder and mucous discharge signaled that her due date was approaching, but I didn't think the baby would be coming today.

We got Daisy, Maggie, and Nellie milked and most of the other chores done.  I heard the dogs start barking and looked out to see a bunch trail riders on horses passing in front of the house.  I paused to watch them pass.  A couple of vehicles following behind the trail riders lingered for a while gazing out in the pasture.  I wondered what they were looking at.  When I glanced out in the pasture, I could see Rosie licking on something in the grass.  I ran to the door and hollered inside, "Tricia, Benjamin!  We have a baby on the ground!"  When I got out to the pasture, I found Rosie and a very wet little newborn calf.

Rosie and Baby Calf

Rosie was in the process of completely licking her baby and getting it all cleaned up.  Our presence didn't seem to bother her as she went about her task.

Spit Bath

The little calf was full of energy and alert.  In fact, of all the calves born on the place, this one was the most lively.

Awwwwww!

So we were all curious.  What did Rosie have?  A bull or a heifer?  I lifted her leg up to expose:

It's a little GIRL!

I backed up so that Rosie could finish with bath time.  I really like the way this picture turned out.

Let's get you all cleaned up, little one.

So right out there in the field, we began to think of names.  We wanted to keep the same naming convention of naming the little heifers after flowers.  So far we've had Buttercup, Daisy, Rosie, Magnolia, Lili, and this one would be...  Amy.  Amy is short for Amaryllis, a beautiful flower that grows from a bulb and blooms around here.

Can someone give me a towel?  It's cold out here.

Animals are just curious creatures.  We try to attribute human emotions and actions to them and when Maggie showed up, we joked that she had come to welcome her new baby sister into the world.

Maggie's checking out her new little sis

Rosie was really engorged with her udder undoubtedly full of colostrum to give baby Amy a good jump start on life.

Full of colostrum - or first milk

This next picture is an interesting one and shows one of Amy's hooves.  Baby calf's hooves are white and very soft when they are born.  In fact, if you aren't careful, chickens will come and start to peck at the hooves.  The hooves, initially, are very soft - too soft to walk on, but with exposure to air, they become black and hard.

Baby's hooves

God designed them like that so that they don't hurt or cut the momma when they come through the birth canal.  This is similar to when humans take a long bath where your fingers shrivel up and your nails are soft.

Well, that's enough baby pictures for now.  Check in tomorrow where I'll likely show and explain Amy's progress once Rosie got her all cleaned up.  What comes next?  Well, we'll show you...