A New Arrival On The Farm

Friday evening after I got home from work I gathered my bucket and rags and headed out to the barn to do the evening chores.  This consists of feeding chickens, goats, cows, closing up the nesting boxes in the hen house, putting out hay and then finally, milking Luna.  I got all this done and Rosie had still not showed up at the barn. 

This is uncharacteristic of her.  It scared me a little bit.  I had called Benjamin in the afternoon to check on her and he said she was in the pasture grazing.  But now it was four hours later.  What if she was calving and having difficulty?  I better go check on her.  I went inside and got my flashlight and headed out to the dark pasture.  I couldn't find her.  My pace quickened.  Finally I saw something...

Whoa!  A new calf.  And it is up!  Rosie was finishing up eating the placenta.  The calf had already been licked.  The best I can figure is that the calf was probably between 2 and 3 hours old.  I got them into the barn the very next morning so I could get a closer look.  Cute little booger!

Time to determine the sex.  The evening before, I had put my hand underneath and I think I felt the equipment that told me what I needed to know, but here's photo evidence.  Yep, that's a bull calf scrotum.  It's a boy.

In the above photo, there's something a little strange.  You can see four teats.  Just like a heifer.  Why does a bull calf have teats?  Well, all fetuses start out in the womb as a female.  The chest develops before hormones change the sex organs.  The teats on a bull are non-functional.

So another bull!  The last three born on the farm have all been bulls.  We always want heifers.  Maybe when Clarabelle calves later in the spring, she'll give us one.  This little guy is the offspring of a registered Jersey bull from Australia.

G'Day Mate!

He's a strong little fellow.  In no time at all, he had nursed on Rosie and had filled up on all the colostrum that Rosie produced to ensure that the bull got a great head start.

In a couple of days, Rosie's milk will freshen (come in) and she'll have enough milk to take care of her growing calf and our family.  A bull wasn't what we were looking for, but we'll be thankful for a healthy momma and calf and for all the fresh milk she'll be producing.  As far as a name, we haven't thought of one yet.  Since he's a bull we don't normally name them sentimental names since they are destined for the freezer once they are older.  If we did name him, it would be something with an "Australian-flair" since that's where the sire was from.