The days are hot,
The temperatures rise,
Tongues hang out with exhausted sighs,
The ground is parched,
The grass is chaff.
But lo! LuLu has birthed a calf!
This is the sight that greeted us on this Lord's Day as we did chores before Worship Service. Although we were expected it about a week from now, this was a little early. LuLu wasn't huge and her bag wasn't in "bloom" until this morning. It's her first calf. She's very nervous and high-strung. When we discovered the baby, LuLu was just in the process of licking him to clean him up. He tried, unsuccessfully, to stand up. His long, wobbly legs gave way and he clumsily fell back in the dust.
We've had many chicks hatch out and some goats that have kidded lately, but it has been a couple of years since the last calf was born on the homestead. It's an exciting time! More on that later. You look into the eyes of the calf and wonder what they're thinking. Just last night they were secure in a dark, climate-controlled, safe location. Now, strange creatures are looking at you, chickens are pecking at your soft hooves, the bright sun hurts your eyes. What an awakening!
The first thing we check is the sex. It's a... bull calf. We always hope for heifers. However, we're happy to get a healthy little calf. This little guy's dad was a registered Jersey named Nick. Tricia suggested that we name him in honor of his father. So, we welcome NICKY to Our Maker's Acres Family Farm. LuLu's sister, Elsie, came to see her new nephew. Sniff, sniff. They always smell them.
Could there be a worse time to calve? I suppose so, but this heat does stress the animals. We decided to move Nicky and LuLu to the shade on the south side of the barn. It will be oppressively hot by the time we get back from church and eat and have time to come out and check on things. LuLu still needs to deliver the placenta, finish cleaning up Nicky, nudge Nicky so that he stands up and begins to drink colostrum. That's a lot of items on the agenda! We hayed LuLu and headed off to church.
After worship and a big plate of chicken stew over rice, sliced beets, cranberry sauce, and coffee and chocolate persimmon cake for dessert, we changed and headed out to the barn/nursery to check on the situation. I've got to tell you not much had happened in our absence. They were both sitting down. They're not in a rush like we are. LuLu had delivered the placenta, but Nicky had not stood up. He was taking in a Sunday afternoon nap.
Tricia and Russ got him up on wobbly legs and in three shakes of a billy goat's tail, he was walking around and falling an awful lot. Practice makes perfect, though. He'll get it. We got an extension cord and rigged up a fan for LuLu to cool the new momma down. She wasn't interested much in having all this attention. Nicky would try to find the teats, but LuLu wasn't being cooperative.
We tried to put LuLu in the head gate so that we could work with her and Nicky. Wouldn't you know it, a bunch of wasps had built a nest in the head gate. As I started getting her head in there, wasps came flying out. I went back to the garage and got some gas and ended the wasps' rebellion with the quickness.
After some time, we were able to get Nicky to nurse. I am positive that he got some colostrum. We'll work with him more after evening services. I want to get his little belly full so that he gets more energy and antibodies to strengthen his immune system. We've got to get the little fellow to stand on his own! Right now, we're having to help him get his feet under him.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.
We'll continue to stand by to offer LuLu assistance. We'll try to get plenty of colostrum into Nicky. It's thick, yellow, oily, and nutritious. Then we'll milk the remainder out and freeze it. That's a good insurance policy to have tucked away in the freezer. Pretty soon we'll be back to daily milking - in this sweltering sauna in the south. Not quite ready for that after a long reprieve from milking, but here we go again! LuLu will require some working with as it's her first calf and she's never been milked before and she's as wild as a March hare. We might have a rodeo on our hands, but that's okay. It's always an adventure!
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