I Can't See Me Lovin' Nobody But You...

"Imagine me and you, I do I think about you day and night, it's only right To think about the girl you love and hold her tight So happy together" -  The Turtles 1967

We've been talking a lot about the literal birds and the literal bees lately with us hatching out baby chicks and then putting out a swarm trap to catch a wild swarm of honeybees.  But today, we'll briefly talk about "the birds and the bees," if you know what I mean.

We have two cows and a heifer that need to get bred.  Nick, the Jersey bull, is just the guy to do it.  LuLu has been in milk for over a year and a half.  It is time to dry her off, but we want to get her, Rosie, and Elsie pregnant.  No dice, so far.  Elsie had a cyst on her ovary and the vet came and took care of that.  But up to this point, she's not been able to get pregnant.  We track the days, put the cows in heat with the bull, and...  They cycle again the following month.

Rosie had lots of mucus showing.  It was her time.  We put her in the bull pen with Nick.  He began courtship immediately.

Rosie was in standing heat.  It's a little embarrassing to photograph and show this, but we are 99% sure that Nick was successful in his endeavors.

We'll keep watching the calendar and for signs and we'll put Elsie and LuLu in the bull pen with Nick as the right time arises.  If they keep on coming in heat, we may have to assume that Nick is a defective bull with low sperm count.  If so, there's a neighbor down the road five miles or so away with a registered bull.  We may have to schedule a 'date night' and bring our three girls down there.

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you

For all my life

When you're with me, baby, the skies'll be blue

For all my life

Farewell to Billy Boy

Billy Boy is a Devon bull.  He's got a heart emblem on his right shoulder (see below photo) and that is appropriate, because that's why he's been on our pasture for the last couple of months.  His job was to romance, woo, and breed Rosie and Elsie.  It is time for him to go.  Our grass, with the lack of regular rains, is in short supply.

Our friend that loaned him to us has a sale for him in St. Francisville.  Perfect!  I borrowed some panels from my friend and set up a makeshift corral.  One morning this weekend, I brought some hay and sweet feed into the corral after closing the nosy goats in the barn.  The three cows and Billy Boy followed me into the corral.  I quickly escorted the ladies out and closed up Billy Boy.  It was nice and easy.

He didn't like being confined.  He used his horns to lift the corral, but he wasn't successful in breaking free.  His horns, however, got a nice, green paint job!  I watered him and then called my friend to come get him at his convenience.

He backed his truck up to the gate and I cracked the gate to the corral.  Alfalfa hay was tossed into the front of the trailer.  Ol' Billy Boy sniffed at it and walked slowly toward it.  I got behind him and just like that, he was up in the trailer.  The back gate was closed and Billy Boy was ready for a road trip.

So, was Billy Boy successful in breeding Rosie and Elsie?  That's a good question.  We saw them breed - several times, in fact.  Elsie came back into heat several times, but this last time, it appears she was successfully bred.  We didn't palpate them, so we don't know for sure.

We'll have to wait and see.  LuLu, we think, was bred by the registered Jersey Bull, Nick, who came courting.  She should be calving later this summer.  It has been a drama-filled summer with Billy Boy and his horns.  It'll be nice to have only our docile, horn-less Jersey cows in the pasture.  Peace.  At last.

Driving Ms. Luna

Luna is our youngest Jersey cow.  She is small - smaller than the rest of the cows by a long shot.  We call her a runt, but she has the bossy personality that defies her small stature.  She bullies the other cows and goats.  It is amazing to watch.  Tricia and I often tell the other animals not to let her bully them around and remind them that she is smaller than them.  They don't understand!

You might recall that over a year ago, Luna lost her first calf in delivery.  In the process, we almost lost her, too.  We were able to save her, though, and kept her in milk.  When Rosie and Clarabelle calved, we "dried up" Luna, because it is hard to milk 3 cows for very long!  Last month, we observed Luna going in heat.  We marked down the date on the calendar and circled the date 21 days in advance.  It is time to get Luna bred.  We loaded her in the cattle trailer.

Although we have 3 registered Jersey bulls on the property, we want to introduce new genetics into our little herd.  We have a friend that lives about 3 miles north of us that has a new Jersey bull.  He is a big bull with grey coloration.  He asked us to bring Luna by his house and drop her off after church this evening.

Since Luna is a runt, we never brought her to the livestock shows.  I had forgotten about that.  When I went to load her into the cattle trailer, she didn't know how to load.  The others just jump right on in.  She didn't know how to step up into the trailer.  I asked Tricia to go get a bucket of feed to coax her up.  While Tricia was on the way to the barn, I pulled and pulled and was able to get her in the trailer.

According to our paperwork, she'll go back into heat this Thursday.  If things work as they ought to, we'll be able to pick Luna up and bring her back home next weekend.

If everything goes as planned we'll bring Luna home as a pregnant cow that will deliver in April 2020.  For now, and until Luna comes home, the rest of the animals on the farm are enjoying their peace and freedom from the barnyard bully.

The Thunder from Down Under

The livestock shows are over and it looks like spring is on its way.  We have three cows that are "open," meaning that they are not pregnant and ready to be re-bred.  For Benjamin's senior year of livestock showing, it is important that Clarabelle has calved in advance of the shows next year.  A cow's gestation is roughly the same as a human's - 9 months.

We figured it was time to look around for a registered Jersey bull that would be willing to make a conjugal visit.  I talked to a good friend of ours and he happened to have a new registered Jersey bull all the way from Australia that has a real good bloodline.  Our friend doesn't need the bull for his herd for about 3 months, so he told us he would come drop off the Australian bull...

No rules...  Just right.

The bull at first did not want to leave the trailer.  He was on new turf and seemed a little shy.

But as soon as the bull saw the cows, he boomeranged (get it?  ha ha) himself out of the trailer and began courting immediately.  Daisy, Rosie, and especially Clarabelle seemed apprehensive and not particularly thrilled with his exuberance.  He was like a bull in a china shop.

Sorry, this next pic is a little explicit.  The Aussie bull, in less than 8 minutes after leaving the trailer had already consummated his relationship with Rosie.  The young bulls were unsure of what to make of this lewd and public display of affection. 

Hopefully, Rosie is bred.  One down, two to go.  Somehow, I don't think this bull has to worry about his vitality or virility.  We'll keep him for 2 or 3 months to make sure the cows don't come back in heat, but I think the old boy will get the job done.