I thought we'd catch you up to date on Elsie, our little heifer. She's almost two months old. We have had quite a few calves over the years, but we think she may be the prettiest. Rosie and Clarabelle may beg to differ. Elsie is inquisitive and frisky. We watch her jump around the pasture, playing with the goats. Then she lifts her tail high in the air and runs as fast as she can. Our neighbor has told us that she enjoys watching all the animal activity. Here's Clarabelle and Elsie in the pasture on a sunny afternoon recently. The grass in the pasture still hasn't really taken off. We are still supplementing with hay, but with the warm days, the grass will soon outpace the animals' eating.
Elsie is getting plenty of Clarabelle's good milk to drink. In the late afternoon, we call the cows to the barn so that we can separate Elsie from her momma. About a week ago, we would have to milk Clarabelle out as Elsie wasn't drinking everything. Not anymore. That girl is growing! She's now drinking it all. We separate and all night long Clarabelle is able to make milk for us. In the morning we milk (Tricia during the week and I do it on weekends) and then put Elsie back with Clarabelle. We don't milk hard in order to leave a little for Elsie, but Clarabelle holds back some.
When we open the gate, hungry Elsie rushes out and begin to ravenously suck on each of Clarabelle's four teats, switching from one to another until they are all empty.
Right now, Elsie is drinking primarily milk. Her rumen is not fully functional yet. Her rumen is a fermentation vat where her body breaks down food. In about four months her rumen will be developed and then she'll be able to digest grass.
Until then, she'll continue to nurse, drinking Clarabelle's sweet milk.
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