LuLu's Time is Approaching

When the cows go into heat, we put them in the same pen as the bull.  The bull, for safety reasons, is kept in a separate pen that we call the 'bull pen.'  We've communicated that while Jersey cows are the most docile, gentle creatures, Jersey bulls are a different story.  As they get breeding age, they become mean.  Jersey bulls kill more farmers and ranchers than other breeds.  We keep a wary eye on Nicky the bull for that reason, not wanting to add to the statistics.  Once bred, we move the cows back into the general population and mark down the days until calving.

Cows gestate at the same time period as humans - nine months until labor and delivery.  LuLu's due date is July 12th.  We've been keeping our eye on her.  The last time she delivered Nicky a couple of years ago, it was in July - the peak of the summer heat and it was in the middle of a drought.  I moved the water sprinkler out to the pasture to keep some bermuda grass alive for her to eat on.  She was in much distress.  We supplemented with sweet potato vines and molasses.  She made it, but we were worried for a while.

LuLu is in good conditioning, but she's hot.  She breathes heavy and lays around in the shade and in the mud.  Hopefully this will be an easier calving for her.  We're hoping for a little heifer this time as Rosie is too old to breed and Elsie looks like she's not going to be able to get pregnant.  It's a shame about Elsie because she is a beautiful A2/A2 heifer, but we're not going to keep her on pasture to just eat grass.  LuLu, for her first calf, didn't have a very big bag and was not a big milk producer, making only enough for our family (and her calf).  We're counting on this second time, that she'll be a bigger producer.

If you look at LuLu's back end, you can see that she's "bagging up."  Her udder is filling with colostrum and later, milk.  This is a sure sign that things are progressing and her time is getting close.

One day soon, we'll see her in labor and we'll have a new little one on the farm.

For now, we watch and wait.  In the meantime, I've got to get the barn roof patched.  Last year a storm put a big limb on top of the barn that punctured the tin roof, allowing rain to drip through directly over the milking stall within, filling the eating trough with rainwater.  We can't have that going on, but looking back, it would have been better to fix this issue in cooler weather.  I'll be up there like a cat on a hot tin roof, patching the hole.  We'll keep you posted on LuLu's calving and the 'gender reveal party' for her little one.