As of this writing, we have 8 calves that have been born in the last 3 weeks. Last year, we lost 2 calves, due in part to overfeeding resulting in larger than normal calves and to inexperience on our part. We were heartbroken to lose those two calves last year and thought that was the worst. However, this year, we experienced something harder.
One of our original girls, Little Spot, developed a prolapsed uterus on delivery. This occurs when the uterus is delivered with the calf. The 'cure' is to push the uterus back in and sew up the opening so the uterus can't come out again. We read that cows that have this problem can go on to have more calves in the future. We were hopeful that this would be the case with Little Spot. Unfortunately, she didn't make it, leaving us with her beautiful heifer calf to raise. Below is a picture of Brooke (the calf) having some fun in the yard with the littlest.
If you have been following along with past posts, you will recall that last year, we had a calf that was orphaned by its mother. This calf, Annie, was successfully 'adopted' by our milk cow, Eleanor. Annie is doing well and stays pretty close to Eleanor most of the time. We have noticed that Eleanor still lets Annie nurse! We were hoping to give Brooke to Eleanor to feed so we wouldn't have to but Annie and Eleanor still have a strong bond. We will have to separate the two for the summer to initiate the weaning process.
That is what has been happening on the farm this month. I'll post more next week on other things that are happening on the farm. Until then, we are getting out and enjoying as much of the warm weather as is possible.
