Tag Archives: Calves

Feisty Cow is Feisty

Luna

Luna, my Randall Lineback dairy cow, has been a bit fussy of late.  It seems that dairy cows are happiest when they are bred, and Luna has been open since last August when she calved.

She was perfectly happy until we weaned Stella, her calf, and separated them, but she’s becoming a bit of a terrorist these days, expressing her displeasure LOUDLY every time she see me, hitting me with her giant head if I’m too slow to get her feed in the trough.

Since Luna has made her feelings very clear on this matter, I spoke with Emily and we’ve made arrangements to have her picked up this Saturday and sent back to the farm she came from for re-breeding. We could have her bred much closer to home, but, since Randall Linebacks are a conservation breed (the livestock version of endangered), I feel responsible for making sure she’s carrying on the line.

In spite of her recent brattiness, I am going to miss that cow mightily until she returns.

I thought you should know…

The Elephant in the Front Pasture

This morning I was awoken by the most godawful noise coming from the front pasture. I thought to myself, “I don’t remember buying an elephant,” but that’s exactly what it sounded like.

It turned out only to be Luna, our Randall’s Lineback dairy cow. It seems she is in heat, and it is making her rather miserable.

She spends her days mooning (and mooing) around the pasture, searching high and low for the bull that she is sure must be around here somewhere.

In my head I know that this is a biochemical reaction, but it breaks my heart to hear her sounding so forlorn.

If I were in the market for another calf, now would be the time to have Luna impregnated using artificial insemination. There are actually catalogs of semen from various prize winning bulls! Randall Lineback semen is a little harder to find, but it is available.

Since I’m not planning to breed Luna this year, we will all just have to suffer through the next 12 hours.

This Morning in Pictures

Good Morning, Buster (or Cosmo? I’m ashamed to admit that I still can’t keep them straight!)

Alabama is saying something hilarious to Bennett.

I love how it looks like Milkshakes & her family are holding goat-court on their dais of hay.

Peaceful cows (and watchful Gnocchi! Just like his father.)

Love that pup.

And, by poplar request, a special appendix of photos of Luna & Stella

This Morning in the Pastures

Cassiopeia

I can’t tell which picture of Demi I like more, so here are both of them.

Charley and Churchill. I just noticed that the tufty tip of Charley’s tail is bright red!

Milkshakes v. Hannah. It’s hard to tell who’s going to win this one.

Brooks & White

Monroe, I think, is trying to insinuate himself into the Luna/Stella family. No word yet on whether this is going to work, but I’ll keep you posted.

Sagitta, laughing at something.

Our baby ducks are growing up, but they are still small enough that five of them can swim in a grain pan.

I love how wildly different from one another their markings are.

Sabine and Gnocchi seem to be sharing a joke.

Stella’s Nightly Capering

For some reason, when the sun starts to go down, Stella has the irresistible urge to spring about the pastures on those new legs. It’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

 

 

Beautiful Stella

You all don’t mind if today’s post is just a bunch more pictures of Stella, do you?

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She’s been getting her fill of colostrum, too! In a few days, Luna will stop producing colostrum and start producing milk, and we’ll be able to start milking her! She and Stella will start spending 12 hours per day together, and 12 hours per day apart, so that we each will get half of Luna’s milk.

Luna Just Had Her Calf!

It’s happened, you guys!!!

Sometime this afternoon between 2 and 4 pm, Luna walked into the copse of trees in our front pasture and delivered a beautiful baby heifer. Around 4, Zac walked into the pasture to check on her and found her with her baby.

She looks exactly– uncannily– like Luna. Same kohl-rimmed eyes and the same black-tipped ears, the same black muzzle and speckles.

Luna’s softly mooing at her to encourage her to stand up, licking her all over, and generally acting like a textbook new mother. It’s such a relief to see that all’s well with mama and baby!

We’re leaning pretty heavily towards naming her Stella.

I just am so grateful that a) it happened and b) that it happened so easily! Stella’s just as jaw-droppingly gorgeous as her mother. She’s about the size, I guess, of a medium-sized dog– maybe 40 or 50 lbs– but with long little fawn-like legs.

My heart is just melting. We are all so happy!

Some Facts About Luna

There have been a few questions about Luna, our sweet and beautiful dairy cow, and so I’d like to answer them all in one post.

1. Luna is doing fine– happy and healthy, eating grass and drinking water. This is a picture of her from this morning.

2. She’s still pregnant. You remember that Doctor Grover came out to confirm her pregnancy back in June– the direct quote, and most memorable picture in my mind is our vet, reaching all the way up to his shoulder into Luna, and saying, “Yep. Feels like a face.”

3. Zac wakes up every single morning before dawn so that he can check and see whether or not she’s calved. We rearrange any and all travel plans so that someone is always at the farm with Luna, in case she calves. Every waking hour at the farm, we’re on hair-trigger Luna-watch– jumping up from the dinner-table because it looks like she’s lying down is a not uncommon occurrence. If she were in labor, it’s well-nigh impossible that we wouldn’t see it.

And every waking hour, this is our answer from her. Believe me, I know it’s frustrating.

4. Thank you so, so much for your intelligent, insightful, love-motivated comments– we love hearing from you! I promise that we’ll tell you when the blessed event occurs.

5. Even if she weren’t pregnant, and even if she never calved, we would still love her to pieces. She was a wonderful gift from a dear friend, and is just as sweet and affectionate as you please. I hate to make Luna feel like we only care about her calf.

This Morning in Pictures

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Emu

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Callum, always with that look.

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Sam and Bertie, best friends forever.

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Camembert, who’ll be our dairy buck this fall.

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One of the pups, sleeping right in front of the barn fan.

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His brother’s dreaming.

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Look at how grown-up Gnocchi is!

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Ewes and lambs in the front pasture.

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Cini

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Sweet Monroe and Madison