(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)
A Calf is Born and Begins Milking
It’s been a bit of a rodeo, but I am undeterred. She was gentle as long as you didn’t touch her. LOL. She was sweet and beautiful as long as you didn’t interrupt her grazing on the grassy knoll. She learned to come into the stanchion, which is basically a structure you build to milk your cow in if you don’t have a barn set up to use. It has a “head gate” so that you can hold the cow’s head still, and therefore her body, for milking, health care, etc. The only reason on God’s green earth that she willingly came into the stanchion was because she’s a pig when it comes to a pan of grain. But, you can’t over feed ‘em when they’re pregnant or they will get fat and that will cause a more difficult birth. We walked a fine line until she had her calf. She got a little grain, she got cut up apples, as long as she tolerated me “handling” her. Every day we practiced entering the stanchion, locking the head gate, eating a bit of grain or apples, and “handling” her udders. She barely tolerated it, but we kept at it.
The day she had her calf was the most nerve-wracking experience next to birthing my own children. It was just her and me. I watched her all day and I could tell she was in labor, but there were no little hooves poking out; I didn’t see her water break; no visible signs other than her seemingly having contractions – something I would recognize. Late in the day I couldn’t see her so I went looking and found her laying at the bottom of the grassy knoll on her side. There were 2 hooves poking out, palms down – a good sign that the calf was in the right position. I could see a little tongue on top of the hooves – also a good sign that the calf’s head was in the right position. She seemed distressed and I started to panic.Continue reading“My Newbie Experience Buying a Milk Cow – Part 2, by SaraSue”
