The week before Thanksgiving, Rosie the pregnant Jersey cow exhibited symptoms that made us worry about  another premature birth. So we moved her to the barnyard where she could bask in the afternoon sunlight and spend her nights in the safety of the barn — and more importantly, where we could more easily monitor her
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Rosie, our Jersey cow, isn’t pulling her weight.  Sure, that premature calving was a setback, and a gal needs time to recover her health after that sort of trauma.  Rosie’s always been a good mama cow, and she provides Cocoa with all the milk she can manage.  It’s not enough though— not for Cocoa, who’s
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I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Jersey cow and her preemie calf. When viewed from the side, Rosie looks pretty good. At this angle, she still looks very pregnant. Or very fat. Whatever you call it, she’s still huge. I worried about bloat. I dreamed one night that by some freak chance she had another calf in there, still growing and biding its time until it could emerge like some alien space creature with big teeth and a raging, carnivore appetite.

I’ve never wanted a bottle calf. In my experience, four-legged bottle babies are pushy, demanding pests. A few years ago I got a scary-looking hickey from a bottle calf that thought my thumb made a good pacifier. I’ve been bumped, shoved, and slobbered silly by half-grown calves that think humans are just part of the herd. And then along came Cocoa.

Alone, but apparently not lonely, our young Jersey cow Rosalie spends her days in the back 40, munching on grass.  Her only responsibility is to eat enough to maintain her ever rounding figure.  She’s doing very well at that. Rosie’s also doing very well at being alone, which isn’t always the case with herd animals.  Rosie spent most
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The view from the hayloft at feeding time. This photo was taken a few weeks ago, while the snow fell outside and the wind whistled around the eaves. I’d just given the cattle half a bale of prairie hay and was spreading a thick bed of fresh straw. Notice the chickens scratching through the straw
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The bull arrived a few weeks late for his conjugal visit, thanks to mud issues. His owner was rightfully nervous about getting the stock trailer stuck while moving him from the last harem . . . err . . . herd he serviced. The big boy’s here now though and settling in nicely. In case
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Two weeks after the due date, Rosalie finally gave birth to her first calf. Rosalie’s a grade Jersey and was born here on the farm. She was bred to the same Limosin bull as Lottie. Unlike her mother, Rosalie chose a nice shady spot at the edge of the pasture that’s easily accessible to the
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Lottie, the 7-year-old Jersey cow, finally had her calf Sunday. He’s half Limousin, sired by the strapping young black bull who lives just down the road. Lottie choose a quiet spot in the trees that could be reached only by traipsing through high weeds and a thorn thicket. I tried to persuade her to bring
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