Meet Number Nine!
Nine years ago this week, I brought my first Jersey cow home to the farm. Not long after, she gave...
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Tag: jersey
Baby’s Here!
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...
Read MoreCows! More cows!
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...
Read MoreNew Year’s Eve Musings
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.
Bathroom confessions
Remember what I said a few days ago? That I brought a bovine into the bathroom? It’s true. Today I’ve included the proof in photos for those who can’t believe any sane woman would bring farm animals into the house. Hmm, let me rephrase that. Today I’ve included the proof in photos that I brought […]
Whose bottle is it?
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.
On sunny days . . .
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...
Read MorePerspectives
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...
Read MoreWe have a herd . . . sort of
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...
Read MoreFinally here
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...
Read MoreThe new baby
She’s 12 hours old now and content to doze in the dappled sunlight near the barn door. Her mama, a grade Jersey, has a most impressive udder. Woo hoo! Milk for...
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