Meet the newest member of our herd.
I videotaped most of her labor, but will spare you because it is kind of slow and boring and also rather graphic. After a few hours, she was at the point where the bag of amniotic fluid was visible, as well as the hooves on the calves' feet. Happily, they were right side up, which meant the calf was in the proper position for an easy birth. However, the feet were huge - much bigger than I expected. And it seemed to be taking a long time. I was worried the calf might be too big. After almost an hour with no further progress, I decided to zip across the road to the dairy farm and get an experienced opinion. Mark and Lynn assured me everything was probably ok, but said that they would come in half an hour when they finished milking and bring chains in case they needed to pull the calf. I rushed back home, only to discover a wet, lumpy black puddle next to Lariat - her calf had been born in those 5 minutes while I was across the road. It is a heifer!
Soon she even figured out how to get breakfast:
Although she is black, both her parents are red, so perhaps her color will become more red. We haven't decided upon a name yet - suggestions welcome!
Our other cow, LaFonda, is officially due in 2 weeks. However, when Mark came to check on Lariat after milking and saw LaFonda, he remarked that she is pretty close; he bets it will be sooner than 2 weeks. The thrills continue!
12 comments:
My shoes survived -- but even if they hadn't -- it would have been worth it to see your Lariat's sweet baby :) Sorry about the un-announced drop in, it was just impossible for me to drive by your place and not stop.
So sweet. Newborns are always adorable.
You have already named her Puddle but wouldn't April be a fine name for your first spring calf?
Congratulations! How exciting!
enjoy! she's adorable and Lariat seems to be quite proud of her too!
great post - smiling hugely now!
From one Dexter lover to another, Congrats!!! I was wondering when she would calve. She might turn red. Their color changes and seems to not be set until they are a few years old. So if it's red you want, you might still get it. We have not had any of our babies yet and I'll post when they do.
How about Patience for a name?
God Bless
Congratulations!! She's adorable!
How about Posy? or Petunia?
Congratulations!!! Reminds me of the cartoon I saw with a farmer standing by a cow thinking, "I wish she'd calve so I could go to bed" and the thought bubble by the cow said, "I wish he'd go to bed so I can have my calf." LOL.
She's a beautiful little calf! My name idea:Dally- the term for wrapping the lariat around the saddle horn when a calf has been roped
Love the pic where she's just getting up on wobbly legs. We are too old to run cows any more. I miss them.
Congrats, Larriette sure seems content and happy with the baby. Good looking little heifer!!!
Like katiegirl, I was thinking of a name lariat related. I thought of Lasso, and then used a thesaurus and saw Riata. I thought that was a cute name, and it is all but one of the letters of Lariat's name rearranged!
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