A calf is born...

Calving season has been a blast with the girls this year.  I LOVE seeing this process through their eyes.  There is no doubt in mind how much AA loves animals.  She is so excited every time she gets to see this process and is always asking to head out to check cows.

Here is what we would typically encounter on a trip out.

This is the cow calving pasture.  They have access to the creek for water and plenty of natural and man-made wind protection.

"This looks just a bit suspicious.  Let's head over and check it out."

"Yep, tail is bent in that silly way that tells me she is ready to calve.  That would also tell me that the calf trying to nurse her is NOT hers."

"Feet and nose are already out and that pesky calf is still nursing her.  This might cause some problems."

"Body is out to the chest.  The cow keeps trying to push the older calf away."

"And the calf is out.  The cow is up and smelling the newborn, but then she turns and smells the older calf and BAM.  She is confused about which calf is hers.  This is a terrible situation since she will easily and quickly attach to the wrong calf.  The cow and calf need to be brought into the barn and put in a pen so they have time to bond."

And this is a VERY happy AA that watched the whole calving process.  We watched 3 heifers calve simultaneously one day and it was utterly awesome.  The miracle of birth at its finest.  AA sits on my lap and we discuss what is happening and what to look for.  She knows to look for 2 feet and to make sure the mama licks the baby off (especially the face in case the placenta is still covering the nose).

During the busiest days of calving we had 20-25 calves born a day.  Now we are back down to between 5 and 10 calves a day.  We are over half way done and although there have been a few freak things that have happened so far, overall, calving season has been pretty good.