I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Last week we had just returned from a trip, upon entering the pasture we found that we had a baby born while we were gone.

Punkin is the mother…since we were gone to Idaho when it was born….we named the baby girl Ida.

She is a cutie and Punkin is a great Mama, taking care of her every need.

She is black most everywhere except her back feet which sport white socks and her tummy has a little tuft of white as well.  While we were looking the herd over.  I noticed that Joy was thinner and her milk bag was HUGE.  I watched her as she disappeared into another part of the pasture.  In a matter of minutes we heard her bellowing.  There is a certain sound a cow makes when she is anxious about her young.  Immediately Billy and I followed the cries until we found her.

We found her standing by the creek.  She continued to make that awful sound.  Billy and I hurriedly looked for what we felt sure was a calf in trouble.  We didn’t see anything.

Finally we heard a little Moooooo.  We walked toward the sound but still couldn’t see anything.  Once again another little Moooooo sound.  Meanwhile Mama was just a bellowing.

THERE IT IS…..we both saw it about the same time.

Before I could even get the lens off my camera….  Billy was in the water.

If you look closely you can see the black calf standing to the far left….hugging the side of the creek.

Mama was on the other side and was still bellowing.  Billy lifted the calf up to her.

It wasn’t an easy task.  The bank of the creek is steep.

And the fact that the baby weighs 50 to 75 pounds makes it a real work out.

Finally the baby got to its feet and walked…. up the embankment.

Mama immediately came up to it.  WHEW…now….thank goodness that ended well.

Well….at least we thought so.  That baby was ready to nurse.  But Mama would have no part of it……..

She was trying to get away from the baby.  She pushed the calf away with her back leg and almost pushed the baby back into the creek.  Thankfully Billy was still in the water and nudged it back up onto the bank.  We continued to watch for a few minutes hoping they could work it out.  Time and time again she pushed the baby away.  Yet…she would bellow for it.  The baby would run up to her, attempt to nurse…but she would push it away again.

We led them away from the creek so the baby wouldn’t fall in again.

The Mother just didn’t get it….she kept going to the creek bed and bellowing for the baby.  She would look into the water for it.

Meanwhile the baby was exhausted…. looking at the  umbilical cord the baby was not very old.

She’s a girl….and she looks a lot like Ida.  She also has white socks on her back feet.  One difference she has though is a cute little white line across her forehead.

NOW WHAT?????

Billy and I walked away and hoped the Mama would realize that it was her baby.  After talking with other farmers, they said the water probably washed enough of her scent off that the first time Mama just got confused.

Finally she came up to the baby….

It was looking like a go…..

The baby went for it…and tried to nurse.

BUT…Mama wouldn’t have any part of it.  She kicked her to the ground…over….and over.  It was hard to watch.

Then she walked away…..

I just get mad at Mama’s that won’t care for their babies.

Some of the younger cows came over to her and just stared…..they stood for the longest time…just looking at her. (The one in the middle is tug….maybe he remembers his Mom doing that to him).

Now Billy and I only had only a little while to decide what in the world to do.

If we feed it the colostrum that it HAS to have within hours of birth…then Mama will more than likely really reject it for sure.   BUT THEN AGAIN….we are already witnessing that happening.  It is so frustrating.  There she is with everything that baby needs…and she won’t let her have it.

We put them in a fenced area together.

It would be dark before long and if she didn’t get the colostrum through the night hours she would die.  So….we headed to the house to check and see if I had some in my stash.  I try to keep some for times such as these.  But I didn’t have any….so I googled a homemade recipe and hoped for the best.

Back to pasture we went with bottle in tow…… just in case we needed to use it.

When we arrived we found that…the Mom was gone.  In our haste we each thought the other one had chained the gate.  So much for that.

The mom is staying with the herd and wants NOTHING to do with her beautiful….healthy….baby girl.

And so it begins…….

May was miserable this time last week.   Or at least she looked miserable!

Bless her little heart she would waddle when she walked.  The day before she delivered she even hesitated to get up when I entered the gate.  Normally she heads to the feed trough….just in case I happen to bring her a treat.

Finally, she wouldn’t even climb up the ramp to her favorite spot in the goat house.  I checked on her several times during the day, knowing she wasn’t acting normal.   About 3:30 she started showing signs of labor.  I ran home to gather a few things just in case she needed any help.  Billy always laughs when he sees me grabbing labor and delivery supplies from my stash.

Last year May gave birth to 4 goats.  It was extremely cold that night and we didn’t know she delivered until morning.  Only two of the babies survived, one was actually born dead.  I don’t remember anything being visibly wrong with it.  I have read a good bit about animals since we have started the farm.  Most encourage you to keep track of hard deliveries or any birthing trouble in hopes that you can try to prevent something the next time around.  All that to say, I wanted to be around this time when she gave birth.  Just in case I might be able to prevent losing another baby goat.

And I admit….I love to watch the miracle of birth.  It is just amazing.

After gathering my supplies I headed back to sit and wait.  She looked at me like ….Oh boy…she is here for the whole duration.

Actually May has always been aloof.  She keeps her personal space.  However, since we took her from the farm and put her closer to the house, she has allowed us to get closer than ever.

After a little while I could tell we were getting closer to delivery time.  Goats talk to their babies.  At least that is what the books call it.  They make a certain little noise when they are in labor.  It is pretty neat.

Apparently the babies heard her….because things started moving right along.

I didn’t have plans on handling the babies…unless she really needed it.  Besides, I wasn’t sure she would even let me touch the babies.  I didn’t want to add any undue stress to the situation.  I was also leery that she wouldn’t accept them if she smelled my scent on them.

She had a little girl first…..

This one had the coloring of her Mama.

Then she had Baby number two…..a little boy, but he was stillborn.   That is the part of having animals that is the hardest.  I was glad that I was present during this delivery though.  If I had not been I would have always wondered if there would have been something I could have done to have saved him.  I know now that there wasn’t anything I could have done.  I did note the problem and actually took a photo on my cell phone so that I could show a veterinarian.  There was a development problem with its tummy.  Maybe he can shed some light on how to prevent it from happening again.

I spared you from having to see the pictures….but if you did…then you would know why I want to be close when the animals are delivering.  AND why I have my little stash of delivery items!

Baby number three was another girl!

She has interesting colors on her.  She almost looks taupe with some black.

If you look close you can see the birthing bubble, right before the fourth baby was born.  It is amazing to watch.

Last but not least baby number four joined the rest.  It was a boy!

He has black and brown on his little head.  He is the biggest of all of them…and a real cutie.

In the excitement and pure business of it all, I failed to notice that the first baby had something wrong with its eye.

Billy is here with the girls about two hours after delivery.  Now that is just precious!

You can see the girl on the right looks like her eye is just closed.  It didn’t look swollen or anything it just look closed.

I got Billy to hold her still so I could get a close up thinking I would have to now show the vet this problem too.

Upon taking a better look……it appeared to be fused shut.

I came home that night and searched through my goat book.   I googled everything I could think of to see what was wrong.  There just wasn’t anything that really sounded like our problem.  She was nursing fine and didn’t seem to be bothered by it.  I was worried that she might be blind and that her mother might reject her.

But…..she fit right in……

You can see her little eye here too.

The babies are like little puppies.  They have a cycle consisting of  these four things…..cuddle, nap, eat and bathroom break…. repeat….. at least for the first few days.

Whenever I go to check on them….she is the first one to come and greet me.  Yes….she has already stolen my heart….well they all have.

They are exploring  and have already attempted to climb the walk board.  They are funny to watch….. plopping on top of one another.

But before long…they are tuckered out so they curl up and fall fast asleep in no time.  Playing is hard work you know.

I called the vet and was pretty sure he was going to have to come look at the eye.

The very next time I went to check on them….her eye was open!  Everything seems to be just fine.  I don’t know…maybe it was like a puppy’s eyes.  I just know that she looks just fine now.  So fine in fact that she was too wiggly to get a picture.

What a wonderful surprise.

So….we had a few bumps in the road.  But things turned out pretty good, especially when you think about her carrying 4 goats at one time.

May has been so sweet about letting us hold the babies.  I am hoping that she will become friendlier herself.

I do know that she sure is being a good mother

I imagine having her little girls eye open up made this special day….all the better.

I see her resting while they rest, just like new Mom’s have to do.

May has been blessed with three healthy babies and seems to have been celebrating that all week!

Happy Mother’s Day…..May!

Clementine had a baby a few weeks ago and has been a very good mother.

The calf takes a lot of naps, just like a human baby does.

When she curls up to sleep…… you can hardly see her in the big field.

You may remember that we had another calf born in March.

Her name is Bella.   It seems that these two have become very good friends.

They stay together while their mothers graze nearby.

Sometimes they even rest in the cool grass together.

They are not able to hug like people do….so cows often rub their heads together.  Showing kindness to one another….just like we do to our friends.

Cars often stop while traveling down our road to watch the cows.  Sometimes they put on a show….like they did yesterday.

Did you know that calves run and play?  Just like kids!

I have mentioned this verse before….but this is the very reason why it comes to mind so often.

Malachi 4:2 (Contemporary English Version) But for you that honor my name, victory will shine like the sun with healing in its rays, and you will jump around like calves at play.

They even play king of the hill.

Or maybe it is queen of he hill, in this case.

After a few minutes, they head back to their mothers.

That is where they feel the safest.  They are still learning about trust.

They probably watch me as much as I watch them, wondering why I am in their field.  The more time I spend with them, the more they trust me.

The mother cow makes a humming noise when she talks to the calf, but only when it is newborn.

After a few weeks, if the mother wants the baby to come to her, she will make a big MOOOOOOOOO sound.  And the baby will come running.  Each baby knows the sound of their own mother when she calls.  They sound a lot alike to me, but somehow the baby knows the call of it’s own mother.  And the mother knows the cry of her baby calf.

Animals are interesting to be around, they are very lovable and fun.

Maybe they think the same thing about us.

We love our animals and spend a lot of time with them….. so we always give them a name.

We finally have one for this cutie.

A friend of mine is an elementary school teacher.  She shared the pictures of Clementine and the baby calf with her class.

They thought we should name her…. Darling…..  As in the song …. “Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling Clementine.!” 

What a perfect name.

Welcome to the farm……Darling!

A big thank you goes out to Mrs. Hearn and her 3rd grade class at Hazel Green Elementary School!