Release Into The Spring Pasture

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Except for the heifers (1st time mamas) near our house, all the rest of our cattle (older cows, the bulls) are up at the farm about a half mile away. Before those cows have their calf they live in a little pasture, like a maternity ward, all waiting for their babies to come. One by one as they have their calves, Harland brings them up out of the maternity ward to a shed so they are out of the weather.

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They stay in the shed for about 24 hours and during this time Harland watches to see that the cow accepts her calf and the calf figures out how to nurse.

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Once he’s satisfied they are going to be ok, and if the weather is nice, he lets the pair out of the shed and into a separate pasture just for the cow/calf pairs. But before the release into the pasture, he gives the calf an eartag with a number that matches its mama.

Even though this cow hasn’t been in this pasture since last spring, she remembers it well, and knows that the rest of the cow/calf pairs are out there just over the crest of the hill where they normally hang out.

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The pairs will stay in the spring pasture until the roundup and move to the summer pasture in May.

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The pics and video here were taken about a week ago. Today the ground is white again from another snowstorm. It began Saturday afternoon and continued through the night and into the morning yesterday. We only got a few inches but the temperatures went down into the 20s which can be deadly for newborn calves. So Harland was out late Saturday evening and up a couple times in the night. He got a nap in yesterday afternoon. Then he was up last night too. We had 7 calves in a 36 hour period. Our normal is about 2 or 3. Bad weather makes the cows pop out their calves at the very worst time. Harland thinks it’s the stress of the crappy weather that makes them go. But we didn’t lose any calves due to Harland’s diligence and care. Am I proud of my hubby? You bet!

Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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8 Responses

  1. Cameo says:

    I was thinking about you all weekend with all the snow they were showing on TV. Happy to hear you only got a small amount.

    How many more babies do you expect ?
    That Harland is a real worker. I guess when you decide to be a farmer that comes along with the job.

    Your bedroom turned out really nice. Did it seem like you were sleeping in a different house the first night ?
    I had to laugh at all the Pics of Kitty. She was just a blurr jumping to get the foil.

    Really enjoy your Blog… It’s almost like you have your own Reality show :0)

    Happy Monday

    • Suzanne says:

      Thanks Cameo! We’re expecting at least 20-30 more calves. Hopefully this is the last snowstorm and we won’t have to worry so about the newborns and the cold.

  2. Carol says:

    Happy Birthday to all the calves and congrats to you guys, for keeping the little honeys alive in freezing temps! The video was sweet, watching momma and little one walk around together. Your room is lovely, wish I could get my husband to start doing some work around the house. Super Kitty, flies through the air with the greatest of ease! Another great post Suzanne, thanks for taking us along!

  3. Claudette says:

    I love your video’s, your one of the stream was so-o-o awesome and comforting! I have enjoyed your blog ever since I found it and look forward to seeing it in my inbox. Since I have 7 kitties (3 are feral)your Kitty antics are so fun. Great job and so entertaining-I love it.
    Claudette

  4. Glenda says:

    They go over the hill to get out of the wind!

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